Jews in NYC & Israel must unite to stop Mamdani



When it comes to voting in the United States, conservative and liberal Jews don’t agree on many issues. In the high-profile New York City mayoral race, they must now unite over Israel and being Jewish.

Zohran Mamdani has divided Jews and mobilized a segment of Jewish voters originally from Israel to support his opponents. Despite sharp party-line differences, a pressing question remains: Can those Jewish voters prevent New York City from electing a socialist who denies Israel’s right to exist as an independent Jewish state and will not even denounce the phrase “Globalize the Intifada”?

As Election Day approaches on Nov. 4 and tensions in the city rise, Jewish New Yorkers could be pivotal in stopping Mamdani from unleashing what some fear could be a field day against the Jews. A growing, progressive, younger group of Jews empathize with Mamdani’s anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian message. A recent poll by the Honan Strategy Group showed that as much as 20% of the Jewish vote could go to Mamdani.

Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas in Israel, acknowledges this is a highly unusual scenario. “We are focused on getting a consensus candidate that can win and best beat Mamdani. It’s in the interest of Israel and the Jewish people, and supersedes any kind of partisanship.”

At the same time, Heather Stone, vice chair of Democrats Abroad in Israel, is worried about splitting the vote. “Cuomo and Adams are calling for other non-aligned candidates to drop out based on their voter percentages in September,” Stone said. She hopes rallying around one candidate — be it Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo or Curtis Sliwa — will be enough to outnumber Mamdani.

None of the candidates, in Stone’s view, are ideal. But the idea of electing a mayor of the world’s largest Jewish population outside Israel who “is not in line with Jewish values and doesn’t support the state of Israel” and who would arrest the Israeli prime minister if he came to the UN is deeply troubling.

According to the U.S. Embassy, approximately 600,000 Americans live in Israel. Zell and Stone estimate a large number of them hail from New York City, including many from ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic communities. Mobilizing those votes has become the immediate priority. Americans in Israel can vote by absentee ballot and those registered for state and local elections are eligible to participate.

“Many New Yorkers still maintain a Democratic registration in New York”, said Zell. “They have more impact at the primary level than if they were registered Republicans.” According to the NYC Economic Development Corp., the New York metropolitan area hosts the largest Israeli-American community in the U.S., with more than 20,000 Israeli-born residents in NYC.

Mamdani’s recent attempt to soften “Globalize the Intifada” didn’t persuade Zell, who believes the change was superficial. What concerns him more are Jewish voters in New York who are deceiving themselves about what Mamdani represents.

If elected, Mamdani could implement discriminatory tax policies targeting Jewish communities, particularly Hasidic and Orthodox groups, Zell warned. He argues that Mamdani is likely to promote anti-Israel policies, including support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, and to target charitable organizations in New York that donate to Israel.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) has reached out to Mamdani in an effort to establish dialogue ahead of the election. Stone says the JDCA’s CEO is pressing Mamdani to understand why the “Globalize the Intifada” rhetoric is unacceptable and dangerous. For some Jewish Democrats, there’s a sliver of hope that opening a conversation might lead to change.

Speaking of hope, in his race last year for the 16th congressional seat against centrist Democrat George Latimer, Jamaal Bowman, an incumbent member of the hardline, leftish “Squad”, accused Israel of “genocide.” A voter registration drive encouraged Jews to switch their party registration from Republican and independent in order to vote for Latimer in the Democratic primary. An online campaign, targeting Jewish voters, raised money for Latimer with the message “antisemitism is on the ballot”.

Today, Latimer represents parts of Westchester and the Bronx.

This time, Democrats, Republicans and independents — young and old — need to set aside their political differences and take Mamdani’s past and present statements at face value. Every Israeli-American and American-Israeli eligible to vote for mayor in New York City must turn out to defeat him.

Friedson is president and CEO of The Media Line news agency and founder of the Press and Policy Student Program, the Mideast Press Club and the Women’s Empowerment Program.



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