Would you ever have believed that the city with the largest Jewish population in the world could elect an anti-Semitic mayor? Yet that is a very real possibility in less than two weeks. Zohran Mamdani is a leading candidate in the upcoming Democratic Primary. Our best—and perhaps only—hope of stopping him is to support Andrew Cuomo for mayor. Early voting begins on June 14, and Primary Day is June 24. Be sure to rank Andrew Cuomo as #1 and do not rank Zohran Mamdani or Brad Lander at all.
For those considering waiting until the General Election to support Mayor Eric Adams or Curtis Sliwa, we simply cannot afford to take that risk. Polls show that if Mamdani becomes the Democratic nominee, he would easily win the General Election—garnering more votes than Adams and Sliwa combined.
Many of us have legitimate complaints about Andrew Cuomo’s record as governor. My purpose here is not to debate those points. The bottom line is this: Cuomo has a solid, consistent record of support for Israel and is our best chance at stopping Mamdani. In this case, failing to support the lesser of two evils is effectively allowing the greater evil to triumph.
At a 2021 rally, Mamdani declared, “It is Palestine that brought me into organizing, and it is Palestine that I will always organize for. Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.”
At a rally outside the Israeli consulate, he led chants of “BDS,” alongside others shouting “Smash the settler Zionist state” and calling for an intifada. Mamdani has publicly stated he would order the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to visit New York.
He is a member of the anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America, which supported an anti-Israel rally in Times Square the day after the Hamas massacre. Mamdani proudly highlights the organization’s endorsement on his campaign website. On October 8, 2023—just one day after the massacre—he issued a post criticizing Israel, not Hamas, stating: “The path towards a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.” These are clear code words for the destruction of Israel.
He has refused to state whether he believes Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. He has even declined to support resolutions commemorating the Holocaust. His campaign endorsements include numerous anti-Zionist groups, including some responsible for organizing the campus “demonstrations” that have made life miserable for Jewish students. His supporters include Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jamal Bowman.
Andrew Cuomo, by contrast, is a staunch supporter of Israel and the Jewish community. He has made the fight against anti-Semitism a central pillar of his campaign. Like all elected officials, Cuomo has made mistakes. But those mistakes were the actions of a flawed friend—not an ideological enemy.
Not long ago, it was taken for granted that politicians in New York would be pro-Israel and responsive to the Jewish community’s needs. That is no longer the case. Mamdani’s rise should serve as a blaring warning. Imagine the message it would send to the world if the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population was a self-proclaimed anti-Zionist. Imagine the campus demonstrators having an ally in City Hall.
We cannot let that happen.
This year’s mayoral election may not offer a perfect choice—but the choice is clear. We must turn out in large numbers to support Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic Primary and prevent Mamdani from taking power.
Manny Behar is the former Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council and a senior aide to New York City public officials. He now lives in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem and can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
