The election of Zohran Mamdani as the mayor of New York City on Tuesday was celebrated by some Jewish leaders and met with alarm by others, reflecting the continued divide that has split families and synagogues and persisted throughout the monthslong mayoral campaign.
New York City has the largest Jewish population in the United States, and Mr. Mamdani’s critical views of Israel pushed the mayoral race into an unexpected front in debates about antisemitism and Jewish safety. His views, which until recently seemed to be politically untenable positions for a politician in the city, have unnerved many Jewish New Yorkers.
In his victory speech on Tuesday, Mr. Mamdani, 34, addressed those concerns, telling his cheering supporters: “We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism.”
His pledge echoed the closed-door conversations that he has had with key rabbis and their congregations since he won the primary in June, and on Tuesday some Jewish leaders sought to ease tensions.
The Union for Reform Judaism, a major Jewish movement in the United States, urged the Jewish community “to help lower the temperature, listen generously and take steps to promote healing” in the wake of Mr. Mamdani’s victory.
“Reasonable people across the political spectrum — and across the Jewish community — must aspire to respectfully disagree, and we will do our part to bring people together without erasing real differences,” it added.
But many mainstream Jewish groups responded to his victory with wariness and caution.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, a staunch pro-Israel organization, released a rueful statement decrying “Mayor-elect Mamdani’s long, disturbing record on issues of deep concern to the Jewish community.”
“We will approach the next four years with resolve,” he wrote. “We expect the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world to stand unequivocally against antisemitism in all its varied forms and support all of its Jewish residents just as he would all other constituents.”
The UJA-Federation of New York, a major Jewish group, said in a statement on Tuesday that it “cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values.”
Throughout his campaign, Mr. Mamdani refused to compromise his belief that Israel should be structured not as a Jewish state, but instead as one with equal rights for all regardless of religion. He also argues that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, a claim also made by a United Nations commission and many human rights groups. He appeared reluctant early in the campaign to condemn an activist phrase, “globalize the intifada,” that many Jews find threatening.
That dynamic was inflamed in the closing weeks of the race, when Mr. Mamdani’s chief rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, accused him of antisemitism. Mr. Mamdani has strongly rejected charges of antisemitism and has tried to use his experience as a member of the city’s Muslim religious minority to relate to Jewish New Yorkers. And Jews also play a prominent role in his campaign, including many of his advisers and his top political ally, Brad Lander, the city comptroller.
But his victory on Tuesday, with the support of many Jewish voters, reflected the differing opinions on Israel within the community. Throughout the race, some Jewish Mamdani supporters have said in interviews that they were either unbothered by or supportive of his views on Israel.
Beth Miller, 38, the political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, a left-wing group that backed Mr. Mamdani, said she thought his victory showed that voters, including Jewish ones, were eager to hear elected officials make a principled argument against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
And Ms. Miller, who attended Mr. Mamdani’s victory party, criticized Mr. Cuomo for calling him antisemitic, an attack she described as “fearmongering.”
“I think that this victory shows very clearly that progressive politicians who want to mobilize and unite a grass roots base of voters need to speak very clearly about Palestinian rights and speak out against atrocities anywhere in the world, including in Palestine and the genocide in Gaza,” she said.
Claire Fahy contributed reporting.
Liam Stack is a Times reporter who covers the culture and politics of the New York City region.
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