Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a leading left-wing Jewish advocacy group in New York City, is preparing to issue its endorsements in the June mayoral race as soon as this week, choosing among four candidates who have recently sat for interviews.

But internal endorsement materials reviewed by Jewish Insider indicate that the group holds some notable private misgivings with the two candidates it now appears likely to back — shedding light on its hard-line approach to key Jewish issues such as Israel and antisemitism that are expected to feature prominently in the primary.

The concerns recently raised by group members also underscore contrasting vulnerabilities of the leading progressives in the race, City Comptroller Brad Lander and New York state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, among far-left Jewish activists who have embraced increasingly critical views on Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

Both candidates have previously won backing from JFREJ’s political arm, the Jewish Vote, which was founded in 2018 and has frequently drawn backlash from mainstream Jewish community leaders in New York over its promotion of causes seen as hostile to Israel. JFREJ, meanwhile, has also faced scrutiny for describing Hamas’ attacks as “neither justifiable nor unprovoked” in its initial response to the violence.

The group — whose leadership is convening on Wednesday to finalize its endorsement decision — has said it will almost certainly back more than one candidate in the mayoral race and seems poised to issue a joint endorsement of Lander and Mamdani, the materials suggest.

The candidates are natural allies of the group, even as they have each pursued differing approaches to addressing Israel and rising antisemitism. Lander, a longtime JFREJ member who identifies as a “progressive Zionist,” has for his part drawn scrutiny from Jewish leaders for his ties to anti-Israel activists whose positions he claims not to share.

Following his candidate interview with JFREJ last month, however, Lander also faced skepticism from members, according to the documents, showing he has likewise struggled to connect with some Jewish activists on the far left as he moderates his message in the mayoral race.

“He is more Zionist than I’d like,” one member said of Lander in a comment included in a collection of post-interview assessments recently obtained by JI.

“He knows us in a very real way,” another member wrote in response to the interview, “but he should have been brave enough to tell us more clearly — to our faces — why he diverges from us on important points.”

Several members also took issue with Lander’s comments criticizing an anti-Israel protest that turned violent last month in a heavily Orthodox neighborhood of Brooklyn, which he accused of antisemitism. “Some JFREJers understandably were angry about his statement,” said one, while another member wrote that Lander “needs more education about his mistaken view of land sale protests.”

“My fear is that he would dump JFREJ like he dumped DSA post-10/7!” another member added, referring to Lander’s condemnation of a widely denounced Times Square rally promoted by the Democratic Socialists of America shortly after the Hamas attacks, where some participants were seen celebrating the violence and amplifying antisemitic messages.

Lander’s decision to speak out against the rally has apparently been an enduring subject of contention among JFREJ members who were disappointed by his comments, according to sentiments expressed in a recent private meeting to discuss the endorsement process, a video of which was reviewed by JI.

In the meeting last week, Alicia Singham Goodwin, JRFEJ’s political director and a DSA organizer, told members that it had been “shocking and painful” to see Lander among the chorus of public officials who condemned the rally, saying she “got on the phone” with him the following morning “to be like, ‘What is happening?’”

Later in the group meeting, Singham Goodwin also voiced reservations that Lander had not been at the forefront of “anti-Zionist organizing” that she said “gets really demonized by the establishment,” even as she expressed appreciation for his early support for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. “He doesn’t always stick up for that wing of the protest movement in a way that I would want him to,” she told members.

If Lander’s failure to fully align with the extreme left has provoked doubts among some JRFEJ members, then Mamdani, a Queens state assemblymember who is the fiercest critic of Israel in the primary, has raised some concerns about his lack of outreach to Jewish groups as well as his attention to antisemitism.

Mamdani, who is endorsed by the DSA, has recently been gaining momentum in the race. His insurgent left-wing candidacy, which has raised alarms among Jewish and pro-Israel leaders, could serve as a test of voter appetite for an outspoken supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement — which has traditionally been seen as a nonstarter in New York City mayoral races.

While straw polling taken after his interview with JFREJ last month showed the rank-and-file had a more favorable first impression of Mamdani than Lander, according to the internal documents, some members also weighed in with dissenting opinions.

“He didn’t speak about antisemitism,” one member said after the interview. “I’m surprised he didn’t do that even as a strategic move.”

“I was disappointed with his answer about who he consults with about Jewish issues,” wrote another member, who said Mamdani “didn’t name specific organizations or individuals in the Jewish world other than groups he’s worked with on Palestinian rights.”

In a separate comment, a member voiced support for backing Mamdani but added that “if he’s really serious about winning” then he should commit “to spending time learning with JFREJ and partners” while “reaching out to Jews who don’t share his politics.”

During the recent endorsement meeting, Singham Goodwin also weighed in to express her frustration with how Mamdani had reached out to JRFEJ about building support among Jewish activists on the left for his controversial bill seeking to strip nonprofit groups of their tax-exempt status for “engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.”

JRFEJ supported the legislation, which is called the “Not on Our Dime” act and has not been passed, but believed that Mamdani did not bring the group in early enough, and then presented members with “a big ask to do a lot of Jewish support” when the bill launched, Singham Goodwin said in the meeting.

“It felt like we weren’t brought in to consult on the thing — but we’re sort of like the helpful Jews to do the clean-up,” she continued. “It was tough.” 

In a statement to JI on Tuesday, Sophie Ellman-Golan, a spokesperson for JFREJ, said the group would be “making an announcement soon” and “would never consider supporting candidates who do not take antisemitism seriously or who don’t fiercely defend free speech and the right to protest.”

“We’re proud of the robust and democratic process we’ve been going through with our members, which has included a lot of open conversation and debate,” she added.

A spokesperson for Lander did not respond to a request for comment. Mamdani’s campaign declined to comment.

Despite the group’s private reservations, both candidates received largely positive reviews from JFREJ members. In one post-interview comment collected by the group, for instance, a member chimed in to say that Lander has “stuck his neck out for progressives” including Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian American activist who has been accused of antisemitism. The member also said Lander is “working with” Shahana Hanif, a city councilwoman facing a primary challenger backed by Jewish and pro-Israel activists in his Brooklyn district.

The group has also interviewed state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, but does not appear to be seriously considering endorsing them, according to the internal documents and video recording seen by JI.

Even as they are occupying different lanes in the race, candidate questionnaires solicited by JFREJ suggest Lander and Mamdani are broadly aligned on several issues. Both agreed, for example, to “refuse donations” from and “connections” with pro-Israel organizations as well as “any other special interest groups that intervene in U.S. elections to demonize left-leaning candidates who support Palestinians, or that advocate for the unconditional flow of U.S. military funding and weapons to the Israeli government.”

Ramos, for her part, declined to consent to that demand, according to her questionnaire, while Myrie did not share written responses with the group. Ramos’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment. 

In the meeting last week, Singham Goodwin explained that Lander and Mamdani “represent different poles” of what she called the JFREJ “Israel-Palestine umbrella.” 

“It’s not only fine but strategic, I think, for JFREJ to have a broader tent, and we can locate ourselves within these two candidates,” she told members. “You might find yourself a lot more aligned with one than another, and the example I gave about Brad’s tweet post-Oct. 7 is where we chafe at this a little bit.”