With Brad Lander’s announcement on Wednesday of his primary challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), allies of the progressive New York City comptroller are feeling particularly bullish about his prospects.

Lander, a former longtime city councilman, is widely known in Goldman’s left-leaning, heavily Jewish district, which covers Lower Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn. Polling has suggested a primary matchup will be competitive. Lander is also expected to notch a key endorsement from Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City and a democratic socialist who performed strongly in the deep-blue district last month.

But even as Lander now seeks to capitalize on the newfound momentum from Mamdani’s victory, some experts speculated that he could face more obstacles than his supporters have envisioned in his bid to unseat a two-term incumbent with vast personal wealth and who is nationally recognized as a top Democratic foe of President Donald Trump.

“A Democratic primary for Congress during a midterm election in which the narrative will strongly focus on rebuking President Trump and his agenda means, for candidates, a heavy reliance on credibility taking on the president,” Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. 

Goldman, a Jewish Democrat who served as a Trump impeachment prosecutor before he was elected, “has those credentials and the ability to show voters how he took on Trump in the past and won,” Dilemani said. “His antagonistic history with President Trump is unique compared to the rest of the field.”

While both Lander and Goldman have been forceful opponents of Trump’s deportation efforts, Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, called Goldman “the guy who took on Trump before it was fashionable,” arguing that he “has plenty to run on.”

He also predicted that Lander “is going to have problems going after Goldman” over his support for Israel “because [Lander is] a Jew who identifies as a liberal Zionist,” a term increasingly used as a pejorative on the far left. Lander, 56, has long been a vocal critic of Israel, but he is not aligned with the anti-Zionist left in refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, a disagreement that could fuel some tension during his campaign.

“You can’t dislodge an incumbent without a negative campaign. What’s the negative campaign? It’s not clear yet,” Sheinkopf told JI. “Goldman has a better playbook to work with.”

In a statement to JI on Tuesday, Maddy Rosen, a spokesperson for Goldman, said the congressman “is focused on stopping the Trump administration from what they’re doing to immigrant families in his district right now.”

“He’s proud of his progressive record in Congress and will deal with Brad and other challengers in the new year,” Rosen added.

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

Lander, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor, during which he emerged as a top ally of Mamdani, had been widely viewed as poised for a leading role in the mayor-elect’s administration. Instead of offering him a job, Mamdani reportedly encouraged him to challenge Goldman, promising an endorsement in next year’s June primary, likely to be among the most bitterly contested Democratic fights of the upcoming election cycle.

Goldman, 49, does still possess some notable vulnerabilities that have made him a target of the left. His outspoken support for Israel amid its war in Gaza irked many progressive voters, for instance, while his ties to AIPAC have fueled criticism from another potential rival, Alexa Avilés, a far-left city councilwoman who has been weighing a campaign. 

Yuh-Line Niou, a former state assemblywoman who narrowly lost to Goldman during his first House bid in 2022, was considering a rematch but decided not to run to avoid splintering the anti-Goldman vote, she said on Tuesday.

Chris Coffey, a Democratic consultant who lives in the district, posited that by entering the race earlier than his potential opponents, Lander is now “trying to box out” the Democratic Socialists of America — which has officially endorsed Avilés for the primary.

“I think Dan will be able to raise money and have folks spend on his behalf,” Coffey added. “Overall a lot of money will be spent on this race.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC, which has endorsed Goldman and supported his first House campaign, declined to comment on the brewing primary battle.

Even absent outside spending, Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune whose estimated net worth is up to $250 million, can draw on his own personal wealth to help fund his reelection bid and mount an offensive against Lander — who is hoping to capture the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base and is reportedly courting endorsements from progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

During his first congressional primary three years ago, Goldman dropped nearly $5 million of his own money into the race, prevailing in a crowded field of prominent progressive opponents with a plurality of the vote. Goldman easily won reelection last year, beating a handful of lesser-known challengers.

Julie Menin, a moderate Jewish Democrat from Manhattan who last week declared an early victory in the New York City Council speaker race, is widely expected to serve as an ideological counterweight to the incoming administration of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist hoping to advance a range of far-left agenda items.

Some of their biggest clashes could stem from their sharply opposing views on Israel and antisemitism.

Menin, who would be the Council’s first Jewish speaker if officially elected in January during an internal vote, is an outspoken supporter of Israel and visited the country on a solidarity trip months after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Menin, 58, has advocated for Holocaust education funding and warned of rising antisemitism as a three-term city councilwoman.

For his part, Mamdani, a 34-year-old Queens state assemblyman, has long been a detractor of Israel — whose right to exist as a Jewish state he has refused to recognize. He has said that he will not participate in the Israel Day parade up Fifth Avenue, which Menin regularly attends, and indicated that he could move to enact some policies aligning with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting the Jewish state, even as he has also promised to protect Jewish New Yorkers by calling for a major increase in funding to prevent hate crimes, among other measures.

Their diverging approaches to such issues were on display late last month, when Menin and Mamdani each shared contrasting statements responding to a demonstration outside of a synagogue in her district during an event about immigration to Israel. 

While Mamdani admonished the synagogue for promoting “activities in violation of international law,” a comment he revised after facing backlash, Menin condemned the protest as “not acceptable,” saying “congregants must have the right to worship freely and to enter and exit their house of worship without impediment.”

Jewish community leaders suggested that Menin, whose district includes a wide swath of the Upper East Side, could find herself at odds with Mamdani if he chooses to act on some of his campaign pledges that raised red flags among pro-Israel advocates. The mayor-elect has said, for instance, he intends to revoke the city’s embrace of a working definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. He has also indicated he will reassess the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, potentially kicking the joint Cornell Tech campus out of its home on Roosevelt Island, which sits in Menin’s district.

A spokesperson for Menin said that she was not available for an interview with Jewish Insider on Monday. 

In a recent conversation with Errol Louis of NY1, Menin defended the Cornell-Technion partnership, saying that it has “created thousands and thousands of tech jobs.”

“I was just there last month. They’ve created hundreds of new tech companies, innovative tech companies that are now housed in New York City, that are really the future of our great city,” Menin added. “I think, look, we need to really try to come together on these issues, and I think it’s absolutely possible to do so.”

One Jewish leader close to Menin, who spoke with JI on condition of anonymity to address a sensitive issue, said that “the community sees her as a check and a safeguard” against Mamdani’s administration and that she “understands the historical importance of this moment,” as she is poised to become the first Jewish speaker. “She is a proud Jewish woman who represents a proud Jewish district.”

Still, the Jewish leader noted, Menin is “not the type to look for any fights,” stressing she is more likely to first seek common ground on divisive issues, unless she has “no choice but to push back.”

In recent public statements, Menin has struck a collaborative tone in regard to Mamdani, who will be the city’s first Muslim mayor, stressing their shared focus on affordability goals such as universal childcare, one of the mayor-elect’s top priorities.

Menin announced last week that she had secured enough backing to become the next speaker, touting votes from at least 36 members of the council. Though allegiances could shift in the coming weeks, Menin, who added endorsements Monday, is not expected to fall below the minimum threshold of 26 votes required to win in the 51-seat body. Her chief rival, Crystal Hudson, a progressive from Brooklyn who was seen as more closely aligned with Mamdani’s agenda, conceded the race last week.

In a statement last Wednesday, Menin, who did not make an endorsement in the mayoral race, said she was “honored and humbled by the trust and faith that my colleagues have put in me to lead the City Council as a force of action for New York families.”

“With this broad five-borough coalition, we stand ready to partner with Mayor-Elect Mamdani’s administration and deliver on a shared agenda that makes New York more affordable through universal child care, lowers rent and health care costs and ensures that families across the city can do more than just get by,” she continued.

A spokesperson for Mamdani, who did not publicly take sides in the speaker race, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the mayor-elect, said in a statement last week that Mamdani “looks forward to working with her and the entire City Council to deliver on our affordability agenda for New Yorkers.”

Lynn Schulman, a Jewish councilwoman from Queens and an ally of Menin, said she believed her colleague “will be an excellent speaker” and “fair to everybody,” especially as she prepares to negotiate a massive, $116 billion budget. 

“The Council is made up of a very broad and diverse group,” she told JI. “I think that there is going to be a lot of collaboration. Julie is someone who’s always brought a lot of people together. We have to work as a collegial body.”

Sydney Altfield, CEO of Teach Coalition, an Orthodox advocacy group, said that she was “encouraged” that Menin locked up a super majority among council members, adding that she had “worked closely” with the likely speaker and trusts “she is someone who can turn policy into progress.” 

“As New York moves forward with a Muslim mayor, a Catholic governor and now the potential of a Jewish council speaker, we have the chance to see something powerful,” Altfield said in a statement to JI. “Leaders from every faith standing shoulder to shoulder for our children.”

Despite looming tensions over Israel, Sara Forman, executive director of New York Solidarity Network, a local pro-Israel group, said it was “premature” to speculate about any possible friction with Mamdani, focusing instead on how Menin is poised to become the first Jewish speaker — which she called “hugely significant in this moment” of rising antisemitism.

“It gives the community some reassurance moving forward that there’s somebody just like us,” Forman said.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The humid air was swelling with anticipation as thousands of New York politicos descended on Puerto Rico’s capital last week to attend the annual Somos conference, a multiday marathon of post-election elbow-rubbing where receptions and panels occur alongside covert negotiations and late-night schmoozing at local bars and hotels.

The extended Democratic gathering, which kicked off on Wednesday and continued into the weekend, was adjusting to the ascendant political order led by Zohran Mamdani, whose victory in New York City’s mayoral election earlier that week had upended the Democratic establishment and led to new alliances that until recently would have seemed improbable.

While Mamdani was still largely unknown during Somos last year, just weeks after announcing his long-shot mayoral bid, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assemblyman now seized the spotlight as attendees swarmed his arrival Thursday at the Caribe Hilton, where the incoming mayor was later fêted by some of the state’s top elected officials at a crowded beachside reception.

For many Jewish leaders who joined the Caribbean confab, however, the feeling was far more subdued, as they openly grappled with the sensitive question of how to work with a mayor-elect whose stridently anti-Israel views conflict with their own core values.

It is a wholly unfamiliar position for Jewish leaders and mainstream Jewish institutions in New York City, where the mayors have long been proudly pro-Israel. But Mamdani’s stunning rise challenged the conventional thinking that a winning candidate in New York, a place with the largest Jewish community of any city in the world,  must show strong support for Israel. In breaking with decades of precedent, Mamdani still faced skepticism from a significant number of Jewish voters who cast their ballots for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary and then ran as an independent. Exit polls showed that Cuomo, a vocal supporter of Israel, had doubled Mamdani among Jewish New Yorkers, with around two-thirds of the vote.

As Mamdani prepares to assume office in less than two months, Jewish leaders mingling at Somos were freshly processing his looming mayoralty with a mix of shock, hesitation and bemused detachment. Even if some voiced hope for a positive relationship, most were not ready to specify how they planned to move forward or what was expected of his administration.

One well-connected Jewish attendee cited the five stages of grief in characterizing the reactions among Jewish community leaders who had largely resisted engaging with Mamdani’s campaign. Many of them, it seemed, were dealing with the first stage of denial — and were far from finally reaching acceptance.

“We’re so screwed,” one Jewish political activist was overheard lamenting at an event on Friday evening.

Still, some Jewish community leaders who spoke with Jewish Insider over the course of the retreat suggested they were willing to give Mamdani the latitude to follow through on areas where they are aligned, pointing to a sort of provisional detente in the aftermath of a bruising and emotionally fraught election.

“The mainstream Jewish community is open to dealing with reality,” Noam Gilboord, the chief operating and community relations officer at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said diplomatically while attending the conference.

The JCRC, for its part, has not yet held any direct meetings with Mamdani, though members of his team privately reached out about some key issues during the election and have continued to stay in touch, according to Mark Treyger, the group’s chief executive. The campaign gave a heads-up to JCRC leadership, for instance, before Mamdani publicly announced that he would ask Jessica Tisch to stay on as police commissioner, an encouraging choice to Jewish community leaders who favored her for the role.

“We are here to represent the transition with the Jewish community, and we’re so happy to be here,” Ali Najmi, a Mamdani confidante and chief counsel to the mayor-elect’s transition team, told JI in a brief exchange. “We see so many good friends and old friends, and we’re so looking forward to our new friends.” 

Mamdani’s team also checked in with the JCRC after he had won the primary to give assurances that the newly anointed Democratic nominee was committed to providing continued security for its annual Israel Day on Fifth parade — even if he was unlikely to attend, as a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state.

While Mamdani was absent from a Thursday night reception the JCRC hosted with the UJA-Federation of New York, he sent two of his top aides, Ali Najmi and Elle Bisgaard-Church, to join the event instead. They were warmly greeted by attendees in a public easing of tensions that would have been difficult to imagine just a few weeks ago.

“We are here to represent the transition with the Jewish community, and we’re so happy to be here,” Najmi, a Mamdani confidante and chief counsel to the mayor-elect’s transition team, told JI in a brief exchange. “We see so many good friends and old friends, and we’re so looking forward to our new friends.” 

Najmi did not share further details regarding the transition’s formal plans to address Jewish issues, steps that are certain to be aggressively scrutinized in the coming months.

Yeruchim Silber, the director of New York government relations at Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox advocacy group, said he appreciated the outreach and looked forward to meeting with Najmi again. “We’re hopeful that we could always find some common ground and work together,” he told JI during the reception. “Look, the mayor-elect said very clearly in his victory speech that he’s going to tackle antisemitism,” he added, “so we’ll take him at his word.”

“My understanding is there is interest in more formal Jewish outreach” from Mamdani’s team, said Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of New York Jewish Agenda, a liberal Zionist group that has been receptive to the mayor-elect. Wisdom, who joined a private conversation with Mamdani at a Reform synagogue in Brooklyn before the election, said the appearance of his aides at the reception on Thursday demonstrated “a desire to be in all kinds of Jewish spaces they may not have been during the election,” in order to “build relationships and show goodwill.”

“This is a very, very divided time for the city, I think I can acknowledge that,” Mark Levine, the incoming city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani, said in his remarks to the room. 

Mamdani, whose presence at formal Somos events drew throngs of eager admirers seeking selfies with the mayor-elect, likewise steered clear of an annual Shabbat gathering convened by the Met Council, the Jewish anti-poverty charity. Despite his victory, the event, which featured Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), New York state Attorney General Letitia James and other prominent officials, made no direct allusion to Mamdani — further highlighting his uncomfortable relationship with the Jewish community. 

Instead, the speakers at the Met Council’s widely attended reception zeroed in largely on such issues as hunger, poverty and the Trump administration’s efforts to withhold payments for food stamps amid the government shutdown.

“This is a very, very divided time for the city, I think I can acknowledge that,” Mark Levine, the incoming city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani, said in his remarks to the room. 

Levine, who is Jewish, is now facing pressure from some Mamdani allies to divest the city from Israel bonds. He has refused to change course, saying last week that he has “criticism of the Israeli government” but still maintains “deep personal ties to Israel.” Mamdani, meanwhile, has voiced support for ending “the practice of purchasing Israel bonds,” though Levine has indicated he does not believe the mayor-elect has the power to enforce such a policy.

The Shabbat reception was disrupted by anti-Israel protesters two years ago, weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. But no such demonstrations occurred last Friday.

Mamdani, who will soon become New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, has frequently vowed to fight rising antisemitism. The day after the election, he swiftly moved to condemn vandalism of a Jewish day school in Brooklyn that was defaced by swastika graffiti, calling the attack a “disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism” and pledging to “always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city.”

In his outreach to different parts of the Jewish community and in his public remarks during the election, Mamdani called for increased funding to prevent hate crimes and boosting police protection at Jewish institutions. He has expressed interest in a city curriculum backed by leading Jewish groups, even as it uses a definition of Zionism contradicting his own views on Israel. Mamdani has said he does not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Despite his pledges to counter antisemitism, that tension underscores how many Jewish leaders see his positions as an active threat and an impediment to upholding support for Israel, as the war in Gaza has fueled deep divisions in the Democratic Party. 

Mamdani’s anti-Israel stances have provoked concerns that he will act on his views when he takes office. He has indicated, for instance, that he would reassess the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, situated on Roosevelt Island. He has also pledged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes if he steps foot in New York City, in a controversial move that legal experts have questioned as legally dubious.

Mamdani has faced scrutiny for his ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, whose avowedly anti-Zionist mission includes demands that the mayor-elect implement several policies that would sever New York City’s relations with Israel. His refusal to explicitly condemn calls to “globalize the intifada” have otherwise continued to frustrate Jewish community leaders.

Robert Tucker, a Jewish philanthropist who had served as the commissioner of New York City’s Fire Department until last week, announced that he was resigning after Mamdani’s win, reportedly owing to the mayor-elect’s anti-Zionist stances.

But some Jewish leaders at Somos speculated that Mamdani may now see his vocal opposition to Israel as an albatross as he seeks to enact an ambitious affordability plan that will need buy-in from the state leadership.

During his time at Somos, the mayor-elect seemed careful to largely avoid the issue. “I will make clear that we are not looking to remake New York City in my image,” he said in remarks at a labor breakfast Saturday. “We are looking to remake it in the image of struggling workers across the five boroughs.”

In comments to a mosque he visited in San Juan, where the imam had mentioned Palestine during his own sermon, Mamdani spoke in metaphorical terms as he addressed the audience. “If you are not at the table, you may find yourself on the menu,” he noted. “It was a Muslim brother, Malcolm X, who reminded us that sitting at the table does not make you a diner. You have to be eating some of what’s on that plate.”

Still, some of Mamdani’s allies on the far left indicated that they were eager to use momentum from his victory to push a more hostile view of Israel into the mainstream discourse and to challenge incumbents who accept donations from AIPAC while promoting pro-Israel policies.

In a panel discussion on Thursday billed as “Colonialism, Resistance and Solidarity: Puerto Rico and Palestine,” Mamdani’s supporters — including City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, Beth Miller of Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist who has spread antisemitic rhetoric — were emboldened by his recent win, as attendees chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestina will be free!” and “Viva, viva Palestina!” Sarsour described Mamdani’s election as “a new day” and said “we’re not going back.”

“Being someone who supports the Palestinian people is no longer a political liability,” Sarsour, who has vowed to hold Mamdani “accountable” as mayor, told the room. “It is what gets you elected into office.”

In statements following the election, a range of Jewish organizations promised to hold Mamdani responsible for keeping Jews in New York City safe. The mayor-elect’s “victory marks the beginning of a new political chapter for New York, one that many in our community view with enormous concern,” Eric Goldstein, the CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, said in a letter to supporters. “His rhetoric on Israel and Zionism raises serious questions about whether Jewish New Yorkers will continue to feel seen and protected in the very city we indelibly helped build and grow.”

He said the Jewish community would be watching closely to ensure “that antisemitism is not given any oxygen in our neighborhoods,” adding that “actions matter more” than “words.”

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsh, who leads Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said in a post-election sermon that he “will readily engage in dialogue” with Mamdani if he chooses to reach out. “We will support Mayor Mamdani’s policies where we can — and oppose them when we must,” he concluded.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who, at Somos, celebrated Mamdani’s win, also stressed to reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Jewish New Yorkers still need to “see action” from the mayor-elect to address their concerns. “That’s one area where I know that there’s some opportunities for him to demonstrate, as he has said, but also demonstrate that he is there to protect all New Yorkers, to protect anyone’s right to worship or their beliefs but also their institutions,” she explained.

The Anti-Defamation League, for its part, launched a “Mamdani Monitor” to track policies that could impact Jewish safety and security. Jewish leaders in attendance at Somos, however, voiced reservations with the effort, suggesting they did not see it as productive as some in the community look for common ground to work with the mayor-elect.

Others voiced hope that a leading candidate for City Council speaker, Julie Menin, who is Jewish, would serve as a counterweight to Mamdani — in contrast with a leftist rival, Crystal Hudson, seen more as an ally of the mayor-elect. Menin, who declined to join a meeting between Mamdani and Jewish officials in the primary, is known as an outspoken supporter of Israel in the City Council.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who, at Somos, celebrated Mamdani’s win, also stressed to reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Jewish New Yorkers still need to “see action” from the mayor-elect to address their concerns. “That’s one area where I know that there’s some opportunities for him to demonstrate, as he has said, but also demonstrate that he is there to protect all New Yorkers, to protect anyone’s right to worship or their beliefs but also their institutions,” she explained.

Hochul, for her part, has also drawn backlash from Jewish donors for choosing to back Mamdani’s campaign in the general election, people familiar with the situation told JI. “She’s got a lot to prove,” one Jewish leader said of the governor, long regarded as a staunch defender of Israel.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat who declined to endorse Mamdani in the general election, told JI at Somos that, despite their disagreements on Israel, he was looking forward to working with the mayor-elect on areas of alignment such as cost of living issues.

But some Jewish community activists were more suspicious of the incoming mayor. One Brooklyn organizer dismissed the possibility of working with Mamdani outright, saying that his stances on Israel had foreclosed any hope of finding common ground, even on unrelated issues.

Leon Goldenberg, an Orthodox business leader in Brooklyn who serves as an executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, which endorsed Cuomo in the general election, told JI that he has been struggling to decide whether he will ask Mamdani for a meeting.

“I’m really at a loss,” he said on Thursday. “What are we going to talk about, Israel?”

The FJCC itself, which long enjoyed a close relationship with outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, was more optimistic, according to Josh Mehlman, the group’s chairman.  “We have met, and will meet with them again,” he said of Mamdani’s team. “We are confident we can work together for the best interest of the Flatbush community and the Orthodox Jewish community citywide.”

New Yorkers elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday as the next New York City mayor, ensuring the city will be headed in a leftward ideological direction for the next four years. Mamdani’s election has also sparked widespread concerns in the city’s Jewish community about how the incoming mayor, who refused to condemn “globalize the intifada” rhetoric or acknowledge the state of Israel as a Jewish homeland, would impact the day-to-day life of Jewish New Yorkers.

Jewish Insider asked senior New York Democratic officials and Jewish community leaders — granted anonymity to offer their candid thoughts — to discuss the top threats that a Mamdani administration could pose to Jewish life in the city.

Respondents expressed worry that Mamdani’s anti-Israel worldview could lead to heightened antisemitism, bring a vanguard of leftist operatives hostile to Jewish concerns into City Hall,  impact the effectiveness of the New York Police Department and fray ties between the city and Israeli institutions or businesses. He has even vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits, though experts have voiced doubt on the legality of the move.

These are five of the leading concerns from the Jewish communal leadership in New York City, home to the largest Jewish community in the country, about what Mamdani might do as mayor: 

1. Mamdani has expressed a desire to defund, or even disband, the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group — the unit that responds to major protests, such as the anti-Israel encampment on Columbia University’s campus last year:

“He’s been pushing for years to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group,” a source with knowledge of city government told JI. In December 2024, Mamdani tweeted, “As mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements and brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights.” 

The SRG responds to hostage situations, riots and protests, including the deadly Park Avenue office building shooting that occurred in July. In April 2024, the Strategic Response Group was called in to assist with clearing the anti-Israel encampment that overtook Columbia University, which saw several incidents of physical assault against Jewish students.  

“One question is if he’s actually successful in disbanding them,” the source continued. “That will depend on his will and bureaucracy and whether he can put together an administration to accomplish his tasks. If he’s going to be an effective mayor, then yes he could do it. And if he is, then you’re going to see completely different responses in the city. 

“Something super important is whether a Mamdani administration would actually have a proactive approach to policing and using security in a way that will make sure Jewish New Yorkers are safe. If it’s not a priority for them, then I’m afraid to see what will happen.”

2. Mamdani could further politicize NYC Public Schools at a time when anti-Israel rhetoric and related antisemitic incidents have surged dramatically in K-12 schools:

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, New York City Public Schools launched new curriculum materials on antisemitism and Islamophobia in its schools. As mayor, Mamdani will have power to appoint a new chancellor of public schools, who could rewrite that curriculum. 

Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, previously a far-left congressman who lost reelection in part because of his radical views towards Israel, has been discussed as a potential candidate to lead the country’s largest public school system. Bowman embraced a number of hostile positions toward Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7 and throughout his reelection campaign, including pledging to oppose funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and endorsing the BDS movement. 

The New York City Public School system has seen a surge of anti-Israel activity since Oct. 7. In November 2023, a Queens high school teacher said she was forced to hide in a locked office as a mob of students tried to push their way into her classroom, after learning she attended a pro-Israel rally. 

In May, a “Teacher Career Pathways” newsletter for educators in the city’s 1,800 schools called for students to be heard on the “genocide in Gaza.” NYC Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos apologized for the mass communication, stating that it should not have been released without consultation from the mayor’s office. 

A political insider told JI there is anxiety the new administration will fuel anti-Israel discourse in the classroom. “There’s concern about what curriculums will be used to teach about the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict,” he said. “What vendors will be used?”

The American Jewish Committee announced plans on Wednesday to “boost the ‘Hidden Voices’ curriculum in New York City public schools, which provides resources, lesson plans and workshops to highlight the histories and contributions of underrepresented groups in U.S. history.” 

3. Mamdani has expressed support for the BDS movement, which could have a wide-ranging impact on Israeli partnerships with New York City companies or institutions.

Mamdani said in June that he would attempt to divest from Israel if elected mayor — including discontinuing the NYC-Israel Economic Council, which Mayor Eric Adams recently launched.  

“His pursuit of discriminatory policies that boycott and divest from Israel, companies doing business in Israel, and U.S.-Israel tech partnerships could cost New York taxpayers billions over the next ten years,” said the head of a leading Jewish organization. “He knows [BDS] policy is discriminatory and antisemitic, yet he refuses to abandon it. Even worse, he continues to double down and has made it an important piece of his economic strategy.”   

Mamdani has also said he would “reassess” the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, potentially displacing it from its campus on Roosevelt Island. “Ending [the Cornell-Technion] partnership would deal a blow to the city’s booming tech sector, chase away innovators, destroy vital educational opportunities, and damage New York’s reputation as a global business hub,” Ted Deutch, CEO of the AJC, said in a statement. 

A political insider and Jewish communal leader told JI those are policies Mamdani could enforce, but “he would have to go out of his way to.”

“He said he’ll divest from Israel but it would be unprecedented for him to start organizing the pension boards under the comptroller,” the source said. “It doesn’t mean he won’t do it, but it’s more complicated than the stroke of a pen. No one knows if he will be passive, aggressive or proactive; there are many options of what we could do.” 

4. Mamdani’s inability to condemn antisemitism from his public perch, while associating himself with extremist individuals could lead to a rise in antisemitism:

During the campaign, Mamdani affiliated with anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour, considered to be one of the mayor-elect’s mentors and Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who Mamdani called one of the “foremost Muslim leaders” in the U.S. Wahhaj has a history of supporting controversial figures involved in terrorism, including testifying as a character witness at the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his role in plotting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Jeremy Corbyn, who led Britain’s Labour Party and was suspended over antisemitic comments, also phone-banked for Mamdani in the closing days of the campaign.

Mamdani has said he would oppose using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which would dismantle an executive order signed by Adams in June as part of a push against rising antisemitism. 

“Even if Mamdani doesn’t do anything to actually impact the day-to-day of the Jewish community, the symbolic impact of Mamdani’s victory [is] devastating,” another veteran Jewish communal leader said. “It shows that a person espousing views that most of us consider dangerous and antisemitic can get elected. It’s the breaking of a taboo.”

5. Mamdani’s failure to equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism could weaken enforcement of laws protecting Jewish institutions: 

Throughout his campaign, Mamdani repeatedly said he does not support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and that his criticism of Israel does not amount to antisemitism. But the majority of Jewish Americans report that Israel is a large part of their Jewish identity. 

Antisemitism watchers have noted that anti-Israel demonstrations — especially those on college campuses — have increasingly turned blatantly antisemitic by targeting Jewish, not Israeli, institutions such as Hillels and Chabad houses. 

The communal leader and political insider added that it’s uncertain where Mamdani draws a line at anti-Israel activity crossing into antisemitism, and therefore whether he would protect Jewish institutions. For example, they said, “it’s unclear if he would use protesting a university Hillel with ‘Free Palestine’ as antisemitic or anti-Zionist.” 

Even as Zohran Mamdani remains the front-runner heading into New York City’s mayoral election next Tuesday, some emerging signs indicate that his momentum is flagging in the final stretch of the race — underscoring potential vulnerabilities for the 34-year-old democratic socialist.

Early voting returns over the weekend, for example, showed a notable surge among older New Yorkers turning out in City Council districts on the Upper East and West Sides, in what some experts interpreted as more favorable results for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — running as an independent after losing the primary to Mamdani.

Meanwhile, a new Suffolk University poll released on Monday showed a tightening race, with Cuomo cutting Mamdani’s lead in half to just 10 points — 44% to 34% — in the closing week before the election.

The polling followed a debate performance last week in which Mamdani frequently found himself on the defensive — and faced criticism from Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, over his continued refusal to confirm his position on a series of ballot proposals.

“Cuomo’s numbers are going up because people are now paying more attention,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant leading an anti-Mamdani super PAC.

Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens who would be New York City’s first Muslim mayor if elected, had spent the last few days accusing his rivals of pushing Islamophobic attacks, delivering a series of emotional addresses in which he expressed pride in his faith and vowed to “no longer look for myself in the shadows.”

The Democratic nominee came under scrutiny on Monday after clarifying that he had misidentified a family member who he said had stopped riding the subway after the 9/11 attacks, “because she did not feel safe in her hijab.” The woman, Mamdani said, was his father’s cousin, not his “aunt,” as he initially stated during a speech on Friday outside a mosque in the Bronx.

Despite his outreach to Jewish community leaders in recent weeks, Mamdani has doubled down on his base as the election reaches its conclusion. He held a rally on Sunday evening whose attendees included Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer who has espoused antisemitic rhetoric and has said “America deserved 9/11,” a comment Mamdani disavowed during a debate earlier this month.    

Cuomo, who has recently escalated his criticism of Mamdani, said on Monday that Piker’s presence at the campaign rally “is insulting to all New Yorkers.” The former governor’s rebuke came after he himself had faced backlash for laughing with a conservative radio host who said that Mamdani would celebrate another attack like 9/11.

Thanks in part to his continued relationships with extreme figures, Mamdani’s recent campaign efforts have done little to reassure many Jewish voters who remain worried about his hostility to Israel and his refusal to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” among other issues.

“I think there’s a genuine and legitimate concern that Jews are not going to be comfortable living in New York with him as mayor,” said Mitchell Moss, professor of urban policy and planning at New York University. “This is not a matter of affordability but survivability,” he added, using a twist on Mamdani’s top campaign focus.

In an unprecedented show of organized Jewish opposition to Mamdani, more than 1,000 rabbis from all leading denominations signed on to an open letter last week that raised alarms about his candidacy and said that, if elected, he would threaten “the safety and dignity of Jews in every city.”

Mamdani has vowed to protect Jewish New Yorkers and voiced sensitivity to rising antisemitism across the city. He is likely to receive an endorsement from a Satmar Hasidic faction in Brooklyn representing a sizable constituency, according to a person familiar with the matter, following recent engagement with the community, which is theologically anti-Zionist. 

But mainstream Jewish groups and leaders continue to hold reservations with Mamdani’s campaign. New York Solidarity Network, a local pro-Israel advocacy group, released an open letter on Monday urging all of the candidates in the race to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, oppose boycott efforts against Israel and “engage a broad spectrum of Jewish voices, including Zionists,” among other things. 

The letter, which was presumably aimed at Mamdani but did not mention him by name, was signed by more than 5,500 Jewish New Yorkers, according to NYSN.

One Democratic consultant not currently involved in the mayoral race said Mamdani has “made some very questionable decisions about who he hangs out with and the rhetoric he uses” with regard to Israel — issues that a number of Jewish New Yorkers believe he has failed to adequately address in his campaign.

While the consultant echoed others who still expect that Mamdani will win next Tuesday, he added that the current trajectory of the race suggests his share of the vote may not ultimately be so commanding to deliver a mandate.

“Based on the data now, five points seems much more likely than 25 points,” the consultant said.

Jay Jacobs, the chairman of the New York Democratic Party, said on Thursday he will not endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, notably breaking with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who recently announced her support for the Democratic nominee.

In a statement, Jacobs said he had a “positive conversation” with Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman, soon after the primary, and dismissed what he called “the fear-mongering around him and his candidacy” as “wrong and a gross over-reaction.”

But while Jacobs said he shared Mamdani’s belief that “America’s greatest problem is the continued growth in income disparity in our nation,” the state party chair noted they “fundamentally disagree” on “how to address it.” 

Jacobs, who is Jewish, also cited Mamdani’s staunch opposition to Israel, an issue on which the nominee has recently indicated he has no intention of budging, as a major source of contention.

“Furthermore, as I expressed to him directly, I strongly disagree with his views on the State of Israel, along with certain key policy positions,” Jacobs said of Mamdani, who has vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he is elected and said he would move to terminate a city program to foster partnerships between companies in Israel and New York City, among other positions that have raised concerns among Jewish leaders.

Jacobs did not elaborate on particular policies that Mamdani has proposed, including free bus service, government-run grocery stores, universal childcare and rent freezes, some of which have faced scrutiny from the business and real estate communities.  

He also voiced strong objections to the far-left platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani has long been a member, saying he did not believe the group “represents the principles, values or policies of the Democratic Party.”

“For those reasons I will not be endorsing Mr. Mamdani for mayor of New York City,” Jacob said in his statement. 

The decision to withhold his support for Mamdani comes as the mayoral nominee has claimed backing from a growing number of mainstream Democratic leaders in New York, most recently Carl Heastie, the speaker of the state Assembly, a prominent holdout who issued his endorsement on Wednesday — days after Hochul made her announcement last weekend. 

Still, some of the state’s top Democratic elected officials, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), have continued to remain on the sidelines, with less than two months until the November election.

In splitting with Hochul, Jacobs, who has long sparred with his party’s left-wing base, joins some lawmakers who have recently said they will not back Mamdani; Reps. Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who represent Long Island swing districts targeted by Republicans, have criticized Mamdani’s far-left policies and confirmed this week that they will not be supporting his campaign.

Even as he declined to back Mamdani, the clear front-runner, Jacobs said he would not endorse any other candidates in the mayoral race, according to The New York Times. 

Mamdani’s opponents include Mayor Eric Adams, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — both now running as independents — and the GOP nominee, Curtis Sliwa.

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Leading elected officials in Minnesota are remaining silent in response to a top Minneapolis mayoral candidate, far-left state Sen. Omar Fateh, whose campaign has faced scrutiny for employing staffers who have celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and called for Israel’s destruction, among other extreme views he has yet to publicly address.

Fateh, a 35-year-old Democratic socialist, now employs a campaign communications manager, Anya Smith-Kooiman, who, in now-deleted social comments recently unearthed by Jewish Insider, has endorsed the Hamas attacks as a justified act of “resistance,” said Israel “does not have a ‘right’ to exist” and “must be dismantled,” and amplified a comment dismissing widespread reports of sexual violence on Oct. 7 as “propaganda,” according to screenshots. 

Meanwhile, David Gilbert-Pederson, a local political activist and City Council aide who has been listed as a Fateh campaign staffer in filings, has unreservedly praised the Oct. 7 attacks, insisting in remarks on a December 2023 panel discussion that supporters of the Palestinian cause must “stand in unconditional solidarity with those resisting oppression.”

But even as some of the state’s leading Democratic lawmakers have endorsed Fateh’s rival, incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, who is seeking a third term, they have so far declined to weigh in on the staffers’ comments and Fateh’s decision to hire them, which has raised questions about his acceptance of extreme rhetoric on a particularly sensitive issue.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Gov. Tim Walz, who are Frey’s most high-profile backers in what is expected to be a hotly contested race, both avoided addressing the matter to JI. A spokesperson for Klobuchar declined to comment on Friday, and representatives for Walz did not return multiple requests for comment.

Prominent Democratic officials who have not taken sides in the mayoral contest also did not respond to requests for comment — including Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor who is now running for U.S. Senate, and Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), a pro-Israel lawmaker also seeking to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN). A spokesperson for the senator did not respond to a message seeking comment about Fateh.

The muted responses underscore an increasing reluctance among many Democratic elected officials and public figures to speak out against extremist or antisemitic language related to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

In Minneapolis, only one of the three City Council members who have endorsed Frey’s reelection bid was open to weighing in on the matter, denouncing the campaign staffers as well as Fateh’s judgement for choosing to employ them.

“Defending the Oct. 7 terrorist attack is disgraceful, and it’s embarrassing that Sen. Fateh is OK with this behavior,” Linea Palmisano, a Democratic councilwoman, told JI on Friday. “Who mayors surround themselves with matters, and anyone who stands by these remarks isn’t ready for the job.”

LaTrisha Vetaw and Michael Rainville, the other Council members supporting Frey, did not return requests for comment.

While Fateh himself has not used the same rhetoric as his allies, the state legislator has been a staunch critic of Israel — calling for a ceasefire 10 days after the Hamas attacks and accusing Israel of genocide in its war in Gaza. 

Fateh has also voiced his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, which some critics have accused of stoking antisemitism, and has pledged not to engage with the local Jewish Community Relations Council, according to a candidate questionnaire solicited by the Twin Cities chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, a supporter of his campaign.

In the document, portions of which were recently obtained by JI, Fateh vowed to “refrain from any and all affiliation” with the JCRC, which the DSA dismissed as a “Zionist lobby group” akin to AIPAC, J Street and Christians United for Israel — even as the group is nonpartisan and represents the Jewish community to Minneapolis government officials.

Fateh did not share an explanation for his answer despite space to do so, according to the document reviewed by JI. 

Steve Hunegs, executive director of the JCRC of Minnesota and the Dakotas, sharply criticized the state senator’s responses to the DSA in a statement to JI on Friday, while questioning his commitment to combating antisemitism.

“Sen. Fateh’s campaign slogan promises a ‘city that works for everyone,’” Hunegs said. “But how can Sen. Fateh be understood as anything other than a divider when he’s pledged to boycott Jewish organizations? Likewise, how can Jews feel that our safety will be a priority when Sen. Fateh’s staff traffic in antisemitism? As proud Jews we aren’t going to allow Sen. Fateh, the DSA or Hamas apologists drive us from the public square.”

Fateh’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Fateh, who assumed office in 2021 as the first Muslim and first Somali American to serve in the Minnesota state Senate, won the state Democratic Party endorsement last month over Frey, who has challenged the results. 

The mayor, 44, is the second Jewish mayor to represent Minneapolis and has been increasingly outspoken against rising antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ attacks, while opposing some resolutions on Israel in the City Council that he has dismissed as one-sided. He has also been a critic of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the war in Gaza amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Based on the latest wave of Democratic primary results, it’s looking more likely that the hard-left “resistance” faction of the Democratic Party, which was muted in the aftermath of the 2024 election, is reasserting itself in a consequential way — especially in the deep-blue cities that make up much of the party’s voting base. 

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s come-from-behind victory in the New York City mayor’s primary was a major wake-up-call for party leadership. His success came after a surge of progressive discontent with the Democratic establishment, a sentiment fueled by the Trump administration’s aggressive (and at times, unlawful) deportation push, the imposition of tariffs and the general sense that party leaders in Washington weren’t doing everything they could to oppose President Donald Trump’s polarizing policies.

The reason the Democratic Party brand is polling at historic lows is because a sizable share of younger, progressive voters are expressing their discontent with their own party leadership — even as most still plan to vote Democratic in a general election. We’re seeing the growth of the left-wing faction within the party, in real time. 

The fact that Mamdani’s radical views on the economy, crime and antisemitism did little to dissuade a critical mass of rank-and-file Democrats is a sign of the changing mood of the party. 

That same dynamic that drove New York City Democrats was apparent in the first round of results in Seattle’s local primaries Tuesday night. 

In the early returns from the city’s all-party primary, moderate incumbents — serving as mayor, city attorney and council president — were all trailing left-wing challengers. The moderate city officials were elected in 2021, largely as a backlash to the crime, homelessness and disorder in the city under progressive leaders. 

In the most high-profile race, Mayor Bruce Harrell is trailing progressive activist Katie Wilson, 46-45%. “Wilson’s campaign generated new excitement when Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, won the mayoral primary in New York City in June,” Seattle’s NPR affiliate reported. 

In Washington, the primary results aren’t determinative; the top two vote-getters compete against each other in the general election. But they suggest moderates will be facing an uphill battle against left-wing insurgents.

The same dynamic is at play in Minneapolis, where conventionally liberal Mayor Jacob Frey decisively lost the Democratic Party endorsement to a democratic socialist state senator, Omar Fateh. 

Frey still can win reelection in November, when all candidates appear on the general election ballot regardless of party, but the rebuke from the Democratic delegates is another sign that the party is facing a revolt from its left-wing activists.

Right now, this looks more like the party of Bernie Sanders, Mamdani and AOC. Those are the candidates that are energizing the grassroots and driving social media engagement— especially when it comes to the party’s urban voters. 

These results send a strong signal that the Democratic Party vibes have shifted. In the first few months of Trump’s second term, party leaders were desperately trying to distance themselves from the ideological baggage of the left. More recently, they’re coming to terms with the possibility that the left is taking over the party.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) apologized to Zohran Mamdani for recently saying that he had made “references to global jihad,” as New York Democrats continue to weigh their response to the 33-year-old democratic socialist’s stunning upset in New York City’s mayoral primary last week that sent shockwaves through the party establishment.

The senator, who is among several Democratic leaders who have so far refrained from endorsing Mamdani in the general election, claimed in a radio interview last week that the Democratic nominee had made comments that are alarming to Jewish voters in New York, alluding to his controversial defense of calls to “globalize the intifada,” a phrase critics interpret as provoking violence against Jews.

“They are alarmed by past positions, particularly references to global jihad,” Gillibrand said in the interview on WNYC. “This is a very serious issue because people that glorify the slaughter of Jews create fear in our communities. The global intifada is a statement that means ‘destroy Israel and kill all the Jews.’”

While a spokesperson for Gillibrand, whose comments drew backlash, soon clarified that she “misspoke in that instance,” her team added on Tuesday that the junior senator had also privately apologized to Mamdani on Monday night, according to a readout of their call first shared with Politico.

The senator “apologized for mischaracterizing Mamdani’s record and for her tone on the call,” the readout stated, adding Gillibrand “said she believes Mr. Mamdani is sincere when he says he wants to protect all New Yorkers and combat antisemitism.”

The news of her apology came shortly after Mamdani had formally clinched the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, in a resounding, 12-point victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his chief rival in the Democratic primary, who had already conceded.

Mamdani, who significantly expanded his initial seven-point lead on election night, won 56% of the vote in the third and final round of ranked-choice tabulations, with Cuomo in second place at 44%, according to the New York City Board of Elections results.

“I am humbled by the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers in last week’s primary,” Mamdani said in a statement. “This is just the beginning of our expanding coalition to make New York City affordable. And we will do it together.”

Mamdani has been seeking to shore up support from Democratic leaders as he prepares for a fall general election against Eric Adams, the incumbent mayor running as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee; and Jim Walden, an attorney also running as an independent. Cuomo will also be on the November ballot on an independent line, but has not yet indicated if he will mount a campaign.

Even as Mamdani has claimed backing from a growing number of state and local party leaders, federal lawmakers have largely been hesitant to fully embrace him, as he has continued to decline invitations to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” an issue that has dogged his campaign in recent weeks.

Gillibrand, for her part, said in the radio interview last week that she had spoken with Mamdani about Jewish security concerns, and that he had agreed to work with her to “protect all residents” amid rising antisemitism.

“These are things that I think are important to New Yorkers, and I will work with him when he gets elected, if he gets elected, to make sure everyone is protected,” she said.

The political developments over the last week couldn’t send a more dispiriting message about the viability of the political center — in both parties. 

Last Tuesday, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Zohran Mamdani, who campaigned on a far-left agenda on issues ranging from the economy, crime and antisemitism, emerged as the Democratic standard-bearer for mayor of New York City. 

Over the weekend, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), one of the most pragmatic Republicans in the upper chamber, announced he wouldn’t be running for reelection after signaling he’d be one of two GOP votes against President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill. His decision to retire came after Trump, in a Truth Social post, threatened to support a primary challenger. 

Tillis, notably, was the deciding Republican vote scuttling the nomination of interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin for, among other issues, his associations with a Nazi sympathizer.

And on Monday, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), one of only three House Republicans who represents a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, formally announced his retirement, making it all the more likely a more-partisan Democratic lawmaker will succeed him in the seat. 

These are just the latest developments that underscore that moderation, pragmatism and bipartisanship are becoming endangered principles in a polarized political environment that rewards extremism and hot takes over thoughtful policymaking. 

The list of threats to the mainstream middle are all over: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is facing a serious threat from far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in next year’s primary despite his long record of pragmatism and thoughtful policymaking as Texas’ senior senator. 

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who reluctantly cast the tiebreaking vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary despite his record opposing vaccines, is nonetheless facing the likelihood of a tough renomination fight against state Treasurer John Fleming, a former GOP congressman.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Mamdani’s surprise victory threatens to activate the left-wing grassroots in numerous congressional primaries. For a while, it looked like the moderates in the party held the upper hand after an embarrassing 2024 election where activists’ preferred policies badly hurt the Democratic ticket. But amid a DSA victory in New York, anti-ICE activism percolating again throughout the party and significant crowds showing up for anti-Trump “No Kings” protests last month, there are signs of an empowered progressive flank of the Democratic Party. 

The emergence of liberal lawmakers like Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who are accommodating out-of-the-mainstream views in the party, is an ominous sign of where the party could be headed. 

Murphy told NBC’s “Meet the Press” about Mamdani’s primary win: “He was authentic, right? I mean, yes, he’s got some views that are a little bit out of the conventional mainstream. But you know what? The traditional political pundits have no idea what’s actually mainstream in this country …  And so Democrats should learn from his victory.”

We could be close to a time where both parties’ populist, activist wings become the dominant forces in primaries, a trend that has been apparent in recent years and may be past the point of no return. That would be a blow to good governance and a win for performative politics and nonstop narcissism being the driving force in American elections.

Zohran Mamdani’s commanding performance in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night underscored how the 33-year-old assemblyman, a democratic socialist from Queens, successfully built a coalition extending well beyond his far-left base of support.

But while his focus on affordability resonated with many voters across the five boroughs who rejected former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani’s all-but-certain victory has also empowered some of his more extreme supporters to espouse incendiary rhetoric that his critics say has helped fuel a rise in antisemitism in the city. 

In celebrating the presumed upset by a candidate with a long record of anti-Israel activism, many of Mamdani’s allies on the far left have promoted calls to “globalize the intifada,” a motto he had refused to condemn in the final stretch of the campaign, while attacking “Zionists” and using threatening language that has raised alarms within the city’s mainstream Jewish community.

“Consider the intifada globalized,” one prominent Mamdani supporter wrote on social media, using a phrase that critics interpret as violent incitement against Jews — and echoing a number of comments invoking similar language in the wake of the bitterly contested primary.

“The last 24 hours will be an inflection point in history for Zionism and the entity,” said another backer with a relatively sizable following on social media. 

“Tonight we celebrate,” a like-minded Mamdani enthusiast added in an ominously worded post. “Tomorrow we get the lists from Zohran and the round up begins.”

Mamdani, for his part, has avoided such rhetoric throughout the campaign, even as he has not fully distanced himself from radical elements of the pro-Palestinian movement in which he has long been an outspoken figure, particularly during his four years serving in Albany.

In the closing week of the race, he controversially defended calls to “globalize the intifada,” doubling down in a radio interview a day before the election, where he suggested that the phrase “has a variety of meanings to a variety of people,” but clarified that he does not himself use it now.

Earlier in the campaign, while speaking to Jewish voters during a candidate town hall, Mamdani also refused to disavow Hasan Piker — an antisemitic influencer who has stoked controversy for justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks — after joining the podcaster’s widely viewed show for an extensive interview.

“I do not have regrets of speaking to any interviewer, to any journalist, to any podcaster, because ultimately, my message is consistent in all of those mediums,” Mamdani said in May. “And it’s a message that I want to have reach as many people as possible while making clear what my values are and my statements.”

In his victory speech late Tuesday night, Mamdani — a longtime supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel — sought to assuage Jewish voters’ concerns about his positions on the Middle East, saying he is among “millions of New Yorkers who have strong feelings about what happens overseas.”

“While I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments, grounded in a demand for equality, for humanity,” Mamdani said, “you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree, and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements.”

Despite engaging in diplomacy as he tries to widen his support base for a competitive general election, Mamdani’s critics allege that his perceived lack of interest in drawing red lines on threatening rhetoric toward Israel and its supporters has helped create a permission structure for the far left to use language that has alienated many Jewish Democrats from the party they have long called home.

That Mamdani appears to have claimed a decisive win even before all votes have been tallied — and in a place home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world, no less — has also spurred anxiety among Jewish community leaders that he will likely maintain his dominant position in the general election, all while continuing to ignore the mounting pressure to more forcefully address extreme statements issued by his supporters.

“Does it not matter because we lost?” one Jewish leader, who had backed Cuomo, said on Wednesday, voicing skepticism that Mamdani will feel he needs to confront the fringes of his movement to prevail in what is expected to be a crowded general election to unseat Eric Adams, the scandal-scarred mayor now running for reelection as an independent.

Even within Mamdani’s campaign, some of his staffers have drawn scrutiny for their polarizing commentary on Israel and other issues. A campaign videographer, Donald Borenstein, has advocated for Israel’s elimination, writing 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.”

“It is time for Mr. Mamdani to move from disturbance to responsibility and to unambiguously reject and reign in these actors with whom he has been strongly associated,” said Rabbi Moshe Hauer, the executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, before citing a line from Mamdani’s speech on Tuesday. “He needs to prioritize the safety and security of New Yorkers over his ‘strong feelings about what happens overseas.’” 

Meanwhile, Mamdani’s political director, Julian Gerson, has voiced sympathy for Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of a health-care executive in Manhattan last year — arguing that he “is adored not only because he dared to target a leader of one of the most vile, self-enriching industries darkening our society today, but because he dared to defy the stasis of nihilistic rejection.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Rabbi Moshe Hauer, the executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, called on Mamdani, a self-described anti-Zionist, to disavow “the rhetoric and actions of those whose opposition to Zionism has driven them to work to instill fear and intimidation in Jews who support Israel.”

“It is time for Mr. Mamdani to move from disturbance to responsibility and to unambiguously reject and reign in these actors with whom he has been strongly associated,” Hauer continued, before citing a line from Mamdani’s speech on Tuesday. “He needs to prioritize the safety and security of New Yorkers over his ‘strong feelings about what happens overseas.’” 

A spokesperson for Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider on Wednesday.

As Democratic leaders who stayed out of the primary are now forced to confront Mamdani’s stunning rise, many have sidestepped his divisive positions on Israel in favor of praising his political acumen and broad-based message about the city’s affordability crisis, even if most have so far stopped short of endorsing him. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for example, congratulated Mamdani on “an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness and opportunity,” he said in a social media post on Wednesday. 

The Senate leader, who has equated anti-Zionism and BDS with antisemitism, did not comment on Mamdani’s record on Israel issues.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), on the other hand, chose to endorse Mamdani on Wednesday, an imprimatur from a veteran Jewish congressman that could help broaden Mamdani’s outreach to skeptical Jewish voters who lean progressive. Nadler, who called Mamdani’s win a “repudiation” of President Donald Trump, said he spoke to the assemblyman about “his commitment to fighting antisemitism” and “all bigotry and hate.”

Still, some lawmakers continued to air their concerns about Mamdani, including Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), whose Long Island swing district is heavily Jewish. “Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City,” she said in a critical statement posted to social media, arguing that “he has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing.”

Mamdani, who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, has rejected accusations of antisemitism, claiming his opponents have weaponized the issue to score “political points,” while vowing to increase city funding for hate crimes prevention by 800% if he is elected.

“No question that we will have to get behind Adams,” Leon Goldenberg, an executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, told JI. “The two big questions: Does Adams get the Republican line and does Cuomo run? Adams needs the Republican line and Cuomo to stay out of the race. Then he stands a slight chance.”

With some Democrats divided over Mamdani, the Orthodox Jewish community, which backed Cuomo during the primary, is now expected to unite behind Adams as he seeks reelection, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. 

The mayor’s team had been eager to face Mamdani in the general election rather than Cuomo — whose coalition of Black and Jewish voters largely overlaps with Adams. Cuomo, who conceded on Tuesday, has not indicated if he will run on a separate ballot line.

“No question that we will have to get behind Adams,” Leon Goldenberg, an executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, told JI. “The two big questions: Does Adams get the Republican line and does Cuomo run? Adams needs the Republican line and Cuomo to stay out of the race. Then he stands a slight chance.”

The GOP nominee, Curtis Sliwa, often dismissed as a gadfly, ran unopposed in the primary this week.

But even as Mamdani’s opponents, who believe his campaign has enabled increasingly vitriolic rhetoric toward Israel, game out 11th-hour strategies to defy his path to the mayor’s office, one well-placed Jewish leader suggested such efforts seem unlikely to succeed for the moment — hinting at a reordered political calculus.

“People are talking about it, but many people who have the resources don’t think that the math is there right now,” he said. “The mayor is deeply unpopular — and we learned last night that you cannot win an election on Black turnout and pro-Israel, Orthodox Jewish support.”