A large majority of American Jews believed the election of New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani would harm the security of the city’s Jewish community, according to findings released Thursday by the Jewish People Policy Institute.
The November edition of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People Index showed that 67 percent of respondents believed Mamdani’s victory was likely to endanger New York’s Jews.
Only 6 percent believed their security would improve. When asked how they felt about his election, the most common answer was “concern,” selected by 56 percent of respondents.
The survey also found that nearly two-thirds of American Jews, 64 percent, viewed Mamdani as both anti-Israel and antisemitic. This was the highest level recorded since JPPI began tracking attitudes toward him in July. Another 19 percent said they viewed him as anti-Israel but not antisemitic.
According to the post-election data referenced in the survey, Mamdani received support from about one-third of Jewish voters in his successful bid to lead the largest Jewish population center outside Israel.
Long-running concerns about Mamdani
Mamdani built much of his political identity around sharp criticism of Israel, and his rhetoric over the years drew repeated objections from Jewish organizations. His election as mayor of New York, the heart of American Jewish life, intensified those concerns.
For many respondents, JPPI noted, the issue was not only his policy positions but also the atmosphere they believed his statements helped create.
Jewish communal leaders in the United States accused Mamdani of using language that inflamed hostility toward Israel in ways that spilled over into hostility toward Jews.
Although Mamdani stated publicly that he opposed antisemitism, critics said his approach to Israel-related issues contributed to rising anxiety among Jewish New Yorkers. The new poll suggested that this anxiety had deepened significantly since his election.
Strong Zionist identity, despite enduring rhetoric
The survey coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1975 UN General Assembly decision that labelled Zionism as racism. Despite the resolution's overturn in 1991, the claim continued to surface in global political discourse, especially within some activist circles.
Most American Jews surveyed rejected the claim. A majority of respondents said there was nothing racist in Zionism. A smaller portion said Zionism itself was not racism, though some people interpreted it that way. Only a tiny minority accepted the accusation that Zionism was racist.
When respondents were asked what they thought the average American believed, they were far more pessimistic, with only a small fraction saying they believed most Americans saw Zionism as nonracist.
Support for Zionism remained forceful within the Jewish community. Seventy percent of respondents said they considered themselves Zionists, and another 12 percent said they supported Zionism even if they did not personally use the label. Only a tiny fraction was identified as anti-Zionist.
Was anti-Zionism antisemitism
The survey also examined how American Jews viewed the relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, an issue that moved to the center of public debate after the October 7 Hamas attacks and the Gaza war.
A clear majority, 72 percent, said anti-Zionism was antisemitism, either definitely or usually. Another 17 percent believed it was antisemitic only occasionally. Eleven percent believed the two ideas were entirely different.
The divide between political worldviews was pronounced. Among respondents who identified as strongly liberal, fewer than half said anti-Zionism was antisemitism. Among those who identified as strongly conservative, more than ninety percent believed that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.
Antisemitism fears across the political spectrum
American Jews expressed near-universal concern about rising antisemitism. Ninety-nine percent of respondents said they were worried about antisemitism in the United States.
Most said they were concerned about antisemitism coming from both the left and the right. Twenty percent said they were more worried about antisemitism from the progressive left, and 17 percent said they were more concerned about antisemitism from right-wing circles.
This sense of being caught between two ideological extremes reflected a broader tension in American Jewish life. As debates over Israel and Zionism intensified, many Jews reported mounting pressure and growing hostility from opposing sides of the political spectrum.
Strong attachment to tradition ahead of Hanukkah
Despite these anxieties, the survey showed that Jewish religious practice remained strong. More than 90 percent of respondents said they would light Hanukkah candles this year. Eighty-two percent said they would light them every night of the holiday, and 11 percent said they would light them on some of the nights.
The findings suggested that, even during a period of heightened fear, American Jews were reinforcing their commitment to community and tradition.
JPPI noted that the Voice of the Jewish People Index was not a fully representative national survey but rather a standing panel that tracked trends across a wide range of Jewish identities and viewpoints.
The institute said it provided an important monthly snapshot of how American Jews interpreted major events and how their attitudes evolved.