When seven rabbis endorse a candidate who refuses to affirm Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and minimizes his own antisemitic rhetoric, it’s not just a political misstep—it’s a betrayal of Israel and the Jewish People.

As I read The Times of Israel Blog by Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg, co-signed by several of her New York rabbinical colleagues, I felt a deep ache in the pit of my stomach. I even debated whether to respond at all, recalling the Talmudic story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza—a cautionary tale in which scholars explain that the Second Temple was destroyed because of sinat chinam, baseless hatred between Jews.

I bear no ill will toward Rabbi Goldenberg and the other signers. On the contrary, I am saddened—deeply saddened—that these Jewish leaders have chosen to endorse and publicly embrace a mayoral candidate who, in both rhetoric and associations, has fueled the flames of antisemitism and the vilification of Israel.

Let me explain.

As a former New Yorker (who still roots for the Yankees) and a proud Jew and Zionist, it pains me to have to call out any Jew who has cast his or her lot in the camp of a political candidate whose statements and positions on Israel are so visceral, so unyielding, and so one-sided.

Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has aligned himself repeatedly with causes and slogans that go far beyond legitimate criticism of Israeli policy. In college, he co-founded a chapter of........

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