{"id":18208,"date":"2025-10-27T12:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/18208\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:05:11","slug":"zohran-mamdanis-nyc-mayoral-bid-splits-jewish-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/18208\/","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani\u2019s NYC mayoral bid splits Jewish Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Democratic<\/a> nominee Zohran Mamdani\u2019s<\/a> insurgent mayoral campaign has ignited a fierce debate inside New York City<\/a>\u2019s Jewish community, with mainstream organizations and veteran Democrats warning that his rhetoric on Israel<\/a> is dangerous, and others defending him as a principled progressive challenging the status quo.<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old socialist, a self-described anti-Zionist and the son of Ugandan and Indian immigrants, has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, supported boycotts of Israeli products, and said he would seek Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>\u2019s arrest if he came to New York. In a city home to the world\u2019s largest Jewish population outside Israel, Mamdani\u2019s message has struck sharply different chords, galvanizing left-leaning activists while alarming many Jewish voters who view his words as inflammatory.<\/p>\n

Recent polling underscores how evenly split the electorate has become. A Fox News survey<\/a> conducted in mid-October found that among Jewish voters, 42% supported Andrew Cuomo, 38% backed Mamdani, and 13% favored Republican Curtis Sliwa. A Quinnipiac University poll from early October<\/a> showed 41% of likely New York City voters said their views on Israel align most closely with Mamdani\u2019s, compared with 26% for Cuomo. Earlier surveys reflected similar divisions, underscoring a community sharply split over his candidacy.<\/p>\n

Earlier surveys reflected similar divisions: a Honan Strategy Group survey <\/a>from May found roughly six in 10 Jewish voters backed other candidates over Mamdani, while a Zenith Research\/Public Progress Solutions poll released July 30 showed about 43% supporting him, underscoring a community sharply divided over his candidacy.<\/p>\n

Mamdani has rejected accusations of antisemitism, saying his criticism is aimed at the Israeli government\u2019s conduct, not at Jews. But the controversy has spilled into nearly every corner of New York\u2019s civic life, from synagogue boards and dinner tables to political fundraisers and classrooms, as voters grapple with the broader meaning of his candidacy.<\/p>\n

The American Jewish Committee, one of the country\u2019s most influential Jewish advocacy groups, took the unusual step of issuing a formal statement<\/a> condemning Mamdani\u2019s language. The organization said it \u201cremains deeply troubled by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani\u2019s continued use of problematic rhetoric as it relates to Israel and Jews,\u201d urging him \u201cto hear the concerns of the New York Jewish community, and to change course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not our intent to interfere in the election, but we felt compelled to speak out given the rhetoric and its implications,\u201d Josh Kramer, the AJC\u2019s New York regional director, told the Washington Examiner. \u201cThat demonization of Israel has ramifications; it can inspire people to treat Jews differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kramer said AJC representatives have met with members of Mamdani\u2019s campaign and \u201cencourage him to speak with mainstream Jewish groups and correct course.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his Saturday sermon, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue denounced Mamdani, calling him \u201ca danger to the security of the New York Jewish community.\u201d He urged worshippers to back Andrew Cuomo, warning that \u201ca vote for Mamdani is a vote against Jewish interests.\u201d Cosgrove said Mamdani\u2019s repeated efforts to delegitimize Israel felt like a personal affront, \u201can attack on my personhood as a Jew, as an American, and as an American Jew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some Jewish leaders like Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove in New York who have taken the gloves off and been really, really clear and unequivocally called out bad trends and stood up for their own community,\u201d said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish, who has advised several New York officials and is himself Jewish.<\/p>\n

By the end of the week, more than 1,000 rabbis nationwide had signed an open letter <\/a>asserting that Mamdani\u2019s election would endanger \u201cthe safety and dignity of Jews in every city.\u201d Prominent New York rabbis, including Ammiel Hirsch of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and Joshua Davidson of Temple Emanu-El, also released videos voicing concern over Mamdani\u2019s rhetoric and his rejection of Israel\u2019s status as a Jewish state.<\/p>\n

The debate has also reached Washington, where leading Democrats are split on navigating Mamdani\u2019s rise. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, has not endorsed Mamdani. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), however, has formally backed <\/a>the Democratic nominee, saying, \u201cZohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, seeking a political comeback, has made Mamdani\u2019s record on Israel a central issue of his campaign. During this week\u2019s debate, Cuomo charged that Mamdani \u201cstoked the flames of hatred against the Jewish people.\u201d Mamdani dismissed that accusation, calling it biased and rooted in discomfort over his possible election as New York\u2019s first Muslim mayor. He said he has \u201cnever endorsed extremist movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s less of a divide than people think,\u201d Reinish said. \u201cMuch of it falls along age lines, how deeply one feels their Judaism as part of their identity, and how online they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cOur lives as Jews in America might get harder if people are getting elected when their entire political identity, or much of their political identity, is rooted in anti-Israel, anti\u2013Jewish state activism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reinish said other Jewish leaders \u201cclearly don\u2019t know what to do at this moment\u201d and are \u201cin a political vice of their own making.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wish I wasn\u2019t having this conversation at all,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is a crappy thing to have to have this conversation as a New Yorker, as a Jew, as an American. I wish we weren\u2019t doing this interview. But we have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporters such as Dan Zimberg, a Jewish New Yorker backing Mamdani, say the lawmaker\u2019s appeal lies in his focus on affordability and empathy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cZohran\u2019s ability to make inroads with the Jewish community is based on kitchen-table, \u2018challah and butter\u2019 issues,\u201d Zimberg told the Washington Examiner. \u201cWe also struggle deeply with affordability issues in this city: from childcare, to transportation, to housing. In the backdrop of the U.S.-sponsored genocide by the Likud coalition government, he has shown courageous moral clarity when pushing back vocally against bad faith attacks and unfettered Islamophobic prejudice.\u201d<\/p>\n

HAKEEM JEFFRIES ENDORSES ZOHRAN MAMDANI AFTER MONTHS OF PRESSURE <\/a><\/p>\n

Zimberg said the Jewish community\u2019s reaction must also be understood through a deeper emotional lens. \u201cThe Jewish community as a whole has built-in generational trauma from our past,\u201d he said. \u201cOur experiences should not be discounted or taken for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani\u2019s insurgent mayoral campaign has ignited a fierce debate inside New York City\u2019s Jewish community,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[80,2065,858,153,4008,60,9113,9,56,63,65,64,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-18208","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-andrew-cuomo","9":"tag-chuck-schumer","10":"tag-congress","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-hakeem-jeffries","13":"tag-israel","14":"tag-jewish","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-ny","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-nyc-headlines","19":"tag-nyc-news","20":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}