{"id":280986,"date":"2026-06-29T12:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/280986\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T12:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:00:10","slug":"exclusive-dem-leader-experts-admit-what-fueled-nys-socialist-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/280986\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Dem leader, experts admit what fueled NYS socialist surge –"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s<\/a> socialist cronies who swept last week\u2019s Democratic primaries boasted about an affordability message \u2014 but critics say it was an anti-Israel furor that is fueling the party\u2019s swing to the left.<\/p>\n

State Democratic Party Jay Jacobs admitted voters\u2019 feelings on Israel helped propel Mamdani buddies to three House primary victories, including firebrand Darializa Avila Chevalier and former city Comptroller Brad Lander who upset incumbent Reps. Adriano Espaillat <\/a>and Dan Goldman, respectively.<\/p>\n

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez waves to supporters during her primary-night watch party. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Both Espaillat and Goldman backed the Jewish state \u2014 which may have motivated young activist liberals with pro-Palestinian views who have staunchly opposed Israel military action in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I do think the Israel-Palestinian issue had an impact in the election,\u201d Jacobs told The Post on Sunday. \u201cIt hurt establishment Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who may have voted against Espaillat and Goldman because of it,\u201d he added.<\/a> \u201cIt was important to the activists who came out and voted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campaign was a \u201cmore important issue for those who came out and voted\u201d in low-turnout primary elections that saw only about 17% of party voters citywide participate, Jacobs said.<\/p>\n

The national civil rights group, the Anti-Defamation League, blasted the insurgency as riding a wave of antisemitic sentiment to wins in the Big Apple, the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Tuesday night in New York City, a movement built on antisemitic rhetoric won three congressional primaries,\u201d the ADL said in a statement on X.<\/p>\n

The statement noted that as Mamdani moved through the jubilant crowd at a DSA victory party on the night of the primaries, attendees chanted \u201cFrom the River to the Sea,\u201d the code viewed as a call to wipe out Israel.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrates with Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and organizer Carmen Rojas at the party. AP Photo\/Seth Wenig<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re witnessing candidates succeed not in spite of their demonizing rhetoric against the Jewish community and the Jewish state, but because of it,\u201d the ADL said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen leaders cheer slogans that dehumanize Jews, it does not stay at a victory party. It bleeds into schools, neighborhoods and daily life, putting Jewish families, children and communities at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mamdani-backed House candidates were part of a push to the left of the party that came alongside wins by legislature candidates handpicked by the Democratic Socialists of America.<\/a><\/p>\n

The results were compared to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s victory in the 2018 elections and insiders and experts already say they could shift power in the state Democratic Party and reshape policy priorities for years to come.<\/p>\n

Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Committee, speaks at the election night party for former Rep. Tom Suozzi. AP<\/p>\n

Chevalier came under intense scrutiny during the campaign but still defeated five-term incumbent Espaillat in a close contest in the 13th House District, which covers Harlem\/Washington Heights and parts of the Bronx.<\/p>\n

She had attended an anti-Israeli rally <\/a>in Times Square one day after Hamas\u2019 horrific terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. At the rally, demonstrators torched the Israeli flag and flashed swastikas.<\/p>\n

Chevalier centered her platform on halting US military aid to Israel and pushing for full divestment from the Jewish state.<\/p>\n

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigns for former city comptroller Brad Lander on NY\u2019s primary election day Tuesday. Lander ousted incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, winning the Democratic nomination for the 10th Congressional District. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

DSA candidate Valdez, who is now a state Assembly member, won an open seat in Brooklyn-Queens House District 7 by defeating Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, the favored candidate of retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lander \u2014 who is Jewish and a former DSA member, claimed Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, He easily defeated two-term incumbent Goldman in a landslide.<\/p>\n

Brad Lander high-fives people during the NYC Pride March on Sunday. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Dan Goldman speaks to hundreds, including Holocaust survivors, their families and dignitaries, gathered at Temple Emanu-El for New York\u2019s Annual Gathering of Remembrance. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n

Pollsters have noted a dramatic shift in the Democratic Party against Israel after the Gaza war.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe voters who turned out were anti-Israel. The people who were fired up were anti-Israel and there was no counter to that,\u201d said pollster Bradley Honan <\/a>of the Honan Strategy Group.<\/p>\n

A Gallup poll released <\/a>in February found that more than half of Democrats in the US are anti-Israel \u2014 the first time a majority of members of a major political party had a negative opinion of the Jewish state. The question has been asked by the poll since 1989.<\/p>\n

Only 33% of Dems surveyed by Gallup said they had a favorable view of Israel, while a whopping 60% viewed the Jewish State unfavorably and 4% had no opinion.<\/p>\n

Jacobs acknowledged that support of Israel is a divisive issue within the party, but it has also become more so in the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

Rep. Adriano Espaillat addresses healthcare workers and supporters during a 1199SEIU rally. Matt Roberts\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s conduct during the war in Gaza has galvanized the anti-Israel movement.<\/p>\n

Jacobs, who is pro-Israel, believes the criticism is warranted nut he also said the pro-Palestinian, Israel haters are spreading falsehoods that need to be challenged.<\/p>\n

The front page of the New York Post on Monday, June 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaying Israel is committing genocide is wrong. It\u2019s war,\u201d Jacobs said.<\/p>\n

He also said Israel is not an \u201capartheid\u201d country as critics claim, saying minority Arab residents have rights like other citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s socialist cronies who swept last week\u2019s Democratic primaries boasted about an affordability message \u2014 but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[875,8069,4866,1091,68,60,61,24539,426,57,46937,9,11,10,49,51,50,87,58,82],"class_list":["post-280986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-adriano-espaillat","tag-brad-lander","tag-democratic-primary","tag-democratic-socialists-of-america","tag-exclusive","tag-israel","tag-israel-hamas-war","tag-jay-jacobs","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-metro","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-politics","tag-us-news","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280986","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=280986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}