On November 4, 2025, New York City voted overwhelmingly for its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Little was known about this Ugandan-born Democratic socialist who beat out former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa. What is known, however, is that Mamdani supports “global jihad,” defunding the police, raising taxes, building affordable housing, and having City-run grocery stores buy and sell at wholesale prices from centralized warehouses.
Mamdani’s rise from community
activist and social media star to mayoral candidate and now mayor-elect has
raised alarms both in the New York City Jewish community and the wider world.
Who will pay for the socialist policies of this new mayor? What will the
implications be of a hands-off approach to policing? Will Mamdani’s rhetoric
against Israel spark violence against Jews?
Not 24 hours after Mamdani was
elected, antisemitic graffiti, including swastikas, appeared at locations
throughout New York City. Governor Hochul appeared at the Jewish shopping plaza
known as Avenue J in Flatbush to reassure the Jewish community. “I strongly
condemn this hateful display of antisemitism,” Hochul said. She also announced
$20 million in security grants for nonpublic schools. Zohran Mamdani himself
condemned the vandalism directed at Jews, promising that as mayor, he would
“always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism
out of our city.”
The reassurances of a politician
who has not only refused to walk back his remarks on Israel but also has palled
around with an unindicted co-conspirator of the 9/11 attacks have done little
to assuage the fears of Jewish New Yorkers. “I feel things are going to get
more challenging,” says Moshe Silk, former Trump administration Treasury
official chairman, author, and now chairman of pro bono legal services for
Agudath Israel. While Jewish children in New York, especially those with
special needs, have made gains with legal victories, the battles rage on. “And these
battles will be harder to fight under the new mayor,” says Silk.
Those around Mamdani have added
fuel to the fire of antisemitism. Since at least 2009, a senior member of the mayor-elect’s
transition team, Hassaan Chaudhary, has tweeted and retweeted antisemitic
tropes. In 2024, in particular, he tweeted about the pro-Israel Jewish governor
of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. These tweets, old and new, call Israel
“barbaric” and express Chaudhary’s view that “If Luigi [Mangione] had shot a
Gazan toddler instead [of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson], Josh Shapiro
would have given him a medal.” Chaudhary apologized for his “past views,” which
he said were from “over a decade ago.”
The Mamdami Effect
“Jewish Americans all
across the country are truly afraid for their lives,” according to Fox News. There’s
a new threat level to Jews across the United States. In 2024, an Anti-Defamation
League audit recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the country, a 5% jump
from 8,873 in 2023, the year that Hamas committed the October 7th terrorist
attacks. In Maryland, 356 incidents of antisemitism were recorded, up 5% from
2023. New York leads the United States with the most incidents of reported
antisemitism in 2024 – 1,437 incidents (+18% from 2023).
The election of Mamdani can have
implications beyond New York City. The socialist wave Mamdani is riding can
lead to other such candidates winning across the country. Also, attitudes about
affordability, policing, and Israel may spread among voters. This is especially
true among cash-strapped young voters with whom Mamdani’s affordability message
resonates.
Despite the $20 billion in federal
funds Maryland has received, the Free State’s Governor Wes Moore is no friend
of President Donald Trump. In fact, Mamdani is turning to Moore for tips on how
to confront the President. Moore, a vocal opponent of Trump, has been aligning
with self-described antifa members such as Russ Ellis. Maryland State Delegate
Ryan Nawrocki has warned that Moore’s associations can have implications. “I’m
not sure how in any reality that’s a good thing for the governor to be wrapping
arm and arm with individuals from a known terrorist organization.”
During an Agudath Israel Zoom on the
New York Board of Regents’ proposal to limit parental due process rights in
special education, the speakers did not seem too concerned with Mamdani
reversing legal victories won by parents. As explained, the law is the law; the
mayor cannot take away due process rights. What remains of concern is how this
new mayor will change the attitude of those on the ground, making it harder for
children with special needs to get the services they are entitled to.
Zionist Organization of America president
Mort Klein said it’s ridiculous to say that Mamdani is anti-Israel but not
anti-Jewish. “If you say you hate Spain, you dislike the Spanish people. It’s preposterous
to assume otherwise here.”
Ken Abramowitz expressed concern
that the Department of Justice and FBI were asleep at the wheel as millions in
foreign contributions found their way to the Mamdani For Mayor campaign. While
the socialist mayor-elect was forced to return over $9,000 in foreign
contributions, he was never indicted for accepting money from foreign agents.
He received at least $13,000 from overseas donors.
What of the Future?
The election of Zohran Mamdani has
forced the Democratic Party to reckon with its socialist wing. No longer can viewpoints
such as “Free Palestine” be relegated to the far left. The mainstream
candidate, Andrew Cuomo, received a shellacking. Furthermore, Senator Charles
Schumer’s deal to reopen the government (without guarantees for Obamacare
subsidies) has the liberals in the Party foaming at the mouth. While
Republicans can exploit this divide, divisions in the GOP itself, combined with
changing attitudes among voters, can prove challenging. A recent Pew Research
study found that trust in the Republican Party’s handling of the economy has
been eroding since 2023. Democrats don’t trust their own party either. Politicians
like newcomer Mamdani, Alexandria Occasion-Cortez, and the group of U.S. House
of Representative progressives known as “The Squad” can be the next thing to go
“viral.”
“Now what?” asked Rabbi Joey Haber’s
children to him after Mamdani’s victory. However, amidst the doom and gloom
there is hope. There was a worse politician than Mamdani in Jewish history:
Haman. Then as now, says Rabbi Haber, the Jewish people were concerned about a
government official who was no friend to the Jews. Yet not one Jew was hung by
Haman. V’nahapachu! Haman was more effective in bringing the Jewish
people to teshuva than all the Nevi’im (Prophets) together. (Megillah
14a). On Election Day, Jews came out to vote. Yet, we all know that everything
is in Hashem’s hands. We pray and trust in Him. We don’t know what will be, but
fortified with achdus, emunah, and rabbinical leadership, we have
it all.
