Today, New Yorkers elected a Mayor who has not only embraced anti-Zionism, but made it the centerpiece of his political identity. This is not about foreign policy. It is about the leader of a city with a million Jews proudly aligning himself with movements and policies that dehumanize them. Mayor-elect Mamdani has made clear that anti-Zionism is not a passing position for him, but his foundational creed.
We know from our lived experience, and from thousands of years of history, that anti-Zionism is not only a destructive and dangerous ideology for Jews, but for the societies that normalize and adopt it.
What is equally painful is the response—or lack thereof—from those we believed to be our progressive allies. Unlike the loud, swift condemnations we have seen this week from some conservatives responding to explosive antisemitism on the political right, the American left has largely accepted, normalized, and even celebrated Mamdani’s candidacy—despite the Jewish community’s clear, consistent, and desperate calls for him to engage in unlearning, repair and accountability. Our feeling of abandonment and vulnerability is visceral.
When those in the progressive movement who have long claimed to stand for justice, human dignity, and civil liberties cannot find the words or the courage to call out virulent, heinous anti-Jewish bias and bigotry, they empower and embolden those who are more than happy to exploit Jewish trauma nefariously in pursuit of an illiberal, autocratic agenda. Let this serve as a warning to our fellow progressives: what begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews. When antisemitism is ignored or rationalized, democracy itself is at risk.
Jewish Americans are not a political football, and antisemitism is not a marginal nuisance or a political wedge issue. It is a malignant, metastatic force that corrodes everything it touches: political parties, justice movements, entire societies, and even continents.
And yet, not all of tonight’s results compound the Jewish community’s fear. And despite the outcome in New York, across the country, and especially in Virginia, and New Jersey, we saw voters choose pragmatic progressives: leaders who understand that demagoguery is not a substitute for governance, and that antisemitism is fundamentally incompatible with any authentic vision of justice and a principled commitment to democracy. These results are a lifeline to those of us who still believe that a principled, inclusive progressivism is not only possible but critically necessary.
The Jewish people are acutely aware that any form of prejudice is dangerous for our society and our world. The xenophobia and Islamophobia directed at Muslim Americans, particularly over the last several decades, has been horrifying. We recognize that for many Muslim Americans, Mamdani’s victory is a joyful turning point and a moment to celebrate. Representation matters, and Muslim Americans make up a significant population of New York City. We are genuinely happy for those who are seeing themselves, for the first time, reflected in the leadership of the world’s most consequential city.
Our critiques and concerns about Mayor-elect Mamdani are a direct reaction to his stated views and positions––not, in any way, his identity or his faith.
We wish Mayor-elect Mamdani only the best as he takes the helm of New York City, knowing that his success is our collective success. And we hope he will lead in the way he has promised––which would require a complete reversal of his deeply held and long-stated beliefs about the Jewish community and our miraculous liberation movement, Zionism.