![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2233486186.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Sept. 6. Photo by Angela Weiss\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"Jacob](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/kornbluh-1611531289.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Jacob Kornbluh<\/a> Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, said in an interview on Sunday that if elected, he would support permanently divesting from Israel Bonds. Brad Lander, the outgoing city comptroller and a Mamdani ally, ended the city\u2019s half-century practice of investing millions in Israeli government debt securities in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that we should not have a fund that is invested in the violation of international law,\u201d Mamdani said in an interview<\/a> with CBS New York\u2019s The Point with Marcia Kramer.<\/p>\n When Lander took office in January 2022, the city\u2019s pension funds held $39 million in Israel Bonds, with a roughly 5% return. As chief fiscal officer overseeing pension fund investments, Lander, who is Jewish, decided not to purchase new bonds<\/a> in January 2023 when the holdings matured. He maintained that he was following the city\u2019s policy of avoiding foreign sovereign debt, treating Israel the same as other countries rather than giving it special treatment in the pension portfolio.<\/p>\n Jewish groups and communal leaders criticized the decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mamdani, a supporter of the boycott Israel movement<\/a> who pledged during the primary that he would end<\/a> economic ties with the Israeli government, said he supports Lander\u2019s move as a political statement.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the current comptroller\u2019s approach, as he has taken it with Israel Bonds, is the right approach,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n However, he stopped short of endorsing the boycott movement\u2019s broader call to divest from all Israeli companies. As of May, city pension funds held more than $315 million in Israel-based assets, including nearly $300 million in common stock and over $1 million in Israeli real estate investment trusts. \u201cThe most important thing is to figure out where we are directly implicated,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cAnd in the city pension fund, purchasing Israel Bonds, that, to me, is something that is a clear indication of our values \u2014 and we know that our values are actually with international law.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s position would likely cause friction with the presumptive next city comptroller. Mark Levine, the Democratic nominee who is Jewish and endorsed Mamdani<\/a> after the primary, pledged to repurchase the bonds as part of the city\u2019s portfolio. \u201cThis has been a rock-solid investment for decades,\u201d he said. \u201cIsrael has never missed a bond payment, and a good, balanced portfolio should have global diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n Reached Sunday, a spokesperson for Levine\u2019s campaign, Annabel Lassally, said Levine \u201chas been clear on his position on Israel Bonds\u201d and stands by it. \u201cAs comptroller, he will work closely with the other pension fund trustees to prioritize investments which have proven stability and strong returns for pensioners,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Will Jewish voters care?\u00a0<\/b> Many Jewish voters view the bonds as a bulwark against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, known as BDS. Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the BDS movement, has stated<\/a> that the goal is to apply economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank and to abolish Israel as a Jewish state.<\/p>\n Lander\u2019s decision to end investments in Israel Bonds was a flashpoint in the Democratic primary for mayor,<\/a> with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo<\/a> and Mayor Eric Adams<\/a> attacking Lander as anti-Israel.<\/p>\n Mamdani, who co-founded<\/a> the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Maine\u2019s Bowdoin College, which he attended from 2010 to 2014, said in 2020<\/a> that he joined the Democratic Socialists of America because of their stance on Israel and said mayoral candidates should pledge to boycott Israel.<\/p>\n However, during the primary, he evaded the issue as he made an effort to reach out<\/a> to the more than 700,000 Jewish voters in New York City, the largest concentration of Jews in the United States. He went only as far as to say that he would dissolve a council<\/a> Adams created in May aimed at strengthening the U.S.-Israel economic ties. Since his victory, Mamdani sought to distance himself<\/a> from some of the DSA\u2019s positions.<\/p>\n His comments on Sunday will likely reignite the debate over his stance on Israel as several high-ranking Democratic officials \u2014 including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries \u2014 still refuse to endorse his candidacy. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told The New York Times<\/a> that he encouraged Mamdani to do more to placate his Democratic colleagues who are concerned by his outspoken criticism of Israel.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s call to divest from Israel Bonds may not harm his chances in November, as he faces a splintered opposition of Adams, Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa<\/a>. At a Friday news conference, Adams vowed to stay in the race despite business leaders urging him to step aside to give Cuomo a head-to-head shot at Mamdani.<\/p>\n A post-primary poll<\/a> by a progressive research group suggested Mamdani\u2019s criticism of Israel resonated with many Democratic voters, energizing first-time and younger supporters. A recent survey<\/a> showed Mamdani leading among Jewish voters at 37%, while about 60% are split among the remaining candidates. The Democratic nominee is backed by several Jewish elected officials, including Rep. Jerry Nadler, co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus and Ruth Messinger<\/a>, the trailblazing Jewish political leader who in 1997 became the first and only woman to win the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor.<\/p>\n Sen. Bernie Sanders, the 83-year-old independent Jewish senator from Vermont, spent the weekend in New York rallying support for Mamdani<\/a>. At a town hall in Brooklyn on Saturday, Sanders called Mamdani \u201cthe future of the Democratic Party\u201d and praised his grassroots campaign.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s Jewish opposition\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Mamdani said after his primary win<\/a> that he would reach out to the Jewish community and seek to engage with his critics. But skepticism remains.<\/p>\n Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation League CEO, sharply criticized Mamdani<\/a> for his refusal to outright condemn the \u201cglobalize the intifada\u201d slogan. The ADL released a list of questions<\/a> for Mamdani to answer, and Greenblatt said he\u2019d only meet with Mamdani \u201cunder clear circumstances,\u201d including it being a public meeting. \u201cI won\u2019t be used by Mamdani,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s amazing that there are other Jewish leaders who are willing to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 7, 2025\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Free](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/forwardingthenews.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n![\"Bernie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234062375-300x167.jpg\")
Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Sept. 6. Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2215383796-300x200.jpg\")
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, on May 17. Photo by Michael Nagle\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n