Democratic voters in New York City gave a 33-year-old democratic socialist, Zohran Mamdani, a resounding primary victory as he bested his rivals, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, by at least seven percentage points. Mamdani represents the absolute worst of the worst in American politics, and this primary election should be a wake-up call to all Americans. The chaos we’ve seen on college campuses and in city streets over the past several years has now reached the highest level of local politics.
With his primary win, Mamdani advances to the general election in November, where he will face current New York Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and a second independent candidate, Jim Walden.
New York City is the largest city in the country with nearly 8.5 million residents. While its population does not represent the rest of the nation, the fact that a radical Socialist is the Democratic Party primary winner and candidate for the general mayoral election signals that the “woke left” is no longer just a fringe movement. This should concern all Americans—not just New Yorkers and not just the Jewish community, which should be particularly alarmed by Mamdani’s positions.
Mamdani, a Muslim born in Uganda, is backed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He is being endorsed by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); former New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman; and the Democratic Socialists of America. He has refused to condemn chants to “globalize the intifada” and does not recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
Listening to Mamdani speak should send chills down people’s spines. His platform reads like a socialist manifesto: government-run grocery stores, free public transportation, rent freezes, taxpayer-funded childcare, a $30 minimum wage, dismantling federal immigration enforcement, publicly funded legal defense for illegal immigrants and expanded gender-affirming care for “youth.”
It doesn’t get more extreme than this.
For the Jewish community, Mamdani would be an unmitigated disaster. He supports the antisemitic BDS movement, introduced legislation as a state legislator to block charitable support for Israeli settlements, refused to sign resolutions commemorating the Holocaust and supporting Israel, and co-founded a branch of Students for Justice in Palestine while a student at Bowdoin College. And yet, according to a recent poll, Mamdani has the support of 20% of Jewish New Yorkers.
That’s an alarming statistic, but it says more about a troubling segment of New York’s Jewish population than it does about the candidate himself. That same poll found that only 76% of Jewish Democrats in New York City believe that the rise in antisemitic hate crimes is a “very serious” issue. That’s stunning, given the undeniable explosion of antisemitism in the city. It suggests that the same subset of Jews who are supporting Mamdani may also be among those downplaying, or even participating in, the protests that are fueling antisemitic violence on the streets of New York.
This should be of concern to people in and out of New York because the city is still viewed as a cultural and political beacon in the United States and across the world. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere.
The Democratic Socialists of America, the organization that Mamdani actively supports and vice versa, openly calls for the dismantling of capitalism and law enforcement. And for those who claim they aren’t true socialists, note that article II of the group’s constitution begins: “We are socialists.” Believe them.
Also, just six days after Hamas-led terorist attakcs in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the DSA published a “Palestine Solidarity Toolkit” declaring “unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in their 75-year struggle for liberation,” calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, and proclaiming: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Mamdani is the political embodiment of the protestors at Columbia University. He represents not just the most loathsome and dangerous movement in American politics, but also one of the most loathsome parts of our society today. His views are dangerous for New York City, dangerous for America and dangerous for the Jewish community. His meteoric rise is an alarm bell for the nation; the fringe has entered the mainstream. Expect to see more Mamdani-type candidates popping up in cities across the country. It’s up to all Americans, Democrats and Republicans alike, Jew and non-Jew, to reject socialism and the extreme and anti-American values Mamdani represents.
As for New York City’s Jews, they will have to unite to protect against a Mamdani mayorship in November; a task that may be difficult to do in a city where 68% of the voters are registered Democrats.