Mamdani’s anti-Israel obsession is key to his rise

With less than three weeks until Election Day in New York City, it’s clear that the hopes for preventing the election of Zohran Mamdani to be the next mayor are dwindling. That means it’s time to stop pretending that it won’t happen. Instead, what is needed most now is a sober assessment of how Jewish residents of the five boroughs will be affected by having an openly antisemitic mayor of the greatest Jewish city outside of Israel.

For those who prefer to avoid that, we can roll out all the usual clichés about how the only poll that counts is the one in which the voters cast ballots. We can even quote that icon of New York baseball, Yogi Berra, and say, “It ain’t over until it’s over.” Still, it is necessary to examine the hard facts.

An anti-Mamdani flop

State, city and national Democrats could have reacted to the primary results in June by rejecting Mamdani and declaring their willingness to support an independent alternative, rather than let their party be taken over by not merely a hardcore Marxist but someone with a long record of support for the anti-Zionist and antisemitic cause of destroying the State of Israel. But they didn’t. While some Democratic leaders, like Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York City, have remained neutral, most of the party, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, has rallied behind him.

That was also reflected in polls that showed that the large plurality of New York Democratic voters who won him the June primary was not a fluke or the result of a low turnout.