Charged Affairs

By Avraham Spraragen | Rising Expert on Middle East | September 29, 2025 | Photo Credit: Flickr

Fearmongers would have you believe that “Jews For Zohran” is a contradiction in terms. “The Greatest Fearmonger in Israel’s History,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, might draw his “Chickens for KFC” comparison. But nothing could be further from the truth. Many Jewish New Yorkers support the Muslim candidate for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, because of a shared commitment to universal justice. Indeed, Jewish campaign staff, Jewish voters, and Jewish endorsements helped Mamdani secure the Democratic nomination in June. Modeling Jewish-Muslim partnership for Democrats across the country, the Mamdani campaign is defying the party on Israel-Palestine, while fending off Islamophobic attacks, violent threats, and spurious accusations of antisemitism. As a Jewish New Yorker, I proudly support the Muslim candidate for mayor, not in spite of my Judaism, but rather because of it.

Mamdani recently spoke of the “rich legacy” of New York Jewry and expressed his admiration for “Jewish communal life.” He even recounted a childhood memory of returning from his sixth bar mitzvah celebration and asking his Muslim father, “why don’t we do these?” On Rosh Hashanah last week, Mamdani wore a kippah at Kolot Chayeinu synagogue in Brooklyn and wished Jews a happy new year in Hebrew.

Nevertheless, bad faith actors have perversely labeled Mamdani a Jew hater for views on Israel-Palestine shared by many New York City Jews. On the primary campaign trail, he was incessantly questioned about whether Israel has a right to exist “as a Jewish state” and about the phrase, “globalize the intifada,” among other dubious lines of questioning. This burden placed on the Muslim candidate to endlessly condemn, denounce, and distance himself from developments in the Middle East – reminiscent of the post-9/11 targeting of Muslim Americans – was at least partially motivated by Islamophobia. Despite this onslaught, polling taken after the primary revealed that Mamdani commands a 17-point lead among Jews likely to vote in November.

In keeping with his campaign focus on equality for all, Mamdani recognizes Israel’s right to exist “as a state with equal rights.” He has also discouraged the use of “globalize the intifada” in recognition of Jewish trauma from the Second Intifada. Mamdani insists, however, that the use of this phrase in support of Palestinian human rights must be protected from Trump Administration censorship and even criminalization. On the mayoral debate stage, Mamdani did not have to commit to visiting Israel to win over Jewish New Yorkers. Instead, he won them over by promising to address challenges that Jews face in New York City, such as growing antisemitism and communal safety.

As part of his Jewish outreach efforts, Mamdani participated in a New York Jewish Agenda mayoral forum at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Manhattan and campaigned in the Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. Yiddish-language posters were spotted on the streets of Borough Park promoting his candidacy, and Mamdani was interviewed by the Yiddish-language Hasidic newspaper, Der Blatt. He pledged to increase city funding for hate crime prevention, including “antisemitic hate crimes,” by more than 800 percent. Furthermore, Mamdani unequivocally condemned the “horrific war crime” perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023, as well as the violence this year against the Jewish community, specifically in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado.

In a remarkable display of Jewish-Muslim unity, Zohran Mamdani and the progressive Jewish mayoral candidate Brad Lander cross-endorsed each other in the primary and campaigned together. Earlier this month, they were both honored at “The Mazals” award ceremony hosted by Jews for Racial & Economic Justice. At a “Unity Rally,” New York City Comptroller Lander, who is the highest-ranking Jewish official in the NYC government, declared that “Jewish New Yorkers and Muslim New Yorkers are not going to be divided against each other” and that “our safety, our freedoms, our thriving are bound up together.” After election night in June, Lander told Ha’aretz that “if a Muslim and a Jew can run together, there’s hope.”

Mamdani’s primary victory defied those within the Democratic Party establishment, Jewish legacy organizations, Israel lobby, and the donor class that sought to keep Jewish and Muslim progressives apart. Mamdani has since hired additional Jewish staffers for the general and secured the endorsements of prominent Jewish officials, including Senator Bernie Sanders, the first Jewish American to win a state presidential primary, and Representative Jerry Nadler, the most senior Jewish member of Congress and co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus. Citing Nadler’s endorsement, a group of New York City rabbis issued a public statement endorsing Mamdani; the rabbis wrote that because they “witnessed the Jewish call for justice” from the Mamdani campaign, their support for the Muslim candidate is an “explicitly Jewish act.” Mamdani has also received the endorsement of progressive icon Ruth Messinger, the first Jewish woman to win a NYC mayoral primary in 1997, as well as Bend the Arc, the nation’s largest progressive Jewish organization.

More than just a shining example of Jewish-Muslim unity, Mamdani’s campaign potentially reflects a shift in NYC government policy toward Israel-Palestine – and maybe even a new paradigm for the Democratic Party. Israeli heads of state, going back to David Ben-Gurion, have visited New York City. Ben-Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister, famously participated in the launch of Israel Bonds (a medium for investing in the Israeli economy) at Madison Square Garden in 1951. The current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, served in New York as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988. If Mamdani is elected, he may end this tradition. Mamdani has pledged to comply with the International Criminal Court and arrest Netanyahu. During his White House meeting with President Trump in July, Netanyahu dismissed the Democratic nominee as “not serious.” However, if the Israeli prime minister does indeed become persona non grata in the five boroughs, it would mark an extraordinary rupture in New York-Israel relations.

Mamdani has said that, unlike his predecessors, he would not visit Israel as mayor. Given his prior support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Mamdani has argued that Israeli legislation would likely prohibit him from entering the country, even if he agreed to visit. Indeed, Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were denied entry into Israel on anti-BDS grounds back in 2019. More recently, UK Members of Parliament Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang were also turned away at the Tel Aviv airport. Mamdani would probably receive the same treatment if he were to visit Israel.

Earlier this year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed a Declaration of Intent with Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat, establishing the NYC-Israel Economic Council – “a joint initiative that will strengthen economic ties and promote innovation between the two governments.” If Mamdani succeeds Adams, he would not pursue such initiatives. Mamdani is also unlikely to participate in the NYC mayoral tradition of marching in the annual Israel Day parade in Manhattan. New York Jews who disagree with this stance should consider the words of Ruth Messinger: “I’m not electing him to be the ambassador to the Middle East.” Upon endorsing Mamdani, Messinger said “the primary job for the Jewish community is to be sure that this is a safe and thriving city for Jews.”

Skeptics should also take note that Mamdani would not enact a total boycott of Israel, in part because of the many political and legal barriers involved. Instead, Mamdani has called for ending specific investments that “directly implicate” New York City in violations of international law. For example, he supports the decision by Comptroller Lander in 2023 to end NYC investment in Israel Bonds. That same year, Mamdani sponsored New York State Assembly legislation, “Not On Our Dime,” to prohibit nonprofit organizations in New York from engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity. His administration could advance similar policies. Finally, Mamdani would surely continue advocating for Palestinian human rights from the bully pulpit of Gracie Mansion.

“Jews For Zohran” support the progressive Muslim candidate because their Judaism and his Islam instruct that “to kill one person is to kill all of humanity.” They agree that this principle must be universally applied, including to Palestinians in Gaza. If elected, Mamdani would have the support of many Jewish New Yorkers, myself included, to bring NYC policy on Israel-Palestine into compliance with international law. The Mamdani campaign is modeling Jewish-Muslim partnership for Democrats nationwide, while flouting party conventions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hopefully, his campaign will inspire greater solidarity between Jews and Muslims in the joint struggle for universal justice.

Avraham Spraragen is a J.D. candidate at Georgetown Law. He serves as the Middle East Rising Expert at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). Avraham holds an M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and certificates from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.