Follow me through a couple of hypothetical scenarios.
It’s 2047. A candidate running for mayor of Tel Aviv goes on a podcast with a man who said Israel deserved the October 7 massacre. He doesn’t rebuke the person at all but rather laughs and jokes for 40 minutes. When journalists question the candidate about the statement regarding October 7, he ignores them for six months. Could this person win? Likely not.
If Sadiq Khan, currently serving his third term as mayor of London, had gone on the podcast of someone who said London deserved the 7/7 terrorist attacks in 2005 and ignored journalists who asked him about it, could he have gotten elected? Doubtful.
So how is it that Zohran Mamdani went on the podcast of Hasan Piker, who previously said America deserved 9/11, initially ignored journalists who asked him about it, only to say, six months later, when asked on a debate stage, that Piker’s 9/11 comment was “reprehensible?” Piker laughed on his livestream because he knew Mamdani had ample time to rebuke him and previously did not.
While it is impossible to know the exact number of Jews who voted in New York City’s mayoral election last week, it is estimated that two thirds voted for Cuomo and one third voted for Mamdani. Jews around the world are asking the question: How did Jews vote for Mamdani? It is important to remember that no group is a monolith, and every voter has their own motivations. I first wrote an article warning against Mamdani in April and people told me there was no way he could win. In the last few weeks, I communicated with some Jewish Mamdani voters and was deeply disappointed that many were unaware of basic facts and repeated talking points to defend Mamdani. From these conversations and analysis, a clear picture has emerged.
1. Jewish guilt and Tikkun Olam. For many years, Qatar has spent millions on American college campuses. Professors have indoctrinated students to think that America’s capitalism is evil. They told students to beware of their white privilege, and this was a burden they should carry. But after October 7 and during the war in Gaza, there was suddenly a “Get Out of Jail Free” card if you vilify Israel. If you say Israel is committing agenocide, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the devil, your guilt is expunged. Oh, and if you are Jewish and say this, you are a hero! Vote for Mamdani? Then we won’t call you a “Zio” and you will have proved your morality.
In addition, for many who do not study Torah or keep many traditions, there is a need to latch on to something to still feel Jewish. Some rabbis have told people that the essence of Judaism is Tikkun Olam, a phrase that essentially means making the world a better place. They believe that social justice is the most important thing and that Mamdani will help the poor and the homeless. It is great for Jews to stand up for the rights of others and help those who are less fortunate. But, as Gad Saad coined the phrase “suicidal empathy,” one can devote so much time to others at the expense of one’s own greater interest.
The October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar made it an obsession to study Hebrew and Israeli/Jewish psychology. He found that there is a great burden of Jewish guilt, as Jews want to appear as they are doing the right thing. Despite his intention to destroy Israel, lifesaving surgery was performed on him to remove a brain tumor at Soroka Medical Center. In the history of the world, did any government release 1,017 prisoners for one? Only Israel, who traded 1,016 plus Sinwar in 2011 to free Gilad Shalit, a soldier who was not otherwise famous prior to being taken captive. Plan A for Sinwar was that Iran and Lebanon would join in the battle in full throttle. That did not happen. Plan B was that by videotaping the horrific atrocities and putting them on social media, Israel would unleash a quick massacre, killing a huge number of Palestinians in a few days. Then Israel could be called the new Nazis, they would repeat the genocide charge that had been made years before and Israel would be ostracized.
That didn’t happen either. So, Plan C was working the media to not focus on the fact that Hamas did not distinguish between civilians and combatants in reporting deaths, that it used human shields and that Hamas often wore jeans and tee-shirts rather than uniforms while fighting. Sinwar knew he’d likely be killed, and might not go down as Saladin, but if he could erode American and world support for Israel, it would be a great success and it would get Jews to distance themselves from Israel. The goal is to blame only the IDF for the war and absolve Hamas of any responsibility.
2. Hatred of Trump. Despite being a staunch supporter of Israel, orchestrating the Abraham Accords, making the gutsy call to mob the Iranian nuclear facility of Fordow, and moving the embassy to Jerusalem, some Jews think that President Trump is dangerous and a bad role model. They cite his often-inappropriate statements, false talk of a stolen election that resulted in January 6, and they believe that what ICE agents are doing is sometimes unconstitutional.
They were sure Trump’s political career was done after 2020, and his improbable return to the White House felt like an impossible betrayal by voters. With Mamdani positioning himself as an anti-Trump candidate, they felt that a vote for Mamdani was a vote against Trump and this could be a beginning of a reversal.
3. Cuomo’s baggage. Though he was never convicted of any crime, Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor in disgrace when a report from the attorney general concluded that he harassed 13 women. He never sufficiently apologized, and the court of public opinion saw him as guilty, since most reasonable people would think a man accused by 13 women hasdone something wrong. On top of that, some believe, rightly or wrongly, that he was responsible for the deaths of their loved ones during the pandemic by requiring nursing homes to take in those who tested positive. He campaigned as though he had it in the bag and was defeated in the primary. He only woke up in the second debate and got some good shots at Mamdani, but it was too little, too late for many.
4. Incoherent word salads. The thing about a word salad is,if you have the right dressing, people will find it easy to digest, because they don’t know what they are consuming. In a debate, Mamdani said Israel had the right to exist, but when asked as a “Jewish state,” he said “a state with equal rights.” One who closely followed his campaign would understand he doesn’t believe Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, but he has no problems with countries of Muslim supremacy or his birth country of Uganda where one can be jailed for being gay. Some didn’t listen closely.
Professors had been telling their students that anti-Zionism and antisemitism were two completely different things, with the former being acceptable despite the fact that most Jews are Zionists. They also gave a false definition of Zionism as one that involves hatred of Palestinians. But the mask came off as a horrific audio recording of a Hamas terrorist calling his mother had him boasting to her that he killed 10 Jews with his bare hands was revealed. Not Israelis, but Jews. Mamdani, who often slanders Israel saying it is committing a genocide, has put the mask back on and fooled some who don’t understand that anti-Zionism is almost always antisemitism.
A response I got from some on this topic was: “It’s not antisemitism to criticize Israel.” This talking point has no logical coherence because it is the Israeli media that criticizes Israel more than anyone else. Of course, one can criticize Israel. But when it becomes an obsession, and there is a double standard, the motive is clear. Mamdani said he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite New York City not having any jurisdiction, as America is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court, which could issue a warrant for him. He also didn’t mention any other leaders he would arrest.
5. Islamophobia. It is true that there were some who claimed a Muslim should not be elected. This is of course wrong as people should vote for or against a candidate based on their qualities and not religion. But I communicated with some Jewish voters who said they would cast their ballot for Mamdani and I asked them if they’d read the unprecedented letter signed by more than 1,000 rabbis and cantors. The answer: The rabbis were Islamophobic. I responded by pointing out that London rabbis didn’t sign a letter against a Muslim mayor there and Dearborn, Michigan rabbis didn’t sign any letter against an all-Muslim government. What does that say? I got no answer. Whether these people actually believe the letter was Islamophobic or not is hard to say, because they likely did not read the letter.
6. Not antisemitic. While there are some people,like Nick Fuentes or Dan Bilzerian, who openly say “Jewish supremacy” is a great threat to America, not everyone is going to make blatant remarks like that. Some messaged me asking for a sentence that “proves Mamdani is antisemitic.” I alerted them to the fact that, as a rapper, he praised the Holy Land 5, who funded Hamas. He also said the boots of the NYPD were laced by the IDF (they do anti-terrorism training) and he did not condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.” I explained that an obsession with Israel above all else is often a hallmark of antisemitism, but the point is not to label someone antisemitic or not. The point is that someone in a position of power representing a city with the largest population of Jews outside of Israel, at about one million, must decide whether his statements stoke Jew-hatred or quell it.
7. Economic reasons. Some, who are facing tough economic times, as New York City is absurdly expensive, believed that Mamdani would deliver on his promise of free child care for kids under five and freeze rent, and believed without this, they would have to move out of New York City.
The majority who did not vote for Mamdani have anger for those who did. The minority that did vote for Mamdani feel as though they are unheard. It pained me to have people respond to me who did not know many facts, and some repeated false things they saw online
In an article on his website, Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of Boca Raton Synagogue wrote: “Jews supporting Mamdani are still part of our family. They are misguided, confused, maybe even lost, but they are ours. The goal isn’t to shame or scorn them; it’s to love them back into the light. We can disagree deeply while still caring deeply. We can hold firm to our principles without hardening our hearts.”