The election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor will result in a fundamental shift in political options for American Jewry, as this contest’s outcome, it would appear, will have implications well beyond the Empire State. 

New Yorkers like Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are part of a new political power center of progressive Democrats being designed in part to offset the impact of the Republican Party’s move to embrace Donald Trump and his populist appeal. The storyline here involves the evolution of a new and significant counterpoint to mainstream Democrats. “Mamdanism” may well emerge as an organizing movement, driven by anger with the status quo as well as excitement for a new type of politics, and other progressives will take their cue from his campaign. Both next year and in 2028, we are very likely to see more progressives take on centrist Democrats in key races.

Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani during an election night event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in New York City on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

The foreign policy platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani is a member, is centered on Palestine to the total exclusion of Israel’s status as a sovereign state and any other policy considerations:

“DSA stands for the full freedoms and self-determination of the Palestinian people including the end of Israel’s colonization and occupation of all Arab lands, equality, and the right of all refugees to return to their homes and properties. We affirm, in alignment with Al-Thawabit (the inviolable rights of Palestinians) and international law, upholding Palestinians’ rights to resist occupation in order to secure justice and dignity. The Israeli occupation continues now and will continue to violate each and every one of these internationally recognized and protected provisions.”

The new mayor’s own words and actions represent a broad threat to the Jewish community. Beyond delegitimatizing Israel, Mamdani glorifies the intifada by normalizing suicide bombings, shootings or stabbings directed against Jews. In addition, during his time as a New York Assembly Member, Mamdani introduced the “Not On Our Dime” bill, legislation targeting tax-exempt charities that provide money to Israeli organizations — “effectively subsidi[zing] war crimes,” he called it. While the bill failed in the Assembly, it is an indicator of his priorities as a policymaker. 

What is this moment’s emotional and social impact on Jews?  For at least some New Yorkers, this outcome may lead to the environment of hostility and fear that prompted over 1,000 rabbis to sign a “Rabbinic Call to Action” letter in late October:

“When public figures like New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani refuse to condemn violent slogans, deny Israel’s legitimacy, and accuse the Jewish state of genocide, they, in the words of New York Board of Rabbis president Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, ‘Delegitimize the Jewish community and encourage and exacerbate hostility toward Judaism and Jews.’”

For a community already facing antisemitic threats, one can only imagine the concerns if people feel enabled or even encouraged to intimidate and harass Israel supporters, and worse. 

As America’s political stage becomes more radicalized, whether in connection with authoritarian tendencies on the right and socialist impulses on the left, where does that leave mainstream voters, including a significant base of the Jewish electorate? 

The battle over the future of the Democratic Party is now on full display, and just as we saw divisions among Jews in connection with this contest, Jewish voters will increasingly be in search of political options that provide them with a lane distinctive from the extremist politics that now define so much of both sides of the playing field. 

Steven Windmueller is professor emeritus of Jewish communal studies at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.