Jews can win back the Democratic Party

SAPIR: Volume Seventeen |  Spring 2025

by Sara Forman

Published on May 13, 2025

The American Jewish community’s long track record of pluralistic activism reflects a deep commitment to (largely) progressive governance. For decades, its contributions focused on issues with a universal focus: the advancement of labor rights, religious freedom, feminism, disability accessibility, voting rights, and civil rights. These commitments are chiefly why American Jews have historically made the Democratic Party their political home as voters and as donors. But the problems inside that home, namely increased hostility toward Israel and apathy toward distinctly Jewish concerns, have become impossible to ignore.

It’s not the first time Jews had to question their sense of home. In his seminal work, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States, the noted German-born Jewish economist and World War II resistance leader Albert O. Hirschman explained that when an organization exhibits signs of decline, its members are confronted with the choice to exercise their right to voice their grievances and exert pressure for improvement, or their right to exit, with loyalty being the measure of the two.

Legacy Jewish organizations, both nonprofit and political, such as the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Federation system, and AIPAC exemplify the centrist institutional convergence by working as advocates within established political and social frameworks. These groups have long been pillars of bipartisan Jewish political advocacy, with their focus on combating antisemitism and other forms of hatred, promoting civic engagement, and supporting Israel. With their strategic use of what Hirschman referred to as voice, these traditional organizations leverage their institutional credibility and access to policymakers to push for stronger hate crime laws, access to relevant social services, and, in AIPAC’s case, support of Israel as a bedrock of American foreign policy. Much of the Jewish community has historically been happy to be represented by such institutions.

But unlike legacy community organizations, individual Jews can operate as free agents, and many on the political Left have opted to exit these organizations, some because their voice failed to persuade, some because they were never all that at home in the first place. Born out of this disaffiliation are groups such as J Street, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), and IfNotNow. And where are they now exercising their voice? The Democratic Party.

The left-flank insurgency in the Democratic Party has been growing at least since 2004. It began with the presidential campaign of then–Representative Dennis Kucinich. It gained nearly unstoppable momentum with Bernie Sanders’s reshaping of internal Democratic discourse, which in turn helped lead a weakened Hillary Clinton to lose to Donald Trump in 2016. Today, the Democratic Party finds itself relatively rudderless in its domestic squabbling over social justice issues and support for Israel.

The question is: Which Jewish voices will determine the future of the Democratic Party? Will it be those of House Democratic Steering Committee Co-Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, two of the highest-ranking Jewish elected officials in American history, the latter of whom recently wrote a book about antisemitism, including in his own party? Or will it be Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)?

The latter group has made powerful use of its identity-based affiliation by becoming a vocal contingent within both the identity-based activist insurgency and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). These groups have been smart to treat internal party politics as the crucial battleground. They have exercised their voice to elect far-left politicians in low-turnout primary contests, particularly in locales that are so solidly Democratic that non-Democrats can’t plausibly expect to win. The candidates they have elected since 2018 can now serve as a bench for ever-higher offices. This new generation of elected illiberals now holds more than a dozen state and municipal offices in New York alone, many running on a blatantly anti-Israel agenda, presented in intersectionalist language, whitewashing the Trojan horse of antisemitism.

A prime example of how Democratic Party infrastructure can be exploited for far-left purposes is the mayoral campaign of current New York City candidate and New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani is running on a populist platform that includes things such as “free” buses (never mind that the mayor doesn’t control the MTA), city-owned grocery stores that will fix prices, and an unrelenting commitment to calling the war in Gaza a “genocide.” He has led all candidates in the race in fundraising; his total number of donations (16,000 donors) dwarfs that of his closest competitors, including formidable front-runner Andrew Cuomo (2,800 donors).

At the same time that the far-Left has gained ground in the Democratic Party machine, some Jews have chosen to exit the party entirely to become Independents or Republicans. While some have trumpeted this “Jexit,” the numbers have been debated. (What is certainly true is that Trump won a larger share of the Jewish vote in 2024 than he did in 2016.)

The time is past due for liberals and moderates to save the party from its own activist class. In New York, a state governed almost entirely by Democrats on a municipal, legislative, and executive level, and home to the world’s second-largest Jewish community, failure to do so will undermine Jewish causes precipitously. The moderates and Jewish mainstream still hold the clear advantage — organizationally, financially, and politically. There is no reason to give it up and back down from this fight.

The New York Solidarity Network (NYSN), a first-of-its-kind centrist Jewish membership organization, mobilized in the wake of this anti-Israel activism to focus on local races and stave off the wave of extremist anti-Israel lawmakers headed for federal office. Since October 7, NYSN membership and involvement have grown exponentially, after many Jews realized it was the now-or-never moment.

The network’s membership structure is novel yet critical: Its members provide financial support directly to candidates facing DSA opponents in New York’s Democratic primary. Disgruntled Independents or other would-be exiters are encouraged to reclaim their voice by registering as Democrats to vote in such primaries, where New York’s races are effectively decided. These races are often won by a handful of votes, not to mention for a fraction of the campaign cost. (A competitive New York State Assembly race, for example, will cost around $450,000, which amounts to a rounding error in a competitive U.S. House race).

NYSN has also built strong coalitions outside the community, sharing pragmatic and realistic goals for reshaping communal activism. By building alliances with like-minded moderate and pragmatic groups (many of which were formerly part of the progressive infrastructure), the network is helping to write a new playbook for grassroots intersectional alliances.

But it is not only in such coalitions that Jewish activism has seen a resurgence. New York also has a robust sphere of independent expenditure committees and super PACs with strong ties to, and interest in, traditional Jewish voices, including New Yorkers for a Better Future, Stand Up PAC, Brooklyn BridgeBuilders, and Jewish Voters Action Network. Unlike the traditional Jewish organizations that have aimed to speak for the Jewish community (as, ironically, have organizations such as JVP), this new model empowers Jews to take political action as individuals. Other states and cities ought to follow this model. In Pittsburgh, for instance, the Beacon Coalition, a group currently focused on the mayoral race and battling anti-Israel ballot initiatives and city council votes, has had a wave of successes, bringing the Jewish community together to work toward common liberal anti-leftist goals.

With new vehicles of participation, these constituencies are choosing voice over exit. Restoring New York as a safe place for Jewish life and ensuring that the Democratic Party remains a worthy home for American Jewry are causes as crucial today as they have ever been. And they go hand in hand with maintaining a cohesive center and finding like-minded communities with whom to partner and uplift.

We have refused the option to exit and are building a new and reliable base for Jews and non-Jews alike who align with our values. Whether through traditional philanthropy, political activism, or grassroots efforts, we will need to engage in complex battles to ensure that the illiberal activists remain a fringe element and do not replace the mainstream. The Hirschman paradigm, and a firm commitment to voice rather than exit, is possible only if our activism is focused on opposing the acceptance of casual and overt antisemitism, support for Israel, and our community’s safety.

Hirschman didn’t publish Exit, Voice, and Loyalty until 1970. After trying to prevent the Nazi rise to power, he left Germany for Paris in 1933, taking a leave from his graduate studies in 1936 to fight the Fascists in Spain, working with the Emergency Rescue Committee during World War II, and then for the U.S. Army during and after the war. The lesson of his indefatigable wartime life of non-surrender is simple: Wherever you have a voice, use it. Dare them to take it from you.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, could be New York’s next mayor. Here’s how Jews feel about him.

By Jackie Hajdenberg

May 19, 2025 7:02 pm | Updated May 21, 2025 4:50 pm

Mamdani, 33, would be the city’s first Muslim mayor and is very popular among younger voters.

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani arrives onstage at a Brooklyn rally in May 2025. (Madison Swart and Hans Lucas via AFP/Getty Images)

In a crowded field of candidates vying to become the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor — a virtual guarantee of getting the job — Zohran Mamdani stands out in more ways than one.

At 33, Mamdani is the youngest candidate by far. A state Assembly member from Queens affiliated with the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America, he also has less experience in elected office than many of his competitors. And in a city that’s home to about 1 million Jews, Mamdani is a longtime critic of Israel who has supported the movement to boycott it.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has made antisemitism a top issue in his campaign, is leading the polls by a wide margin — 37%, according to a Marist poll released last week. But Mamdani is polling a strong second — at 18% — and gaining traction among young voters who are drawn to his progressive policy agenda. Ranked-choice voting, introduced for city primaries in 2019, means he could well wind up as mayor.

Some Jewish New Yorkers have sworn him off, because of his progressive politics or his stances on Israel or both. But others might well vote for him, political insiders say.

“They’re going to vote for Mamdani, the younger people,” Hank Sheinkopf, the New York Democratic strategist, said in an interview. “I think there will likely be a generation split. And that will be shocking to the Jewish leadership.”

Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

The candidate, who was narrowly elected to the state Assembly in 2021, wants to turn unused subway retail space into crisis drop-in centers for the homeless, freeze rent for rent-stabilized tenants, eliminate fares on city buses, increase the minimum wage and improve access to healthcare. He also wants to shift some funding for the police to a new Department of Community Safety that he says would take a less punitive approach to the city’s ills, including hate crimes.

His progressive stances extend into the Middle East, where the Democratic Socialists have long taken a strongly anti-Israel stance. In Albany, he sponsored “Not on Our Dime,” legislation that would prohibit nonprofit organizations from “engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity” — a bill that, some worry, could penalize the charitable activity of many of the city’s Jewish organizations. Mamdani has also expressed support for the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel — though he hasn’t said whether he’d seek to have New York City participate if he became mayor.

In December 2023, he participated in a five-day hunger strike outside the White House to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. More recently, he also spoke out against the detainment by ICE of Columbia University campus protester leader Mahmoud Khalil, and, in April, he appeared on the Twitch show of the left-wing, anti-Zionist streamer Hasan Piker — a vital gateway to younger voters where Piker regularly criticizes Israel.

Among Mamdani’s big-name supporters are Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among the highest-profile critics of Israel in Congress, and the Sunrise Movement, a climate group that is explicitly anti-Zionist.

As Mamdani’s star has risen, scrutiny on him has increased. On Friday morning, Politico reported that Mamdani declined to sign a state Assembly resolution recognizing Holocaust Memorial Day in New York on Jan. 27, and that he also declined to sign a resolution congratulating Israel on its 77th anniversary. (Mamdani signed Holocaust Memorial Day resolutions in 2021 and 2022, and publicly condemned the Holocaust on his social media.) In a video his campaign released that evening, Mamdani accused Politico of “falsely claiming that I refused to condemn the Holocaust,” calling the article a “baseless accusation.”

Under pressure from The Free Press, he also sharpened his answer to the question of whether he believes Israel has a right to exist, finally landing on an unqualified “yes.”

For some of New York City’s 1 million Jews, many of whom have strong ties to Israel, Mamdani’s background, stances and actions make him a nonstarter.

“I never thought that we were reaching the point where antisemitism is potentially on the ballot,” said Sara Forman, executive director of Solidarity PAC, a super PAC formed out of New York Solidarity Network, which aims to advance pro-Israel candidates in New York.

“Mamdani’s political compass is guided by a fixation on Israel and alignment with individuals and groups that support taking any means necessary to ensure a ‘river to the sea’ does not include the State of Israel — regardless of anything that he has been saying in the last couple of weeks,” she added.

While Solidarity PAC has endorsed multiple candidates for City Council races — including one Jewish challenger, Maya Kornberg, in a race against DSA-backed incumbent Shahana Hanif in Park Slope — it has not yet published its mayoral race guide. The guide is designed to inform Jewish voters and will include endorsements, Forman said.

NYSN’s “wall of shame” lists elected officials and advocacy groups that the group accuses of “justifying Hamas terrorism,” and the group calls on their members to “hold them accountable for their words” and tweet at them. That page includes both Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander, a Jewish candidate for mayor who calls himself “a liberal Zionist who fiercely opposes the occupation.”

The progressive group Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, meanwhile, listed Lander and Mamdani in an unranked dual endorsement. The group has long called for a Gaza ceasefire and more recently has begun describing Israel’s actions there as a “genocide.” But Sophie Ellman-Golan, JFREJ’s director of strategic communications, said Israel wasn’t the animating factor in the group’s endorsements.

“Our priority issues are around making this a really affordable and safe and a welcoming home, to everyone who lives here, no matter when they got here or where they came from,” she said. “We’re in an affordability crisis. I grew up in the city. I know so many people who grew up in the city who are genuinely wondering: How can we possibly afford to stay here and raise a family here?”

Both Lander and Mamdani, she added, would bring a fresh perspective to the mayoralty. “Frankly, I think it will be incredibly powerful to elect our city’s first Muslim mayor in an increasingly Islamophobic political atmosphere,” Ellman-Golan said. “And morally incredibly powerful and long overdue to actually put a progressive Jew in the mayor’s office.”

Mamdani is the son of the Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani and the filmmaker Mira Nair. He was born in Uganda and lived in South Africa before moving to New York with his family at age 8 where he studied at the progressive Bank Street School for Children and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, a selective public school.

While a student at Bowdoin College, he also co-founded the college’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which he credited as the “entryway” to his political career. Prior to his political career, he worked as a mental health counselor and a rapper under the name Mr. Cardamom, and he is known for his savvy with social media — especially TikTok — which has helped him with his campaign for mayor, particularly among younger voters.

But not all younger voters have been won over. Vai Subash, a 22-year-old Jewish graduate student at Columbia University who lives in Ridgewood, Queens, does not plan to rank Mamdai on the ballot.

“I don’t think [Mamdani is] a candidate that has shown any deep care about the Jewish community, especially since after Oct. 7,” said Subash, who has previously worked in women’s rights activism and for the Brooklyn Democrats. “He said some really pointed and harmful comments, in my opinion, and suffered from that.”

But she will not be ranking frontrunner Cuomo either, due to the sexual assault allegations that caused him to resign as governor in 2021.

“For that reason, and also based on allegations of corruption and mistreatment of staff, I cannot support him,” Subash said. “And I was really surprised to see how many people — I mean, honestly, it’s not a lot, but people within the Jewish community — that are backing him.”

Matt Seinuk, 29, is a civil engineer living in the East Village. For Seinuk, the three most important issues this election are affordable housing, the quality of public transit and Jewish communal safety. Israel, he said, is not high on the list.

“Should we really care about what the mayor of a city thinks about foreign politics?” Seinuk said.

He said he recognized that Jews make up a large proportion of the local population — and that Mamdani’s views on Israel are outside the mainstream for Jewish voters. But he said his own qualms were different.

“It’s a little bit scary to me that Zohran is pretty much leading the non-Cuomo candidates,” he said. “But also, as a civil engineer, I do not believe that Zohran’s plans for housing in New York are realistic, nor will [they] have real lasting effects on the cost of living.”

Meanwhile, Cuomo — who resigned as governor 2021 following an investigation into multiple sexual harassment allegations against him — seems to enjoy broad approval among like New York City Jewish voters, currently polling at around 26% among Jewish Democrats in New York City.

Cuomo has a checkered history with at least one set of Jewish voters, those from haredi Orthodox communities: In the fall of 2020, during the pandemic, he announced a cap on religious gathering sizes in some areas with high infection rates, a move that disproportionately affected Orthodox neighborhoods. In 2021, it was also reported that he had spoken disparagingly about Jewish people back in 2006 when he was running for attorney general, saying, “These people and their f—ing ‘tree houses’” about the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Still, Sheinkopf said, Cuomo holds appeal for Jews at the ballot box.

“He’s seen as a stabilizer in a time of chaos,” he said. “Jews don’t like instability, and they’re always looking for a non-Jewish king or queen to protect them. At the moment, he seems like the guy within the Democratic primary.”

By contrast, according to Sheinkopf, “Mamdani is seen, realistically, as a real threat to the Jewish community in New York City.”

Subash said she thought that in the end, Jewish voters would likely be motivated by a wide array of issues when they head to the primary polls on June 24 — and that Mamdani may not be their preferred candidate on any of them

“On the actual policy side, I don’t think he necessarily aligns with the larger Jewish community,” she said, noting that Mamdani’s proposals, like city-owned grocery stores, may be too radical among more centrist Jews.

“I have my own policies, perception, all of that, on Israel,” Subash added. “But I do think that this race is much more local to New York City, and there’s such a large Jewish community and Israeli community here that care about the issues that are happening on the ground here right now.”

Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of the liberal advocacy group New York Jewish Agenda, said the election is likely to exact compromises from almost all Jewish voters.

“The reality, I think, for most Jews, is you’re not going to find a perfect match on Israel-Palestine politics perfectly,” she said, adding that New York City’s Jewish community has a broad range of concerns.

“There are some Jewish voters for whom alignment on Israel is critical,” Wisdom said. “And there are some for whom that’s one of the issues that they’re a little more flexible on, whereas criminal justice reform — they’re just not flexible on that.”

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Solidarity PAC’s yet-to-be-published voter guide will include endorsements. 

Jewish Insider: New Missouri group aims to emerge as political powerhouse against antisemitism in state

The Missouri Alliance Network launched last week, focused on advancing Jewish community priorities in the state

By Marc Rod

April 2, 2025

Last year, an array of Jewish community groups and leaders in St. Louis, spanning the political and religious spectrum, came together with one purpose: unseat former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO).

Rallying behind now-Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO), then a congressional candidate, the community leaders, including 36 local rabbis, mounted an aggressive advocacy effort in support of Bell. When that effort succeeded — Bell won the Democratic primary by nearly six points and went on to win the general election handily — the leaders, many of whom had not worked together prior, said they wanted to find ways to continue their partnership.

That vision is now coming to fruition, with the launch of the Missouri Alliance Network last week, a new PAC that aims to advance Jewish community priorities and fight antisemitism in state and local politics, with plans to take on purveyors of antisemitism on both sides of the aisle, including Bush’s allies.

The group is being led by Stacey Newman, a former state representative who led Jewish outreach for Bell’s campaign. It’s modeled after similar groups popping up around the country, most notably the New York Solidarity Network and Solidarity PAC targeting anti-Israel candidates and lawmakers in New York state politics.

Newman said that it became clear during the campaign which local elected officials weren’t supportive of the Jewish community.

“A corps of us who had never really met before kept talking and realized that getting Wesley elected was just the first step for our community, that we also had to root out antisemitism in local and legislative office,” she explained.

Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham, a board member for the Missouri Alliance Network, said that in the weeks after Bush lost the primary race last year, several local officials issued antisemitic statements, and Jewish community leaders realized they needed to remain active and engaged.

“We met and we said we needed to figure out a way to do what we did for Wesley Bell but with local elected officials as well,” Abraham told Jewish Insider. “The bigger realization for us [was] that this wasn’t just about Cori Bush, but this is an underlying issue across the region and something that we needed to address.”

The group announced its first endorsement on Monday, of Alderwoman Cara Spencer for mayor of St. Louis. Incumbent Mayor Tishuara Jones was an ally and supporter of Bush. The election is just a week away.

“Given the rise in antisemitism we have seen nationally, and locally in St. Louis, the Missouri Alliance Network is proud to endorse Cara Spencer for Mayor of St. Louis,” Newman and Abraham said in a statement. “Cara has met with us, and we feel she will stand by the Jewish community should future issues arise. She is a friend of our broad diverse community who has demonstrated she will work with us and be an ally.” 

Rabbi Brigette Rosenberg, another board member, told JI that the Bell campaign had helped focus the community.

“There was a lot of learning that came out of the Bell campaign in terms of the community recognizing how much we ought to be just paying attention to politics,” Rosenberg said. “We need to be paying attention to who’s sitting in [the capital] Jeff[erson] City, we need to be paying attention to who’s sitting in St. Louis County, or all of our various municipalities, who’s sitting on our school boards … I think for so long, we focused on Washington, D.C., and we haven’t recognized it actually starts in our own neighborhoods.”

Newman said that the Missouri Alliance Network leaders have spoken with and taken tips from similar groups, like Solidarity PAC, and will soon begin recruitment efforts to target a list of elected officials that the group has already begun developing. She described the group as “nonpartisan” and “single-mission.”

Abraham added that the Missouri Alliance Network will meet with and endorse candidates that support the Jewish community on antisemitism, and raise money to support them.

“The biggest piece of this that I’m hoping for is that we’re able to really make it clear that being antisemitic is not acceptable, particularly amongst elected officials, and that we’re going to work hard to ensure that our elected officials are not saying and doing antisemitic things around Missouri,” Abraham said.

Newman said that the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the subsequent wave of antisemitism had helped to focus and bring together a broad swath of the Jewish community in a way that had not happened prior to then.

The leaders of the new group emphasized that it’s not in competition with the local federation or Jewish Community Relations Council, but instead fills a different role that those organizations cannot because they are not legally permitted to get involved in campaigns. Newman said leaders within the federation are supportive of the Missouri Alliance Network.

Newman said the Missouri Alliance Network will also be involved in advocacy work, including supporting an antisemitism bill currently working its way through the state Legislature. She said advocacy is helping the group identify allies to the community, and those who are not supportive.

Rosenberg added that the group’s focus will not only be on removing unfriendly incumbents, but also on meeting with officials and understanding their views and educating them on how legislation impacts the Jewish community.

Jewish leaders noted to JI during the Bush-Bell race that many of the figures supporting Bell hadn’t worked together before, and otherwise held major differences on political issues. But Abraham said that the group has remained united on the issues of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment even after the election. He also noted that that diversity is represented on the Missouri Alliance Network’s advisory council.

“I think having the Missouri Alliance Network is what is likely to keep us together,” Abraham said, noting that supporters have turned out from a range of backgrounds to support their shared priorities. “Now there’s a sense that we need to stick together … We now have a common cause and purpose.”

NY Post: ‘Antisemitic’ activist pushing Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral bid to bring ‘anti-Israel’ agenda to City Hall: critics

By Rich Calder

Published March 22, 2025, 8:18 a.m. ET

Antisemitic activist Linda Sarsour is playing a huge role in trying to get socialist Zohran Mamdani elected NYC’s next mayor.

The Hamas-supporting, Palestinian-American firebrand is pushing Mamdani by spreading a message of anti-Israel hate and leaning on lefties to join the Democratic Party in time for the June 24 primary.

Antisemitic activist Linda Sarsour has been pushing the mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani.Justin Lane/EPA/Shutterstock

Sarsour – a longtime advocate of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign under fire for her extreme views on the Israel-Hamas War – has been campaigning for Mamdani for months, including routinely sending out social-media blasts asking her hundreds of thousands of followers to donate to his campaign.

Sarsour and Mamdani, both card-carrying members of the Democratic Socialists of America, were big supporters of the “Uncommitted National Movement” and “Leave it Blank NY” campaign during last year’s presidential race, which urged Democrats not to vote in the presidential primary to protest then-President Joe Biden’s refusal to condemn Israel defending itself in Gaza.

“As proud Democrats and elected officials and New Yorkers, we endorse the Leave it Blank campaign,” Mamdani, a Queens state assemblyman, said in a video posted with other lefty legislators on X in March 2024.

The same initiatives are also widely credited with ultimately spurring many Democrats not to vote in the general election – won by Republican Donald Trump — and switch to the more radical Working Families Party or other “third parties.”

Now Sarsour and Mamdani are begging the same far-left base to register as Dems and vote for the Ugandan-born Mamdani in the highly contested Democratic mayoral primary.

“I know some of us aren’t feeling any political parties right now but in New York State we have closed primaries and this unfortunately is how it works here! Only Democrats can participate in our primary!” Sarsour posted to her 302,000 Instagram followers on Jan. 25, urging them to register as Dems.

Mamdani has also been accused of antisemitism. William Farrington

“Tell everyone! Let’s shock the whole system and send Zohran to City Hall!”

Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic consultant, said Sarsour and the rest of the “anti-Israel far left” see Mamdani as a “great opportunity” to seize control of America’s largest city.

“This is their moment to try and capture the city’s government and turn it into what they want, which is less about progressive politics and more about Jew-hating than anything else,” said Sheinkopf, who is Jewish.

“Linda Sarsour is not running him because he’s a great progressive and believes in some kind of redistribution of wealth. She’s running him because he’s a great antisemite.”

Mamdani is no stranger to fighting on the frontline for causes he believes in, whether it was notoriously being arrested at a pro-Palestine protest outside US Sen. Chuck Schumer’s house in 2023 or being caught on video earlier this month trying to push past New York State police troopers while shouting at border czar Tom Homan to complain about President Trump’s immigration policies.

However, he typically uses more low-key tactics to push his anti-Israel agenda than Sarsour, who’s been “out on the streets protesting for the destruction of Israel” for decades, said Sara Forman, executive director of the pro-Israel New York Solidarity Network and treasurer of its Solidarity PAC that raises money for candidates backing Jewish causes.

“Mamdani shares her ideology, [but] he certainly does not share her tactics,” she said. “Instead of a bullhorn, he uses a charm-and-disarm strategy to calmly state his extreme anti-Israel position — much like his approach to the ‘Uncommitted Movement.’’’

Mamdani, 33, might be a political novice in the mayoral race compared to older, more established Democratic pols like ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander and ex-Comptroller Scott Stringer.

However, he’s already proven to be a prolific fundraiser – with plenty of help from Sarsour and the DSA.

He raised $846,949 over a two-month period ending March 13, second only to Cuomo, the presumptive frontrunner who entered the race last month, records show.

Mamdani’s warchest had $3.67 million on hand as of March 13, trailing only Lander by $70,000. It includes a $2,100 donation from Sarsour, the maximum allowed by law, and $200 from Hesham El-Meligy, co-founder of Leave it Blank NY.

Sarsour previously endorsed Mamdani’s successful campaigns for state Assembly.Obtained by the New York Post

He’s also gaining some steam in the polls.

A survey of likely Democratic voters conducted for Tusk Strategies released last month showed Mamdani in second place with 12% support, trailing only Cuomo, who was way ahead at 38%.

Mamdani did not return messages.

Jewish communities citywide will be galvanized to come out and vote in huge numbers against Mamdani if they believe he has a serious chance to win, predicted Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a longtime politically connected community leader in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and founder of the Jewish Future Alliance.

“He’s a radical leftist who tweets vile things about the Jewish state and shows no empathy for the Jewish community,” he said. “I don’t need Linda Sarsour to convince me to be disgusted by his campaign, rhetoric, and behavior. He disgusts me all on his own!”

POLITICO: Zohran Mamdani is surging

By JASON BEEFERMAN 

02/28/2025 05:44 PM EST

Democratic socialist Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani is showing early signs of a strong campaign, but his costly proposals and attacks on Israel have earned him criticism. | Jason Beeferman/POLITICO

IS THIS A MAMDANI MOMENT?: While the New York political world braces for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s imminent entrance into the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, the millennial Democratic socialist with a savvy social media sense is enjoying a boomlet.

The Queens assemblymember’s candidacy announcement in October seemed like a longshot.

He’s since raised over $3.4 million with public matching funds, collected over 7,000 donations, and boasts an average contribution of $74, which his team says proves true grassroots support. He said he expects to raise $8 million through the city’s matching funds program. He also churns out buzzy social media videos and takes unapologetic policy stances, which earn him criticism from rivals that he’s unrealistic and unyielding.

In short, Mamdani is running strong in the ideological lane of the energized left — a strategy which, when coupled with his criticisms of Israel, would appear to have a ceiling in a New York City Democratic primary, but one that’s getting him a lot of attention nonetheless.

“I don’t think this movement has a ceiling,” Mamdani told Playbook, noting that Bernie Sanders got 47 percent of the vote in Republican-heavy Staten Island in 2016. “I do think there’s a majority of New Yorkers who feel left behind by the economic policies of this mayoral administration and by the economic policies of today, and they are hungry for a relentless focus on an economic agenda.”

Now those who are working to oppose him — and who have been leery of Mamdani’s aggressively anti-Israel stances from the start — are worried.

“They’re running a really smart operation, this is what I’ve been warning people about,” said Sara Forman, executive director of the New York Solidarity Network and the treasurer of Solidarity PAC. Both were formed to challenge antisemitic politicians in New York’s state and local government and neither is yet involved in the mayor’s race at the moment, Forman said.

Forman expressed grave concerns about Mamdani’s positions against Israel — like when the assemblymember said “the path toward peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid” just one day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.

“Everybody underestimates it,” she said of his campaign. “They are going to wake up and he is going to be in a position to potentially be the nominee.”

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, who is backing Cuomo, agrees: “The DSA candidate is treacherously smart and should not be underestimated,” he told Jewish Insider.

A poll shared with Playbook — paid for by Mamdani’s campaign and executed by EMC Research — shows him making it into the final round of ranked choice voting before Cuomo clears 50 percent.

Mamadani’s analysis, which quizzed 700 voters by phone, email and text from Jan. 23 to 27, found that Cuomo, City Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer and Mamdani reach the sixth round of ranked choice voting, in that order.

Another poll commissioned by Cuomo-aligned Tusk Strategies this week found Mamdani in second place — an ideal outcome for the moderate ex-governor and anyone looking to fundraise for a PAC that would benefit Cuomo. The Tusk poll showed Mamdani beating out a host of New York insiders — including Mayor Eric Adams — who entered city politics before the Ugandan-born 33-year-old could even vote.

“We always were setting up a campaign that could win this race,” Mamdani told Playbook. “This is indicative of what we’ve always thought, which is that there has been a misreading of New York City’s electorate, and while there’s been so much talk of us moving to the right, I think what people are also missing is that people want to vote for something.”

To that end, he was among just three candidates at a forum this week to unequivocally promise a rent freeze — a policy determined by what’s supposed to be an independent board of mayoral appointees. The others were state Sen. Jessica Ramos and former Assembly Member Michael Blake, who have yet to qualify for matching funds.

A rising Zohran is a good scenario for Cuomo. The former governor would likely find it easy to fundraise in a race that pits the moderate Democrat against a young assemblymember who wants to see the NYPD budget slashed and the minimum wage raised to $30.

And Mamdani knows this.

“When we face the inevitable opposition spending because of the audacity to believe in universal human rights, what gives me confidence is I believe the vast majority of New Yorkers want that politics of consistency,” Mamdani said. “They want to know where politicians stand on an issue, regardless of who it applies to, regardless of who they’re speaking about.”

He acknowledged the prospect of independent expenditures running ads criticizing him and said, “they will be competing with our own narrative about this campaign.”

On the ground, he has a sprawling operation: the campaign says it’s knocked on 56,000 doors, has over 4,000 volunteers and launches between 20 to 30 neighborhood canvasses every week.

Not to mention, even decidedly moderate Democrats privately envy his social media operation.

Mamdani’s campaign tells us his social media is spearheaded by filmmaker duo Melted Solids, who produce videos that lead to over 20.6 million impressions on X, 200,000 likes on TikTok and 8 million Instagram views with 30,000 new followers in the last 90 days.

But he’s getting heat from some opponents who say his planned expansion of services — like free buses, child care and city-owned grocery stores — would be nearly impossible to pay for.

“I find there’s a lot of people that have magic wands in this race,” Lander told the outlet Hell Gate in January.

The comptroller once previously joined the Democratic Socialists of America and voted against a budget because it didn’t properly defund the NYPD in his estimation. He has taken strides to move toward the center in this election, as some of his former stances are no longer popular, while Mamdani said he doesn’t need to moderate his stances to become mayor.

Lander told the outlet, “I have like, 75-page policy plans, not ‘freeze the rent’ or ‘emanate a million homes.’” — Jason Beeferman

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: What issues are Jewish voters thinking about as New York City’s mayoral campaign gets underway?

By Luke Tress

December 10, 2024 3:59 pm

Street protests, masking laws, yeshiva education and Israel could come to the fore in the run-up to the June 2025 primary.

Eric Adams, center, campaigns with Brad Lander, left, and Jumaane Williams outside Brooklyn Borough Hall, Oct. 22, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

In about six months, New York City will almost certainly choose its next mayor in the Democratic primary — and Jewish issues could take center stage in the campaign. 

The campaign for the June 2024 primary — which is the competitive race in this solidly blue city — features multiple Jewish candidates. But all of the hopefuls may be called upon to address issues of Jewish concern, from street protests about the Israel-Hamas war to public funding for haredi Orthodox yeshivas. 

New York City is home to roughly 1 million Jews. And given how news about Israel and Gaza has dominated the headlines and activist spaces over the past year-plus, non-Jewish New Yorkers may pay some attention to those issues, too. 

“I think there’s going to be a lot of focus, perhaps even disproportionate focus, on ‘Jewish issues.’ That’s happening at the national level. It’s certainly going to be happening here in the city,” Phylisa Wisdom, the head of New York Jewish Agenda, a liberal advocacy group, said.

“Of course, Jewish voters are focused on issues that impact us, but I think our neighbors are [focused on them] in this election as well, in a way that is perhaps unusual,” she said.

Here’s a rundown of the Jewish issues that could feature in the 2025 mayoral election. 

Street protests against Israel

Pro-Palestinian street protests represented one of the clearest ways in which issues of Jewish concern spilled over into the city’s general consciousness. 

Rallies have rocked the city since Oct. 7, 2023, shutting down major thoroughfares, disrupting holiday events and targeting institutions without a direct connection to Israel, such as the Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer hospital and the Brooklyn Museum. They have also taken place at colleges and public high schools. 

The NYPD said in early October that there had been more than 4,000 street protests over the past year, though they did not say how many related to the war in Gaza. That number also includes some large pro-Israel protests as well. 

Sara Forman, the head of the New York Solidarity Network, a pro-Israel political group, said her organization had conducted polling of Jewish voters ahead of the 2024 state assembly races. That polling, done in June, shortly after the encampment protest at Columbia University ended with the occupation of a building and arrests, showed “how terrible the psychological impact of the protests was.”

“People felt vulnerable, they felt unsafe,” she said. “Almost a third of New York Jewish voters felt that New York wasn’t a safe haven for Jews anymore.”

Forman added that the survey was specific to the time it was conducted — about a year before the Democratic primary. The pace and scale of demonstrations has since slowed. 

Masking laws

Some New York legislators have sought to combat the protests and associated acts of vandalism with legislation banning masking, which police say makes it harder to prosecute crimes. Long Island’s Nassau County passed a masking ban in response to anti-Israel protests in August, and Jewish groups and legislators are pushing for an anti-masking law at the state level, an idea Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection, has endorsed. 

The state’s anti-masking law was on the books since the mid-1800s but was repealed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the push to reinstate the law is at the state level, Jewish voters will likely want to know where candidates stand on the issue, Forman said. The legislation came back into focus this week after a masked assassin gunned down UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on Wednesday.

“It’s clear that people won’t be happy with candidates who oppose reinstating the mask [ban], as they’re not prioritizing the safety of New Yorkers, including Jewish New Yorkers,” said Yaacov Behrman, the head of the Jewish Future Alliance, a group encouraging the increasing voter turnout in Crown Heights, the home base of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

Behrman said candidates who oppose the ban would likely be perceived as weak on crime and unpopular anyway in his neighborhood. Still, the issue could influence turnout, a key factor for his community in the election, he said. 

Progressive Jews may take a different approach. Alicia Singham Goodwin, the political director of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a leftist group in the city that has participated in pro-Palestinian rallies and come out against anti-masking legislation, called the measure “anti-protest, anti-free speech.”

“We at JFREJ certainly want a mayor who will protect our right to protest, who will protect our freedom of speech, who will prioritize the functions of democracy that we rely on to get change,” she said. “And so I think an antagonism towards protesters is not productive.”

Hate crimes and antisemitism

Hate crimes have spiked in the city since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, with the number of antisemitic crimes topping the list every month. 

Lawmakers have also introduced legislation to combat the surge. At the state level, legislators passed a law criminalizing the forcible removal of someone else’s kippah. Hochul said earlier this year that she would back legislation expanding the number of crimes eligible for hate crimes prosecution, but the bill has not yet passed.

The only candidate to have laid out a specific policy on fighting antisemitism, corporate attorney Jim Walden, said he would urge the city council to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, review curricula at schools for bias related to Israel, and demand protest organizers state whether a foreign group is paying for the event.

NYJA’s Wisdom said liberal Jews take the issue seriously and will likely take a nuanced approach amid concerns about politicians using charges of antisemitism as an excuse to penalize institutions such as universities and nonprofits.

“We’re looking for a serious intention to combat antisemitism and also to do so from a place of nuance, and not fall into the trap of weaponizing antisemitism to go after liberal institutions and organizations,” she said.

Singham Goodwin said progressive Jews would support candidates who use “genuine compassion and understanding” to combat antisemitism through programs like education and mental health services rather than law enforcement. 

“We’re looking for candidates who take public safety actually seriously and don’t just say, ‘I would write the NYPD a blank check to do whatever they want,’” she said.  

Public funding of yeshivas

In past mayoral races, candidates have courted the support of the city’s Hasidic communities, which tend to vote in blocs with the potential to sway the primary. Adams received the endorsement of the Satmar Hasidic community in Williamsburg en route to winning Gracie Mansion in 2021. 

The year after that election, a series of articles in The New York Times scrutinized public funding of haredi Orthodox yeshivas that, according to the articles, fell far short of state secular education requirements. The yeshiva education system is a priority for haredi voters, where the schools are a linchpin of the community.

Adams has spoken in favor of the system in the past, saying the city needs to “learn what you are doing in the yeshivas to improve education.” 

“If the mayor runs, we know he’s very pro-yeshiva education,” Behrman said. “If some of his opponents are anti-yeshiva education, I think it would drive more turnout” in Crown Heights.

Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running to unseat Adams, called for more oversight of yeshivas prior to his mayoral campaign. “That so many young people have been denied the necessary skills they need to succeed in the higher educational opportunities, jobs, and diverse cultural and civic life of our city is a tragedy,” he said. 

Some regulations mandating secular education at yeshivas will come into force in the coming year, which may return focus on the issue.

“I do think liberal Jewish New Yorkers certainly want a mayor who is following the law and is committed to, as the law says, that kids are required to get a certain level of secular education, in particular when state and city funding is involved,” Wisdom said.

Education at the city’s public schools, which the mayor oversees, could also relate to Jewish concerns. Public schools have seen protests against Israel, and the city has run programs to teach students about antisemitism. Diversity initiatives at the schools could also impact how they address bias against Jews.

Israel 

While the mayor is not involved in foreign policy, being a supporter of the country has long appeared to be a prerequisite for the job: Every single New York City mayor dating back to Vincent Impellitteri in 1951 has visited the country while in office. (William O’Dwyer, who was in office when Israel was established in 1948, also supported the country’s establishment and appears to have visited after his term ended.)

This year, a faction of the Democratic base actively opposes Israel. The Democratic Socialists of America, for example, has backed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS, movement targeting Israel. The group also backed an anti-Israel protest a day after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, a rally that drew widespread condemnation.

“Anybody that has a dalliance with the DSA is going to have to say they share those beliefs so I certainly think Israel will be brought up,” Forman said.

The “Not On Our Dime” act, legislation backed by the party, may also become a campaign issue. The bill aims to block New York nonprofits from “engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.” Pro-Israel critics say the bill’s broad scope would target Jewish organizations, snarl charity work by forcing an onerous vetting process, and hamper humanitarian groups from providing essential services. 

Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who introduced the bill, is running for mayor as a Democratic Socialist. His website touts his efforts to “bar charities from funding illegal Israeli settlements.” JFREJ has come out in support of the Not On Our Dime Act and Democratic Socialist candidates in the race.

“What JFREJ members are looking for and what those types of Jewish voters are looking for is candidates who are going to be leaders who express empathy with Palestinians alongside the empathy we expect and need them to express for Israelis and Jews,” Singham Goodwin said. 

Behrman said anti-Israel positions could fuel antisemitism. “There are elected officials who hold anti-Israel positions that are deeply concerning to the Jewish community. When Israel is unjustly attacked, it almost always leads to an increase in violence against Jews,” Behrman said.

The big picture

Jewish activists said that, while there are issues specific to the community, Jews are also concerned with the bread and butter issues that non-Jewish New Yorkers are concerned with, such as crime and housing. 

“When you think about the Jewish community as a voting community, we’re regular New Yorkers just like everyone else,” Forman said. “We have the same concerns that everyone else shares.”

Wisdom agrees. “What I’m hearing from liberal and progressive Jewish New Yorkers is that when it comes to the mayor, they’re really thinking more about public education, K-12, antisemitism, migrants, criminal justice reform,” she said.

The race is also still in its early stages and the issues will likely change by the time of the vote.

“Everything is speculation at this point,” Forman said.