Jewish actor Mandy Patinkin voiced support for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in a video circulated on Instagram on Tuesday, calling Mamdani “a deeply thoughtful human being” who would be “the best NYC mayor imaginable,” adding that he and his family feel this “as New Yorkers” and “as Jews” who want “kindness, compassion and empathy” in politics.
Patinkin’s remarks came as early voting continues ahead of the Nov. 4 general election. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and a New York State Assembly member from Queens, faces independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. New York City’s early voting period runs from Oct. 25 through Nov. 2, according to the city’s Board of Elections, with Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Recent local coverage has noted tightening polling in the closing days.
Mamdani’s campaign has energized progressive voters with proposals on affordability, transit and housing, while also drawing intense scrutiny over his positions on Israel. The Jerusalem Post has reported extensively on criticism from New York Jewish leaders and organizations, including calls for Mamdani to abandon rhetoric seen as delegitimizing Zionism and Israel, and debate-stage attacks from rivals accusing him of stoking antisemitism, which he denies.
Zohran Mamdani's controversy
Coverage in the Post has also detailed Mamdani’s longstanding advocacy for Palestinian causes and examined what he has said about Jews and Israel as the city’s large Jewish electorate weighs the race.
The general election follows a contentious primary season that elevated Mamdani to the top of the Democratic field and set up the three-way contest with Cuomo and Sliwa.
Patinkin and his wife, Kathryn Grody, used a New York Times Magazine interview in July to condemn Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and to urge Jews worldwide to reflect on whether the situation is “acceptable and sustainable.” Grody said compassion for Gazans is “very Jewish” and rejected claims that criticizing Israeli policy is antisemitic. Patinkin recalled disliking Benjamin Netanyahu’s “vibe” when he first encountered him in the 1980s and argued that Netanyahu’s right-wing government endangers both Israel and Jews globally, asking Jews to consider the moral cost of the war.
The remarks fit Patinkin’s long record of left-leaning activism on Israel, including a 2020 New Israel Fund video opposing West Bank annexation, a 2021 thread calling for Palestinian “liberation,” and declining to join a 1998 tribute for Israel’s 50th anniversary. The comments drew sharp backlash from pro-Israel influencers online, while many on the New York Times’ TikTok praised Patinkin.