For generations, New York City has stood as a proud center of Jewish life, a haven for survivors of pogroms and death camps, a voice of moral clarity in support of Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, and a living symbol of American pluralism at its best.
When Israel fought for its life in 1967 and again in 1973, thousands rallied in Midtown Manhattan, not just as Jews but as Americans standing against tyranny.
New York’s mayoralty has long been a symbolic and substantive platform for support of Israel. Israeli prime ministers have been welcomed in Gracie Mansion.
Mayor Eric Adams, for instance, has issued proclamations honoring Israel’s Independence Day and has made lighting City Hall in Israel’s blue and white flag colors a recurring symbol of his support for the Jewish State. He also launched the N.Y.C.–Israel Economic Council, which reconfirms “New York City’s solidarity with Israel” and aims to strengthen economic ties and promote bilateral business partnerships.
Equally important, Mayor Adams adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism that exposes how anti-Zionism is often used as a mask for antisemitic hatred.
These actions carry deep domestic and international meaning. They affirm New York’s historic role as a center of Jewish life and signal continued alignment with America’s democratic ally in the Middle East.
That legacy would be erased – and reversed – under a Mamdani mayoralty. Instead of acts of political and symbolic support for Israel, we could expect to see proclamations in favor of a Palestinian state, declarations condemning Israeli policies and resolutions inviting boycotts and divestment. Coming from the mayor of the most influential and globally visible city in the United States, Mamdani’s pronouncements would reverberate across international media and activist networks.
In short, a Mamdani mayoralty would likely turn New York City into the global epicenter of anti-Israel agitation, activism and propaganda.
This isn’t mere speculation. It’s a projection based on Mamdani’s record, worldview and political affiliation. As a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, he belongs to an organization that doesn’t just criticize Israeli policy. The D.S.A. backs those who seek the dismantling of the Jewish state.
The organization’s platform stands “in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle” and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S.) movement and the return to Israel of all Palestinian refugees. The platform also calls for an end to all military aid to Israel and normalization of relations with Iran, as well as with Cuba, Venezuela, and “other countries targeted for resisting U.S. imperialism.”
Time and again, Mamdani has aligned himself with groups that excuse or even celebrate the actions of Hamas.
When he says Israel has a right to exist “as a state with equal rights,” he’s not affirming Israel’s existence. He’s calling for its dissolution. It’s a demand to strip Israel of its Jewish identity and remake it as something else entirely – a binational state with no Jewish national character, no Jewish immigration law, no Jewish symbols, and no national self-determination for Jews.
When Mamdani insists that Israel has a right to exist only under these terms, he isn’t affirming its right to exist at all. He is merely restating the goal of anti-Zionist ideologues in softer language: the destruction of the world’s only Jewish country.
What makes Mamdani’s anti-Zionist stance downright menacing is that he’s not running to lead just any city. He’s running to lead New York, the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the historic center of American support for the Jewish State. New York is also the North American media and financial capital – and the world diplomatic capital, home to the United Nations, UN missions and consulates of dozens of countries, and countless NGOs.
Now imagine New York governed by a man who has made clear that he views Israel as an illegitimate “ethnostate,” akin to apartheid South Africa, has characterized Israel’s military operations in Gaza as genocide, and is a longtime supporter of the B.D.S. movement. It’s not difficult to picture that man hosting anti-Israel solidarity conferences in municipal buildings, ordering city agencies to cut ties with pro-Israel nonprofits, and, given the D.S.A.’s support for defunding police departments nationwide, instructing the N.Y.P.D. to stand down or exercise restraint during anti-Israel demonstrations that routinely descend into assaults, property damage and transit disruptions.
Under Mamdani’s leadership, New York would become hostile terrain for Jewish communal institutions and organizations and for Israeli diplomats and anyone who expresses support for Israel. The seriousness of this threat can’t be overstated following the murder in Washington, D.C. of two employees of the Israeli Embassy.
Even if Mamdani claims to support only non-violent political pressure and actions to bring about the end of Israel as a Jewish state, his elevation to the mayoralty of New York City would be a historic victory for those who openly champion that same outcome through warfare and terrorism. A Mamdani mayoralty would embolden the most radical and violent elements of the anti-Israel movement, including unabashed supporters of Hamas and related groups, despite their horrific crimes and official designations as terrorist organizations.
Mamdani could use the presence of the UN to stage political stunts intended to humiliate Israeli officials. He has publicly vowed that, if elected mayor, he would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he set foot in New York City, citing the International Criminal Court’s trumped-up arrest warrant as justification. In response to the obvious facts – that the U.S. does not recognize the I.C.C., that federal law prohibits cooperation with it, and that Netanyahu has diplomatic immunity – Mamdani has doubled down, insisting that New York City should nonetheless act in accordance with “international law” and arrest him.
Iran’s Islamist regime, which explicitly calls for Israel’s destruction, would not miss the chance to exploit Mamdani’s term. We could expect Iran to seek validation through symbolic photo opportunities with the new mayor, while supporters of Iran and its terrorist proxies would become actively involved in organizing rallies, public events and political theater across the city. Their rhetoric – once confined to the fringe – would be increasingly mainstreamed.
The effects would be immediate. Hate crimes against Jews – which have already surged – would likely rise further, as activists and agitators would feel protected and validated by City Hall. Jewish students and faculty at New York’s public and private colleges and schools could be menaced and harassed with impunity. Jewish-owned businesses could face 1930s Nazi Germany–style boycotts, pickets and attacks.
Mamdani’s mayoralty would be the inversion of New York’s legacy. A city that once stood with the survivors of Auschwitz would effectively now stand with those who aim to continue the Nazis’ genocidal project by annihilating the Jewish State.
In a chilling sense, the transformation of New York into the global capital of anti-Israel agitation would accomplish by political means for enemies of Israel and the Jewish people what Hitler dreamed of doing with advanced rockets and what Al Qaeda tried but failed to achieve through its mega-terrorist attack on 9/11: the conquest of America’s greatest city.
The message would be heard loud and clear: New York is no longer a city of refuge for Jews. Instead, it is a city that questions the existence of the Jewish people, their homeland, and their right to self-defense and self-determination.
For those who care about Israel’s survival, America’s role in the world, and the safety of Jewish life at home, this isn’t a theoretical concern. It’s a five-alarm fire.
Final thought: Mamdani identifies as a practicing Shiite Muslim. Opposing his candidacy on the basis of religion would be both bigoted and un-American. But downplaying or ignoring his political positions and affiliations – particularly those that are hostile to Israel and completely incompatible with the values and security concerns of New York’s Jewish community – isn’t just naïve. It’s indefensibly dangerous.
