How Democrats in America’s most Jewish city embraced a critic of Israel for New York mayor

4 days ago 12

NEW YORK – In choosing Zohran Mamdani arsenic their campaigner for mayor, Democrats successful America’s astir Jewish metropolis person nominated an outspoken professional of Israel, alarming immoderate successful New York's Jewish assemblage and signaling a oversea alteration successful the priorities of 1 of the party's astir loyal voting groups.

The 33-year-old antiauthoritarian socialist's surprisingly beardown performance against erstwhile Gov. Andrew Cuomo makes wide that taking a stance against Israel is nary longer disqualifying successful a Democratic primary. The authorities Assembly subordinate has declined to enactment the close of Israel to beryllium arsenic a Jewish state, refused to denounce the word “global intifada" and supports an organized effort to enactment economical unit connected Israel done boycotts and different tactics.

Yet helium excelled successful the metropolis with the largest Jewish colonisation extracurricular of Israel, and with the enactment of galore Jewish voters.

Mamdani's occurrence reflects the ideological realignment of galore American Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught by Hamas connected Israel that led to Israel's penetration of Gaza. Many Democratic voters, including Jews, person grown dismayed by Israel’s behaviour successful the warfare and are profoundly captious of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That is particularly existent among younger, much progressive voters, galore of whom person rejected the once-broadly accepted conception that anti-Israel sentiment is inherently antisemitic.

For others, Mamdani's showing has spurred caller fears astir information and the waning power of Jewish voters successful a metropolis wherever anti-Jewish hatred transgression has surged. Last year, Jews were the people of more than half of the hatred crimes successful the city.

“Definitely radical are concerned," said Rabbi Shimon Hecht, of Congregation B’nai Jacob successful Brooklyn, who said helium has heard from congregants successful caller days who anticipation Mamdani volition beryllium beaten successful the November wide election, wherever helium volition look Mayor Eric Adams, who is moving arsenic an independent, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and perchance Cuomo, if helium stays successful the race.

“I deliberation similar each upsetting election, it’s a wake-up telephone for people,” Hecht said. “I powerfully judge that helium volition not beryllium elected arsenic our adjacent mayor, but it's going to instrumentality a batch of uniting among the Jewish radical and others who are acrophobic astir these issues. We person to unify."

Veteran New York Democratic governmental strategist Hank Sheinkopf enactment it much bluntly, predicting a hasty exodus of spiritual Jews from the metropolis and a diminution successful long-standing Jewish power that would beryllium replicated elsewhere.

“It’s the extremity of Jewish New York arsenic we cognize it,” helium said, adding: “New York is simply a petri crockery for nationalist Democratic politics. And what happened present is what volition apt hap successful cities crossed the country."

Israel was a cardinal run issue

Mamdani’s apical Democratic rival, the erstwhile governor, had called antisemitism and enactment for Israel "the astir important issue” of the campaign.

Mamdani's backers repeatedly accused Cuomo of trying to weaponize the issue. Many drew parallels to the mode Republican President Donald Trump has formed immoderate disapproval of Israel's actions arsenic antisemitic, claiming Jews who ballot for Democrats “hate Israel" and their ain religion.

For immoderate Mamdani supporters, the predetermination results signaled a rejection by voters of 1 of Cuomo’s arguments: that an upstart socialist with pro-Palestinian views posed a menace to New York’s Jewish community.

Many were focused connected issues specified arsenic affordability successful a notoriously costly city, oregon flat-out opposed to Cuomo, who was forced to resign successful disgrace amid intersexual harassment allegations.

Aiyana Leong Knauer, a 35-year-old Brooklyn bartender who is Jewish and backed Mamdani, said the ballot represented “New Yorkers, galore of them Jewish, saying we attraction much astir having an affordable metropolis than sowing division.”

“Many of america instrumentality truly heavy discourtesy to our past being weaponized against us,” she said. “Jewish radical each implicit the satellite person well-founded fears for their safety, but Jews successful New York are harmless overall.”

Others agreed with Mamdani's views connected Israel.

Beth Miller, governmental manager of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, an anti-Zionist, progressive radical that worked connected Mamdani's behalf, said Mamdani “was really beauteous fashionable among a batch of Jewish voters."

“That is not successful spite of his enactment for Palestinian rights. That is due to the fact that of his enactment for Palestinian rights,” she said. “There has been a monolithic rupture wrong the Jewish assemblage and much and much Jews of each generations, but particularly younger generations,” she said, present garbage to beryllium tied to what they spot arsenic a rogue authorities committing atrocities against civilians.

Polls amusement enactment for Israel has declined since the warfare began. Overall, a flimsy bulk of Americans present explicit a “somewhat” oregon “very” unfavorable sentiment of Israel, according to a March Pew Research Center poll, compared with 42% successful 2022. Democrats’ views are peculiarly negative, with astir 70% holding an unfavorable sentiment versus little than 40% of Republicans.

Beyond the mayoral race

Mamdani's wasn't the lone contention wherever Israel was connected voters' minds.

In Brooklyn, City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif, who represents Park Slope and surrounding areas, drew disapproval for her Palestinian advocacy. Some said she had failed to respond forcefully to antisemitic incidents successful the district.

Yet Hanif, the archetypal Muslim pistillate elected to the City Council, easily beat her apical challenger, Maya Kornberg, who is Jewish, contempt an influx of wealth from wealthy, pro-Israel groups and donors.

That result dismayed Ramon Maislen, a developer who launched Brooklyn BridgeBuilders to reason Hanif's reelection and said antisemitism did not look to resonate with voters.

“We were precise disappointed with our neighbors' response," helium said.

While campaigning against Hanif, helium said helium was routinely screamed astatine by residents and accused of supporting genocide.

“I deliberation that those of america successful the Jewish assemblage that are attuned to that are cognizant that there's been immoderate benignant of taste oversea alteration that’s occurring," helium said. “What we’re seeing is simply a legitimatization of hatred that isn’t happening successful immoderate different wide oregon progressive space."

Mamdani's grounds and rhetoric

Mamdani has repeatedly pledged to combat antisemitism, including during an quality connected “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” wherever helium was grilled connected his stance. He was joined connected the amusement by metropolis comptroller and chap campaigner Brad Lander, the city's highest-ranking Jewish official, who had cross-endorsed him. He has besides said helium would increase funding for anti-hate transgression programming by 800%.

But galore of his comments person angered Jewish groups and officials, astir notably his refusal to disavow the operation “globalize the intifada," which has been utilized arsenic a slogan successful caller protests. Many Jews spot it arsenic a telephone to unit against Israeli civilians. In a podcast interview, Mamdani said the operation captured a “a hopeless tendency for equality and adjacent rights successful lasting up for Palestinian quality rights."

Mamdani besides supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to unit governments, schools and different institutions to boycott Israeli products, divest from companies that enactment the country, and enforce sanctions. The Anti-Defamation League calls it antisemitic and portion of a broader run to "delegitimize and isolate the State of Israel.”

Mamdani has besides said that, arsenic mayor, helium would apprehension Netanyahu if the Israeli person tried to participate the city.

The ADL in a connection Thursday warned candidates and their supporters not to usage "language playing into unsafe antisemitic canards that clip and clip again person been utilized to incite hatred and unit against Jews.”

In his triumph speech, Mamdani alluded to the disapproval he'd received and said helium would not wantonness his beliefs. But helium besides said helium would "reach further to recognize the perspectives of those with whom I disagree and to wrestle profoundly with those disagreements.”

___ Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report.

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