In the most Jewish city in America, it’s no surprise that Jews played central roles both in electing and opposing Zohran Mamdani. Across those divides, urgent challenges face us — with consequences for New York City, American democracy, and the Jewish people.
For New Yorkers, the incoming mayor and the movement that supported him have critical work ahead: to deliver on the affordability agenda that won the election. For those beyond New York, the effort to build an affordable, safe, joyful city can be a model for opposing Donald Trump … and addressing the conditions that enabled his rise. “In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light,” Mamdani said on election night.
Inside Jewish communities, we face another huge challenge: healing the divisions that this race exposed. Andrew Cuomo cynically exploited the fears of Jewish voters — and exacerbated them. Amid the trauma of Oct. 7 and atrocities committed in our name in Gaza, with antisemitism and authoritarianism on the rise, we must now confront deeper tensions about what it means to be Jewish.
We’re alarmed by our community’s division. More than 1,000 rabbis across the country effectively endorsed Cuomo — breaking a longstanding practice of keeping electoral politics off the bimah — with nary a word about the Islamophobia that Mamdani endured. Nothing similar happened opposing Trump, say, pardoning Proud Boys.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and UJA/AJC/JCRC post-election statements offered no congratulations or partnership. The ADL gallingly created a “Mamdani monitor”; something they never did when Trump hired white supremacists. This, despite Mamdani’s dozens of meetings with Jewish leaders and commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, including his retaining of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the city’s second Jewish police commissioner.
We know what’s behind this: hostility to Mamdani’s positions on Israel (which mirror views held by millions of Americans, including a growing number, if a minority, of American Jews). And a sense, stated outright by some and implicitly by others, that Jewish concerns come first.
With the election behind us, and an uncertain future ahead, we need to face four critical questions: Will we let our divisions over Israel prevent us from uniting to oppose authoritarianism? Will we focus only on our Jewish safety, believing it can be protected in a vacuum, or insist on working for collective safety? What do we owe to New York City, among the greatest refuges our people have ever known? What kind of community do we want to be after the election?
We’re American Jewish leaders who believe our safety depends on inclusive democracy and the wellbeing of all. Jamie’s work with Bend the Arc: Jewish Action — the largest national grassroots Jewish group working on domestic issues — proves that coalitions can thrive even amid deep disagreement on Israel-Palestine. Brad’s campaign for mayor was defined by partnership with Zohran to defeat Cuomo, and by standing up to ICE on behalf of immigrant neighbors.
We know that we can and must find a way to heal our community. Jews have been debating these very questions for generations. We must stay in relationship with those who disagree.
We must lead with our shared humanity and recognize that our identities are not limited to our Jewishness. When Muslims, immigrants, LGBTQ, disabled, and Black and Brown communities are threatened, Jews are threatened. Not only because so many of us share those identities, but because they are weaponized against each other, one by one. First they came…
In New York, Jewish leaders should commit to working in good faith with Mamdani’s administration to protect our shared future. Nationally, we must continue to hold coalitions together — even in discomfort — to keep one another safe. We must work for transformational policies that meet people’s material needs, knowing that unmet needs breed resentment and hate. That’s a critical component for tackling antisemitism and all bigotry at their roots.
American Jews don’t have to choose between our safety and wellbeing, and that of our neighbors. That’s a dead end. We care about what everyone cares about. And we also care about dismantling antisemitism.
Nationally, the issue Jews rank first is democracy. Because we know the stronger the democracy, the safer Jews — and all people — are. Our multifaith, multiracial majority is the biggest threat to Trump’s attempts at authoritarian rule. That’s why he targets us.
With Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House all in frighteningly right-wing hands, our coalition is our last resort. But take comfort, because it is also our most powerful.
Lander is the New York City comptroller and recent mayoral candidate. Beran is CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, one of the most prominent Jewish groups to endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor.
