Why Many Jewish New Yorkers Backed Zohran Mamdani

November 6, 2025 | 11:23 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Zohran Mamdani's election as mayor of New York City marks a new chapter in the history of the city's Jewish community. As reported by Middle East Eye this week, with nearly a million people, New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

No candidate for New York City council or mayor can ignore the Jewish community, despite its diversity in terms of ethnicity, religion, politics, and culture.

Unlike other major U.S. cities, the Jewish population in New York is significant enough to be a force in the city's elections.

And as reported by The Times of Israel, support for Israel has long been seen as a prerequisite to winning in New York City.

Mamdani shattered that belief.

The 34-year-old Muslim man of South Asian descent built a coalition that did not involve the majority of Jewish people and capitalized on the Democratic Party supporters' anger towards Israel over the genocide in Gaza.

He is popular among left-wing Jewish New Yorkers, and polls show that Jewish support for Mamdani ranges from 10 to 33 percent.

He has Jewish left-wing allies supporting him, and he has repeatedly promised to protect the Jewish community and condemn anti-Semitism.

Mamdani said in a press conference on Wednesday morning that he will serve all New Yorkers, including Jewish residents who did not vote for him.

"I look forward to being the mayor for every person that calls this city home. That includes the Jewish New Yorkers that voted for our campaign, and those that didn’t. My responsibility is to all eight and a half million New Yorkers," he said, as reported by The Times of Israel.

Why Did Jews Choose a Muslim Mayor?

Polls indicate that the Jewish community in New York supports Mamdani by 10-33 percent.

Another survey conducted in July predicted that 67 percent of Jewish New Yorkers under 44 and 43 percent of Jewish residents overall would vote for him in the mayoral election, as reported by Middle East Eye.

Some young Jewish voters in New York have formed a group called "Jews for Zohran." This group consists of individuals and members of organizations such as Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and Jewish Voice for Peace. They have mobilized to engage their community, as well as New Yorkers in general.

According to Jacob Bloomfield, a New York resident of Jewish descent who supports Mamdani, young Jews were out supporting Mamdani both because they do not believe Israel represents them and because, like any other demographic, they have the same concerns about affordability.

Bloomfield has joined thousands of fundraisers to spread information about this campaign.

He supports Mamdani because he believes that "everyone in our society should have access to a basic standard of living: housing, healthcare, education, transportation, nutritious food, and safety."

Bloomfield is concerned that "basic building blocks of a stable life are out of reach for many, with more struggling to hold onto them, including New Yorkers who have what would have been considered solid, middle-class jobs thirty years ago."

"That’s unacceptable, and Mamdani is the only candidate who is seriously reckoning with the tragedy and gravity of that situation."

Matt Ketai, a 36-year-old actor and comedian, expressed his concerns about the independent mayoral candidate and former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, and other parties spreading Islamophobic narratives about Zohran and calling him anti-Semitic.

"All the Islamophobia that I've seen and this talk of antisemitism actually makes me feel less safe as a Jew because they're pushing these concepts and ideas that aren't actually true," Ketai said.

Ketai firmly believes in Mamdani.

"I love his principles. I love his ideas. I love that he's energising. He really just wants to be mayor of New York City. It's so rare to have someone who just wants to make the city they love a better place. I don't see that in any other politician."

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