{"id":373312,"date":"2026-10-14T22:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T22:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/373312\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T22:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T22:02:10","slug":"mark-levine-will-not-buy-israel-bonds-breaking-campaign-pledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/373312\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Levine will not buy Israel bonds, breaking campaign pledge"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week\u2019s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what\u2019s new with Jews in the city.\u00a0Sign up here to get it in your inbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What you need to know today<\/p>\n

Mark Levine will not reinvest in Israel bonds, breaking a campaign promise. City comptroller Mark Levine pledged to buy Israel bonds<\/a> during his 2025 campaign after his predecessor, Brad Lander, chose to disinvest from them. Levine, who is Jewish and has family in Israel, told The New York Times<\/a> that his decision was \u201cbased on financial considerations only, not politics.\u201d Levine has repeatedly criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s fierce opposition to Israel. Mamdani praised Levine\u2019s decision on Wednesday, saying<\/a>, \u201cWe don\u2019t purchase the bonds of any other sovereign nation. I don\u2019t think that we should make an exception when it comes to Israel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blakeman called Mamdani \u201can antisemite\u201d in his debate with Hochul. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman invoked Mamdani as a cudgel against Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, in their only televised debate<\/a> on Tuesday. \u201cAntisemitism is on the rise and it\u2019s occurred under your watch, and Zohran Mamdani is fueling it,\u201d Blakeman, who is Jewish, told Hochul. He also accused Hochul of \u201ccampaigning around the state with a guy who doesn\u2019t believe in American values.\u201d Mamdani responded<\/a> on Wednesday to Blakeman\u2019s recent claim<\/a> that the mayor would not stop antisemitic riots and rapists. \u201cIt\u2019s not even a dog whistle,\u201d said Mamdani. \u201cIt\u2019s just directly racist to say that I would not respond to Jewish New Yorkers being killed and raped.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani is standing by Tisch despite calls from his leftist allies. Growing voices in Mamdani\u2019s leftist base have called for him to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch after a man was shot last week by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in New York\u2019s Marble Hill neighborhood. Tisch and Mamdani have maintained a rapport despite her moderate, pro-Israel views. Mamdani told reporters on Tuesday, \u201cJessica Tisch is the police commissioner. I have no plans to change that.\u201d The NYPD by law does not cooperate with ICE<\/a>; activists believe the men and women in blue can do more to stop arrests by immigration cops.<\/p>\n

Can Jewish non-Zionists build new institutions? Our reporter Joseph Strauss has the scoop<\/a> on a gathering of left-wing Jews hosted by Jewish Currents magazine on Monday. The event focused on boosting fledgling groups of \u201canti-Zionist,\u201d \u201cnon-Zionist\u201d and \u201cdiasporist\u201d Jews who seek to build new institutions that have no attachment to Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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