As top candidates for New York City mayor have debated their differing approaches to Israel and antisemitism, Zohran Mamdani, a far-left state assemblyman whose insurgent campaign has stoked concerns among Jewish leaders, is doubling down on his anti-Israel positions, appearing with an antisemitic influencer and hiring staff who embrace extreme rhetoric calling for Israel’s elimination.

Over the weekend, Mamdani sat down for an extensive interview with Hasan Piker, a popular streamer with millions of online followers who is a staunch opponent of Israel and has stirred controversy for antisemitic comments and for justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, even as he has forcefully denied some of the terror group’s atrocities.

In the interview, Mamdani, a Ugandan-born Muslim, reiterated his claim that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, arguing that “many New Yorkers, far more than the political class would have you imagine, have been rightfully horrified by” the ongoing conflict. 

The 33-year-old democratic socialist also took aim at former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who in a speech at a Manhattan synagogue last week accused his opponents of failing to stand with Israel and fueling antisemitism by aligning with an increasingly radical activist left.

According to Mamdani, Cuomo was “taking a real crisis of antisemitism in our city” and “weaponizing it purely for personal gain.” The former governor, who is now mounting a comeback after resigning from office amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies, “tries to mischaracterize any New Yorker standing up to say that every single person deserves freedom and justice and safety,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani has demonstrated major blind spots in addressing rising antisemitism and other issues of concern to Jewish voters. He has faced scrutiny for issuing a statement on the Hamas attacks that made no mention of the terrorist group and equivocated over the massacre. More recently, he defended the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, which endorsed his mayoral campaign, for promoting a widely denounced Times Square rally where some participants celebrated the violence of Oct. 7 and were heard using antisemitic slogans.

Mamdani, the only major candidate in the primary to endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, has further angered Jewish leaders for introducing a bill to strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status for “unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity,” an effort critics have called antisemitic because it targets Jewish groups.

The state lawmaker has also hired campaign staffers who have used extreme language while addressing the war in Gaza. A videographer for his campaign, Donald Borenstein, wrote in a since-deleted social media post late last year that “Palestine will be free, Lebanon will stand strong, and the fascist state of Israel will fall in our lifetimes.” Another campaign staffer, Vincent Vertuccio, helped organize an effort last year to project such messages as “F***K AIPAC” onto the Washington headquarters of the pro-Israel lobbying group. 

Like Mamdani, several of his campaign staffers have participated in anti-Israel demonstrations that roiled New York City in the months after the Hamas attacks, including one protest that disrupted Grand Central Station and was organized by the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, whose political arm was an early backer of his mayoral bid.

To be sure, given the city’s sizable Jewish population, even Mamdani has felt the need to soften his rhetoric as the June primary nears. In an interview with a local news outlet last week, he stressed that he recognizes Israel as a state, marking a departure from past comments in which he has used more incendiary language to voice criticism of the Jewish state.

Mamdani, who touted a plan to increase city funding to address hate crimes, also said that he would welcome the opportunity to address Jewish voters at the synagogue in Manhattan where Cuomo spoke last week.

Despite such public overtures, though, Mamdani has continued to engage most prominently with Israel critics on the far left, underscoring the limits of his outreach in a city that is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. Polls have consistently shown him in second place, well behind Cuomo, who has aggressively courted Jewish voters in the weeks leading up to the June 24 primary election.

The synagogue where Mamdani expressed interest in speaking, West Side Institutional Synagogue, did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday about whether it was working with him to arrange an appearance. 

Andrew Epstein, a spokesperson for Mamdani, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday night that the campaign has been reaching out to the synagogue daily for the past week but has not yet received a response about scheduling a time to address congregants. The synagogue has invited every mayoral candidate to speak before the primary.

Julian Gerson, Mamdani’s political director, said in another statement shared with JI that “Zohran has been engaging with a diversity of Jewish New Yorkers and organizations since before this campaign began.”

“We’re running on compassion and loving one’s neighbors — fundamentally Jewish values — and are excited to continue sharing our platform for a safer, more affordable New York with Jewish voters across the city,” Gerson added.

Still, mainstream Jewish community leaders say they haven’t heard from him, even if they have not indicated any particular eagerness to engage with his campaign.

And some of Mamdani’s allies on the Jewish left have raised concerns over his lack of outreach to Jewish groups that “don’t share his politics” as well as his lack of attention to antisemitism.

Though Mamdani recently won an endorsement alongside Brad Lander, the city comptroller and another top progressive in the primary, from the anti-Zionist group Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, some members voiced misgivings with the state lawmaker following his interview with the group, according to internal documents reviewed by JI last month.

“He didn’t speak about antisemitism,” one member said of Mamdani in a post-interview appraisal that was collected by JFREJ. “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 the meantime, Mamdani has continued to engage with more friendly audiences on such issues and his outreach seems unlikely to help grow his appeal with Jewish voters who could play a decisive role in the primary.

Next week, for instance, Mamdani is scheduled to join Peter Beinart, the anti-Zionist journalist, for a virtual discussion about his campaign touching on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, among other issues.