New York
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Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and probably the most highly effective Jewish politicians within the United States, didn’t endorse Zohran Mamdani and wouldn’t say who he voted for in New York City’s mayoral election.
But on Wednesday morning, he stated he known as the mayor-elect to supply his congratulations.
“We had a very, very good conversation,” Schumer stated. “We said that we cared about New York City, and that we look forward to working together to help the city and improve the city. I congratulated him on running a very, very good campaign.”
Schumer’s feedback symbolize only one style of the combo of cautious acceptance, fearful concern and joyous celebration from Jewish New Yorkers within the wake of Mamdani’s victory Tuesday.
Jews have lengthy reliably supported the Democratic Party, however the mayoral election revealed a deep schism associated to considerations about rising antisemitism and Mamdani’s lengthy historical past of anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activism.
Preliminary NCS exit polls discovered about 64% of Jewish voters solid their poll for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, working as an impartial, whereas about one-third voted for Mamdani.
Some distinguished rabbis and Jewish teams took the bizarre step of urging their constituents to vote in opposition to the Democratic nominee, saying his positions on Israel have been disqualifying. Other Jewish voters, notably of the youthful generations, noticed his views on Israel as a constructive or considered them total as much less vital than his home insurance policies on affordability, housing and standing up to President Donald Trump.
The outcomes present that Jewish New Yorkers have a various set of political opinions, in accordance to Lila Corwin Berman, a New York University professor of Jewish historical past.
“It really has not been the case that there has been a single political voice or political bloc among Jewish New Yorkers, from the earliest period when Jews lived in this city,” she stated. “There has always been a diversity of views about what is best.”
Speaking Wednesday, Mamdani affirmed he would work with rabbis and different group leaders “to deliver on the promise of not just protecting Jewish New Yorkers, but celebrating and cherishing them in the same city.”
“I look forward to being the mayor for every person that calls this city home, that includes the Jewish New Yorkers that voted for our campaign and those that didn’t,” he advised reporters.
Still, Alana Zeitchik, an Israeli-American Brooklyn resident whose family members were kidnapped by Hamas, stated the ballot outcomes present Jewish residents stay skeptical of Mamdani.
“It just shows there’s a lot of work to be done,” she advised NCS. “He hasn’t built the coalition with Jewish New York that needs to happen for a strong New York that can tackle all kinds of hatred. There needs to be a strong coalition with the Jewish community, and he didn’t capture the majority of us.”
Zeitchik stated she left the mayoral vote clean on her poll, unwilling to assist Cuomo or Mamdani.
As a liberal voter, she stated she agreed with a lot of Mamdani’s guarantees to make New York reasonably priced, equitable and secure. But she was not satisfied he totally understood the prevalence of antisemitic and anti-Zionist views, which she argued have taken over progressive areas.
“I want him to succeed. It’s just that he’s not yet shown me that he’s earned my vote,” she stated.
She stated she was “very conflicted” concerning the outcomes of the election and felt the talk inside the Jewish group about Mamdani was too black-and-white.
“I don’t think he is some evil danger to our community,” she stated, “but I do think it’s unfair for some people in the Jewish community to diminish very real concerns that we have over the permission structure that his activism and his own words and worldview allows around anti-Zionism, and how that contributes to antisemitism.”
The concern amongst Jews stems from Mamdani’s assist of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement in opposition to Israel, his problem to Israel’s standing as a Jewish state, and his pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He beforehand refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a phrase that some Jews see as threatening, although he not too long ago stated he would discourage its use.
In more moderen months, Mamdani has tried to reassure Jewish voters nervous about antisemitic assaults like those in Washington, DC, and Boulder, Colorado. He attended High Holiday companies with allies and sat for a Q&A at Congregation Beth Elohim, a synagogue in Brooklyn that counts Sen. Schumer as a member.
Jewish voters who supported Mamdani have been excited with the outcomes of the election.
“Mazel Tov @ZohranKMamdani, Mazel Tov NYC,” wrote Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, a New York-based Jewish progressive group.
Brad Lander, the outgoing metropolis comptroller and one in every of Mamdani’s most distinguished Jewish progressive supporters, attended Mamdani’s election night time watch social gathering. He posted a photograph of himself sporting a shirt in Mamdani’s campaign font with a message for Cuomo: “Good f**king riddance.”
“Our message to Andrew Cuomo was loud & clear in June,” he wrote. “It’s louder & clearer tonight.”
Jewish teams and leaders who had beforehand criticized Mamdani expressed ongoing concern within the wake of his victory.
The Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish advocacy group, introduced on Wednesday a “Mamdani Monitor” to observe his insurance policies and appointments in addition to a tip line for New Yorkers to report antisemitic incidents.
“We expect the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world to stand unequivocally against antisemitism in all its varied forms and support all of its Jewish residents just as he would all other constituents,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated in an announcement.
Mamdani on Wednesday morning expressed his skepticism of the venture and criticized Greenblatt.
“I think that anyone is free to catalogue the actions of our administration,” he stated. “I have some doubts in Jonathan’s ability to do so honestly given that he previously said I had not visited any synagogues only to have to correct himself.”
In addition, a joint statement from a number of Jewish nonprofit teams, together with the UJA-Federation of New York, stated they “cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values.”
“As we have done for over a century, we will continue to work across every level of government to ensure that our city remains a place where our Jewish community, and all communities, feel safe and respected,” the teams wrote. “We call on Mayor-elect Mamdani and all elected officials to govern with humility, inclusivity, and a deep respect for the diversity of views and experiences that define our city.”
Meanwhile, Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge-fund supervisor who warned a Mamdani win would lead wealthy New Yorkers to flee town and exhorted voters to rally behind Cuomo, supplied a conciliatory congratulations.
“Now you have a big responsibility. If I can help NYC, just let me know what I can do,” he wrote on X.
“While I did not support Mamdani for mayor and have concerns about the unintended and negative consequences of his policies, I want to do everything I can to help NYC regardless of who (our) mayor is,” Ackman added.
Mamdani, who steadily criticized Ackman in the course of the marketing campaign, supplied some conciliation of his personal in response.
“I appreciated Bill Ackman’s tweet and the sentiment of it, and I will continue to have conversations with anyone who is committed to the welfare of the city, the vitality of the city,” he stated.