More than 1,000 rabbis throughout the US signed an open letter condemning Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election, for defending the slogan “Globalize the Intifada” and undermining Israel’s legitimacy with threats to imprison Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Zev Brenner, an Orthodox rabbi who is CEO and host of Talkline Network, the leading Jewish radio and podcast platform in the United States with millions of views, concern about Mamdani “cuts across Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform lines in New York.”
Polls tell a troubling story, showing Mamdani as a front-runner in the upcoming election. Although in recent polls 43% of Jews were leaning toward independent former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, 38% of New York Jews still supported Mamdani.
According to Brenner, Mamdani has made it very clear that he’s anti-Israel. His office has organized anti-Israel rallies. His father is a virulently anti-Israel professor at Columbia University; and his mother, a filmmaker, gets funding from Qatar and financier George Soros. Brenner said that Mamdani has shown he is willing to make compromises on anything but Israel.
“Usually, when someone runs for office in New York, they go out of their way to at the very least pretend to love Israel,” Brenner says. “Mamdani, on the other hand, makes no pretense. He says he is going to be a ‘protector of the Jewish people,’ but he openly hates Israel.”
What does this mean in practical terms? The Magazine asked a few New Yorkers.
“At the very least, it may mean a Hanukkah party at Gracie Mansion but no Israel Day Parade down Fifth Avenue,” Brenner says. “If there were to be a parade, he’d be the first mayor who didn’t march in it. More importantly, Mayor Eric Adams provided over $1 million in police security for the parade. Not only is Mamdani not likely to spare police to monitor an Israel Day Parade, but he is talking about defunding the police altogether.”
Defunding the police is a terrifying thought, according to Carole Shamula, a member of the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn, who says she wants to call a “Mordecai and Esther fast” before election day.
“Imagine dialing 911 and no one is there to respond,” she says. Her community and many others already employ security patrols and off-duty police presence in synagogues, but she says, “having a police force in place is necessary to prevent bedlam.”
Rabbi Abe Faur, a rabbi in the Sephardi Brooklyn community, urges people to “vote as if their life depends on it – because it does depend on it.”
His concern is not just the defunding of police but Mamdani’s plan to appoint a civilian board to oversee discipline of police officers. He says this is likely to cause mass resignation of police officers. He predicts antisemites on the Right and the Left uniting and converging on Jewish schools, synagogues, and in Jewish neighborhoods. “There aren’t going to be enough police to stop them,” he warns.
Brenner points out that “Mamdani suggests that we use social workers instead of police officers. So why does he walk around with armed security guards? He should have social workers protecting him.”
Another prominent Sephardi rabbi, Rabbi Eli Mansour, also warns, “The community may be in peril.” He urges people to take five minutes to register to vote and 10 minutes to actually vote.
Brenner speculates, “If [Mamdani is] mayor, there will be more crime on the streets. Misdemeanors won’t be enforced. He won’t prosecute antisemites or violent pro-Palestinian demonstrations. He won’t send the police to arrest trespassers on college campuses. He is on record for calling for legalizing prostitution. He has weekly meetings with the New York City Democrat Socialists of America, who are unashamedly for looser laws when it comes to crime. He is anti-Zionist and anti-Israel. Someone who is for free buses, rent freezes, free supermarkets, free Palestine, is also going to end up with free unemployment.”
According to Brenner, both Satmar Hassidic groups invited Mamdani to their sukkah to quasi-endorse him. One of the anti-Zionist Satmar activists was quoted as congratulating Mamdani on his “win” – asking, “Why do we have to wait a few weeks?”
No one is happy with any of the mayoral candidate choices, Brenner says. There are bitter feelings about Cuomo’s handling of COVID, and many blame him for the nursing homes that became death traps for the elderly; but Brenner says that so far, among the Orthodox Jews, 50,000 people have registered to vote, and he thinks Cuomo is capable and has leadership abilities.
“I believe the Jewish vote is moving in Cuomo’s direction,” he says.
“The Syrian community took voter registration to new levels,” he states. “Brooklyn Yeshiva Day School Magen David wouldn’t let kids register for school without their parents registering to vote, and the iconic Congregation Shaarei Zion refused to sell seats for the High Holy Days unless congregants agreed to register to vote.
“One big lavish party held in Deal, New Jersey, for the New York crowd signed up 500 people to vote,” he adds.
“In our community,” Shamula says, “everybody is making a strong effort to enlist anyone who didn’t register – the elderly, people who don’t understand the importance of this vote.”
Although Brenner knows people who vote party line, he is hoping that they will cross the party line or split the ticket.
Republican Curtis Sliwa is polling in the teens and has a strong record of being extremely supportive of Jews and of Israel. It is thought that his chances are slim at best. He is being urged by some to drop out of the race to help push Cuomo ahead.
“This is a whole new ballgame because of what Mamdani represents,” says Dov Hikind, former longtime Democratic New York State assemblyman. “He couldn’t find it in his heart to express condemnation for the Oct. 7 massacre.”
Hikind points out that political activist Linda Sarsour, according to the New York Post, played a critical role in Mamdani’s political life. “She could even end up being a deputy mayor or be given an executive position in his government to carry out his agenda,” he adds.
“Worst-case scenario over a period of time, New York becomes a place where Jews truly cannot live,” says Hikind. “Every other candidate that ran things says that New York needs more police officers. Mamdani will not only not increase the force but will increase the attrition, and we will have less police officers. When Mamdani is mayor, it will be worse than it was with mayor David Dinkins. Dinkins was a tzaddik compared to Mamdani.
“If Mamdani wins, Hamas in Gaza will celebrate. They will see this as a major victory.
“Many Jewish communities have been quietly registering people – doing an incredible job. I hope that will show on election night.”
In a public statement, Hikind switched from endorsing Sliwa to urging people to vote for Cuomo because he feels that Mamdani must be defeated at all costs.
Brenner says that while some of the threats Mamdani has made – like arresting Netanyahu or stopping trade with Israel and supporting boycotts, sanctions and divestments – would not come under his jurisdiction. “Mamdani could make life tough for Israeli businesses and could enforce punitive measures against Israeli interests in New York. The city may close funding for groups involved in funding Israel. Even though he says he is ‘pro-Jewish’ and just ‘anti-Israel,’ the overall tone it would create is that Jews are not welcome in New York.”
Brenner says out that while “tone” may not be harmful, the quality of life will go down for all New Yorkers because of his socialist affiliation.
“If he wins, it is definitely going to bump up aliyah to Israel, moves to Teaneck and other places in New Jersey, as well as Florida and Texas,” Brenner conjectures.
While Talkline has featured call-ins on the election, Brenner says not a single call has come in to endorse Mamdani. “Not one. It’s in his kishkes to be anti-Israel,” Brenner says. “Israel is the Nakba, according to Mamdani. Why is it acceptable to say ‘Globalize the Intifada’? Would anyone get away with saying ‘Globalize the KKK’? Even with the ceasefire in effect, he persists with the rhetoric.”
What is the takeaway for New Yorkers?
Brenner says New York is resilient, and that even if Mamdani wins, it will rebound and there will eventually be a Republican governor.
He says the majority of Jews still support Israel.
But right now, he suggests, everyone who lives in New York or knows someone in New York should urge 18 people to vote.
“We can make a difference and organize. We need more Jews registering to vote, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to get people involved in local elections. Mamdani got where he is by starting in local elections.”
Shamula urges people to vote, register others to vote, and to pray.
“New Yorkers have become very comfortable in their lives, and now God is making us very uncomfortable. You don’t get a guy like Mamdani unless God is calling the shots,” she says.
“Recognize that God is calling out, is trying to get our attention. He is begging us to look up. We have to do what we can, but ultimately He is in charge.”
Jews for Zohran – What’s behind their support?
As the joke goes – two Jews, three opinions. According to 11,000 supporters on Instagram and 40,000 followers on X for Zohran Mamdani’s “grassroots-led campaign,” Jews are indeed voting for Zohran.
Though this move boggles the mind of many, those voting yes to Mamdani generally believe he will make New York City affordable and safe for families. They also feel the popular candidate will keep New Yorkers from getting priced out of the city they call home and will create housing, transportation, and childcare for all people. A large chunk of his voters are said to be young, with some positing this is due to their affinity for socialism over capitalism.
The Jews for Zohran group is sponsored by the Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, a 6,000-member grassroots organization that seeks to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy, free from all forms of racist violence. They claim to draw from their Jewish values and diverse histories, and plan to dismantle the systems and institutions perpetuating racism, inequity and injustice.
Their goal is to “withstand not only an explicitly white Christian nationalist federal government but also the powerful police forces and corrections unions that will gladly enforce unjust laws, keep people afraid, and provide muscle for the political Right’s agenda.”
As The Guardian notes on Oct. 26, for Jewish New York Mamdani has become “a vehicle for [the community’s] tensions” in an electorate “fractured over Israel.” We await the final tally, which will tell more of the story.