66% of the New York Jews voted for Andrew Cuomo while 33% voted for Zohran Mamdani.  It seems quite clear that many of those who voted for Cuomo voted out of fear of Mamdani, and not out of support for the former governor, who carries with him some very problematic baggage that forced his resignation as governor of New York.

Cuomo got 66% of the Jewish vote, while Mamdani got 33% (Photo: Times of Israel)

Conservative Rabbi Cosgrave of the Park Avenue Synagogue said this was because Mamdani “refuses to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state”, had not condemned the phrase “globalize the intifada” and uses the term “genocide” to describe what is happening in Gaza, all of which he considers to be inflammatory rhetoric that normalizes hostility “towards Judaism and Jews”. Reform Rabbi Amiel Hirsch of the Stephen Weiss Free Synagogue said that Mamdani’s rhetoric “delegitimizes the Jewish community and encourages and exacerbates hostility toward Judaism and Jews.” Both rabbis are considered liberal and have expressed serious opposition towards the Netanyahu government’s policies and towards Trump’s policies in the U.S.  It’s clear that their statements contributed to and reflected the fear that many New York Jews felt. The Israeli press also highlighted that fear, with TV and print media interviews with Israelis living in New York who said if Mamdani was elected they might chose to move to New Jersey or Florida.

Is Mamdani really opposed to Israel’s right to exist?

But is the fear justified? First of all the two rabbis totally ignored the fact that Mamdani formed an alliance with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, the highest ranking Jew in the municipal government, a self-proclaimed liberal Zionist like themselves and the opening speaker in his last campaign rally. In addition, Mamdani has clearly criticized Hamas, and welcomed the invitation to participate in the vigil organized by the New York-based Israelis for Peace in memory of the 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas on October 7th, 2023 on the 2nd anniversary of the horrific attack. And Mamdani is not saying that the State of Israel doesn’t have a right to exist. He is saying that it should be a state in the spirit of the 1948 Declaration of Independence, https://main.knesset.gov.il/en/about/pages/declaration.aspx that guarantees equal rights for all its citizens. A state which guarantees “to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel…full and equal citizenship…” and not a state according to the 2018 Nation State Law which makes all non-Jews 2nd class citizens: https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/activity/documents/BasicLawsPDF/BasicLawNationState.pdf  In his speeches he........

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