{"id":341760,"date":"2025-10-29T22:48:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T22:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/341760\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T22:48:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T22:48:20","slug":"zohran-mamdanis-unlikely-coalition-winning-over-nycs-jewish-voters-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/341760\/","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani\u2019s unlikely coalition: Winning over NYC\u2019s Jewish voters | Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City, United States \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Sitting in a room of hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers, Zohran Mamdani received cheers and applause at the Erev Rosh Hashanah service of progressive Brooklyn synagogue Kolot Chayeinu on a Monday evening last month.<\/p>\n

This was one of the Democratic mayoral nominee\u2019s recent appearances at synagogues and events<\/a> over the Jewish High Holy Days, and a visible step towards navigating a politically charged line: increasingly engaging the largest concentration of Jewish people in any metropolitan area in the United States, and holding firmly anti-Zionist views before the general election on November 4.<\/p>\n

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Historically, Mamdani has held a strong stance on the Israeli\u2013Palestinian conflict, even founding a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine during his undergraduate days at Bowdoin College. A little more than a decade later, as Mamdani\u2019s name began to gain recognition, his longstanding unapologetically pro-Palestinian stance became a rallying force behind his platform as well as a point of criticism from opponents.<\/p>\n

Mamdani received endorsements and canvassing support from progressive Jewish organisations like Bend the Arc, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), organisations that have each confronted Israel\u2019s role in the war in Gaza through statements on their websites.<\/p>\n

Simultaneously, he has sustained attacks from far-right activists<\/a>, Jewish Democrats on Capitol Hill and Zionist activist groups for his firm support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and refusal to call Israel a Jewish state.<\/p>\n

But despite mixed responses, the polls are clear: Mamdani is leading among Jewish voters overall in a multiway race.<\/p>\n

\u2018No group is a monolith\u2019<\/p>\n

In July, a publicly released research poll by Zenith Research\u00a0found that Mamdani led with a 17-point lead among Jews and by Jewish subgroups. In the scenario of Mayor Eric Adams dropping from the race, Mamdani still dominated, 43-33.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe being Jewish, I understand that there are many cleavages within the Jewish community,\u201d said Adam Carlson, founding partner of Zenith Research. \u201cAs a pollster, one of my big things is that no group is a monolith, and if you have a large enough sample size, you can break it out and glean some nuances \u2026 what we found was a better-than-expected result for Mamdani among Jewish voters in New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beth Miller, political director of the political advocacy organisation Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action and a member of Kolot Chayeinu, shared what it was like to witness a fraction of this support at the Erev Rosh Hashanah that Mamdani attended last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was basically swarmed at the end because people were so excited that he was there,\u201d said Miller. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not because he\u2019s a celebrity, it\u2019s because people are excited about what we can all build together if he becomes mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mamdani<\/a>There is a growing group of Jewish supporters for Zohran Mamdani [Courtesy\u00a0Jews For Racial and Economic Justice and Zachary Schulman]<\/p>\n

JVP Action, a day-one endorser of Mamdani, represents one organisation among a growing group of Jewish supporters for Mamdani, like JFREJ, a group that has played a part in spearheading canvassing efforts among the diverse Jewish communities of NYC.<\/p>\n

JFREJ\u2019s electoral arm, The Jewish Vote, has supported Mamdani since he was first running for state assembly in 2020. Since then, JFREJ members and Mamdani have worked, canvassed and protested together.<\/p>\n

Alicia Singham Goodwin, political director of JFREJ, has personally been arrested at protests alongside Mamdani.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of thing that gives me faith in his commitments,\u201d Goodwin told Al Jazeera regarding the arrests. \u201cHe\u2019s willing to take on big risks for the things that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

JFREJ has played a large role in spreading Mamdani\u2019s message by knocking on doors and phone banking Jewish voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe care about what our neighbours are worried about, excited and hopeful for \u2014 what they need for their families, and we\u2019re ready to meet them there with our analysis of how the city needs to move to get to affordable housing, universal childcare, or to combat the real rise in anti-Semitism and hate violence,\u201d said Goodwin. \u201cWe believe that Zohran is the strongest candidate for that, as well as for all the other issues we talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courting the Jewish vote<\/p>\n

While there is no doubt that the canvassing army of 50,000 volunteers has served Mamdani well, the mayoral hopeful has also been strategic in his pursuit of the Jewish vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has definitely modulated his rhetoric and has made a concerted effort to reach out to liberal congregations,\u201d said Val Vinokur, professor of literary studies and director of the minor in Jewish culture at The New School. \u201cThis has made him more palatable to some progressive Zionists, much to the outrage of his anti-Zionist supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

One example of Mamdani\u2019s subdued rhetoric includes his response to continued backlash over the phrase \u201cglobalise the intifada\u201d.<\/p>\n

The phrase, used by pro-Palestinian activists, sparked tension between Mamdani and parts of the Jewish community. To some, it represents a call for solidarity with Palestinian resistance, while others view it as anti-Semitic and violent.<\/p>\n

Mamdani resisted rejecting the phrase before the June election, but The New York Times reported that since then, he said he would \u201cdiscourage\u201d its use.<\/p>\n

On the second anniversary of the Gaza war, Mamdani posted a four-paragraph statement on X<\/a> where he acknowledged the atrocities of Hamas\u2019s attack, and then called Israel\u2019s response genocide and ended on a note of commitment to human rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got s*** on from all sides,\u201d said Carlson. \u201cHe made nobody happy, which in my mind, is kinda the correct way to go about it \u2026 Sometimes, pleasing nobody is the job of the mayor, and I think he\u2019s learning that now. It\u2019s like a microcosm of what he\u2019s about to face as mayor, assuming he wins. Sometimes, you have to piss off everybody a little bit for compromises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism<\/p>\n

As Carlson\u2019s Zenith Research poll reflected, the NYC Jewish community has a wide diversity of opinion about politics and positions on Israel and Palestine. The community most clearly differentiates along lines of age, and secular versus conservative practice, but as Jewish support for Mamdani increases, it is evident that these divides are not always so distinct.<\/p>\n

\"Mamdani<\/a>Experts expect Zohran Mamdani to secure the Jewish vote, even if he does not win [Courtesy Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Ken Schles]<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it\u2019s true that there are major trends that younger American Jews are more progressive and sympathetic to Palestinians, it\u2019s also true that for as long as Zionism has existed, there have been anti-Zionist Jews,\u201d said Miller. \u201cI learned a lot from elders who were in their 70s, 80s and 90s who have been anti-Zionist since Israel was created because they never felt that what they wanted or needed was an ethnostate to represent them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alternatively, Zionist groups like Betar worldwide are troubled by these trends within the Jewish community of New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking to see members of the Jewish community support Zohran Mamdani, who openly opposes Zionism \u2014 the national liberation movement of the Jewish people,\u201d said Oren Magnezy, spokesperson of Betar worldwide.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Boyarin, American anthropologist and Mann professor of modern Jewish studies at Cornell University, wondered whether anti-Zionism has done much to help Palestinians, but distinguished the line that Mamdani is walking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been said that there are two kinds of people who confuse anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism: Zionists and anti-Semites. I don\u2019t think Zohran Mamdani belongs in either of those categories,\u201d said Boyarin.<\/p>\n

\u2018New political moment\u2019<\/p>\n

Ultimately, experts like Vinokur predict Mamdani will win, barring a scenario in which Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa drops out. Regardless, Vinokur expects Mamdani to secure the Jewish vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will win the Jewish vote despite and not because of his anti-Zionist background,\u201d said Vinokur. \u201cYounger Jewish voters are overwhelmingly liberal, have been galvanised by the dynamism of his campaign, and ultimately want to make the city a more livable, affordable, and equitable place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s message and campaign were celebrated at the JFREJ annual gala fundraiser, the Mazals. NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and Mamdani were honoured together during a night filled with music, ritual and tradition with more than 1,000 attendees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say it was probably the largest single gathering of Jews for Zohran,\u201d said Goodwin. \u201cThey cement this new political moment that we\u2019re in, where people like JFREJ members, movements like ours, are not fringe or aspirational, but we are popular among a majority of New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City, United States \u2013\u00a0Sitting in a room of hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers, Zohran Mamdani received…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":341761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,438,79,90,3095,20364,13191,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,80,365,67,586,132,5230,68,72,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-341760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-business-and-economy","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-elections","12":"tag-features","13":"tag-intifada","14":"tag-israel-palestine-conflict","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkcity","19":"tag-ny","20":"tag-nyc","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-religion","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-of-america","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-us-canada","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115459896819140074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}