What the Mamdani moment tells us about the 2025 Democrats, and the future of Jewish New York

Photo: AP Images

Zohran Mamdani’s surge to clinch the Democratic nomination for NYC mayor has left America’s largest city facing a self-declared socialist and pro-Palestinian activist. Does his rise mean that the city has swung left? To the city’s Jewish community, the answer may not matter

Back in January, when former governor Andrew Cuomo’s chances of becoming the next mayor of New York City seemed almost guaranteed, a little-known state legislator with an unfamiliar name posted a video on his TikTok account.

“New York is suffering from a crisis, and it’s called halal-flation,” says Zohran Mamdani, a telegenic 33-year-old state assemblyman who identifies as a Democratic Socialist, then trailing Cuomo by somewhere between 30 to 40 points — if you believe the polls.

Mamdani gets into one of the ubiquitous New York City food carts — which are almost as iconic to the city as skyscrapers are — and asks the vendor how much a “plate of halal” costs these days. He gets them to complain about how a street permit — which costs $500 directly from the city — costs them upwards of $20,000, because the process is so backlogged, they have no choice but to rent it from a permit holder.

With a showman’s flair, Mamdani delivers the kicker: “Chicken over rice now costs $10 or more. It’s time to make halal eight bucks again.”

The clip, equal parts policy gripe and populist theater, gets to the core of his campaign —  which took the city by surprise as he rode a wave of momentum past Andrew Cuomo to become the presumptive favorite to become the next mayor of the city of New York.

For those of us who grew up in New York, it’s hard to fathom how the city, which was so comfortable under technocratic mayors like Mike Bloomberg and (to a lesser extent) Rudy Giuliani, could be on the verge of electing a Democratic Socialist as its next mayor. It’s hard to grasp the chilling fact that the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel — home to its famous Israel Day parade — might well elect a man who wants to have the Israeli prime minister arrested. The “make halal $8” moment was more than just a quip; it was a calculated lead-in for Mamdani’s successful insurgent campaign, showing how a relative unknown can wield social media savvy to amplify kitchen table issues. And make no mistake about it — it is the inherently populist message that is the lynchpin of his successful campaign. He has kept on hammering home the singular message, “Life is too expensive; we can fix that.”

From rent freezes and affordable housing projects, to grocery stores owned by the city and free MTA busing to universal free child care and a $30 minimum wage by 2030, all paid for by additional taxes and fees on the wealthy and corporations, Mamdani spoke to an audience that sought to upend the status quo.

That, plus trendy anti-Israel activism that have won hearts among liberals for whom opposition to Israel has become a totemic issue.

But while halal-cart and anti-Israel populism is clever branding, serious observers are left to ask: Is this 33-year-old from Astoria the Democrats’ next heavyweight — or simply the latest avatar of activist overreach? Does this apparent revolution mean something for the entire country, or is it simply a New York phenomenon? That tension frames every conversation about Mamdani’s sudden leap from back-bench freshman to Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City.

Trump of the Left?

Neither of them would much appreciate the comparison, but there are a lot of similarities running through Mamdani’s surprising upset primary win and the one President Trump pulled off in 2016. Both of them leaned very strongly into the outsider aspect of their campaigns, positioning themselves as a fresh alternative to a well-known — and deeply flawed — establishment front-runner.

The interesting thing is that while both Trump and Mamdani positioned themselves as outsider champions of the little people, they are both personally anything but that. Trump inherited and grew a real estate empire, while Mamdani is the son of an acclaimed filmmaker and a prominent Columbia University professor. Like Trump, Mamdani was raised and educated among the cultural elites, making them curious champions of the working class.

The similarities of their establishment foils are striking as well. Former governor Andrew Cuomo entered the primary with almost universal name ID, campaign cash from unions and business, and a boatload of endorsements. Like Jeb Bush who led in the early polls in 2016, Cuomo sought to project an aura of inevitability, backed by a $25 million super PAC, leaning on the nostalgia of Covid briefings.

But as it turns out, people don’t only associate the Cuomo years with competence — they remember the rest of his baggage as well. And while there is certainly a wealth of difference between Bush fatigue and Cuomo disgust, people were simply not enthusiastic enough to replay the Cuomo years in City Hall just because he insisted he was their best option.

Champagne Socialists

In many ways, the way Zohran Mamdani won this primary election reflected how he began his journey in politics. In June 2020, during the peak of pandemic disruptions, a first-time candidate, not yet even 30, sought to create a disruption of his own, challenging Democratic assemblywoman Aravella Simotas.

While this campaign came on the heels of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory over Congressman Joe Crowley and Julia Salazar’s win over State Senator Martin Dilan — both toppled incumbents viewed as more moderate members of the Democratic “machine” — Zohran’s effort to unseat a more progressive-leaning incumbent was different. In fact, there was very little overall difference between the two of them — both advocated for stronger tenant protections, progressive versions of criminal justice reforms, and higher taxes on the wealthy.

But Mamdani argued that the moment called for more than that. He would be something she wasn’t — a transformational figure. For example, while Simotas supported stronger rent laws, he would push for universal rent control. It wasn’t enough, he argued, to simply vote the right way on the votes that came before you; you had to approach legislating like an activist, using your position to enact maximum change possible.

He would squeak out a victory in that race, winning by just 346 votes. But he did so not as much by winning that argument as by outworking his opponent, and expanding the electorate to motivate voters who would have otherwise not voted to cast a ballot for him

“We inspired hundreds of volunteers to knock on doors, make phone calls, and organize their blocks and buildings,” he said. “And when the coronavirus struck, we transformed our campaign infrastructure into one of mutual aid, and built one of the largest relief programs for impacted families in the city.”

It would be a dynamic he repeated in this most recent primary. While elections in general — and primaries in particular — tend to be dominated by older voters, the largest group of voters in the New York City mayoral primary were 18- to 24-year-olds — followed by the 25-to-29 age bracket, and then 30-to-34. Compare this to 2021, when the largest group of voters was 60- to 64-year-olds, followed closely by 65 to 69.

The only way to understand this is to recognize that there was a flurry of new voters who came out to vote for Zohran Mamdani.

Be that as it may, a win is a win, and back in 2020, he had become Assemblyman Mamdani. And interestingly enough, in his time in Albany, he’s only managed to get three laws passed into law — two that have to do with public hearings, and one that allowed Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image to sell alcohol.

So if he promised to deliver transformational change, it’s hard to see how he delivered. And it is similarly hard to say that the only legitimate read of his victory is that the city has taken a decided swing toward socialism. It’s certainly, as one insider texted me on election day, looking “like the end of an era,” but how much of that is about his actual beliefs — and not a rebellion against the status quo — remains to be seen.

Beyond the Pale

These beliefs aren’t limited to housing as a “human right,” free buses, government-run grocery stores, and taxing the wealthy. For Jewish residents, there are a number of things he has said — and advanced — over the years and his campaign, that make them feel uneasy about his rise and about the potential of a Mamdani mayoralty.

Just this week, days after winning his election, Mamdani joined Egyptian comedian Ramy Yousef and Columbia agitator Mahmoud Khalil — out on bail as the Trump administration seeks to deport him — onstage.

He’s pointedly refused to disavow the phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” even claiming it’s been used by the Holocaust Museum to describe the Warsaw Ghetto uprising — a statement that prompted the US Holocaust Museum to label the comparison “outrageous” and “especially offensive to survivors.”

He’s refused to co-sponsor any of the Holocaust memorial resolutions that have made their way through the State Assembly. The day after October 7, he tweeted, “The path toward a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.” Although Mamdani did not participate in the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University, his father, Professor Mahmood Mamdani, did — and son Zohran declared that he would not have sent the NYPD to break up the encampment.

Earlier in his activist career, Mamdani regularly participated in anti-Israel protests, including several organized by the violently anti-Semitic group Within Our Lifetime (WOL). He was often seen chanting “BDS” — which naturally raises the question as to whether he would implement BDS policies in city government as mayor. Last November, he said if he were mayor, he would arrest Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on the ICC warrant if he had the chance. He is now one step closer to having his hand on that lever of power — although he would likely encounter resistance from federal authorities if he tried to exercise it.

During the campaign, he has sought to sidestep the Israel issue. He has distanced himself from groups like WOL, and says he believes Israel has a right to exist — but not as a Jewish state. He has said that he would not visit Israel as mayor because he doesn’t want to be busy with foreign affairs. Yet he is the prime sponsor for the Not on Our Dime Act, a state bill that would slash tax breaks for New York charities associated with Israel — a bill 66 other assembly members said would “attack Jewish organizations that have wide-ranging missions from feeding the poor to providing emergency medical care for victims of terrorism to clothing orphans.”

And perhaps most disturbingly, he appeared on the show of streamer Hassan Piker, who has repeatedly called Jews “bloodthirsty” and Orthodox Jews “inbred” — and would not even allow for the idea that there was something wrong with doing so.

Mamdani has also drawn wide support from other prominent anti-Israel activists, like congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Rashida Tlaib, Linda Sarsour, and Sumaya Awad. What remains unknown is how many of his supporters ascribe to all of these views, and how much of an impact he would have once he is in charge of the city.

Beginning of the End

Veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf didn’t bother with euphemisms when ABC News asked what a Mamdani City Hall would mean for the five boroughs: “It’s the end of Jewish New York as we know it,” he declared, predicting an exodus of Orthodox families and the decline of the city’s storied Jewish influence. “New York is a petri dish for national Democratic politics. And what happened here is what will likely happen in cities across the country.”

The punch line now making the rounds in Flatbush shuls is that the single biggest impact of this election will be a spike in Lakewood real-estate prices once Brooklynites start house-hunting there. Jokes aside, the anxiety is real: one general election separates New York from its own Jeremy Corbyn moment.

But before we write the city’s obituary—or buy out every split-level in Ocean County—it’s worth noting what Mamdani’s rise does not prove. It does not prove that the five boroughs have suddenly lurched en masse toward communism or that a majority of voters are eager to “Globalize the Intifada.” What it proves is that the sensible, centrist wing of both parties has spent a decade asking struggling New Yorkers to settle for marginal tweaks while housing costs soared, subway service sputtered, and the cost of doing business in a food cart became unmanageable. When the “reasonable” crowd offers little more than a shrug, voters eventually roll the dice on the loudest alternative—left, right, or somewhere off the traditional spectrum entirely.

That hollowing-out of the middle is not unique to Gotham; see the GOP’s silent farewell tour of McConnell, Tillis, and — soon enough — Cornyn. The lesson is painfully simple: when mainstream politicians fail to solve problems, the electorate turns elsewhere, and the void is filled by candidates who promise big, albeit risky, change.

Whether Zohran Mamdani turns out to be a transformational mayor or a cautionary tale, one truth already stands: We are entering a stretch of uncharted territory where the only certainty is uncertainty—and the lingering worry that the price of chicken-over-rice may prove the least of our concerns.

The ground beneath New York’s Jewish community—and, indeed, beneath the city itself—has begun to shift. For many longtime New Yorkers, that realization feels less like political intrigue and more like the uneasy rumble before a subway lurches into darkness.

The Socialist Trump?

By Yitzchok Landa

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic Party primary for mayor of New York City surprised almost everybody — but not Bradley Honan.

In an interview with Mishpacha after corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams were dropped back in February, Honan Strategy Group identified trends “widening the lane for a left-flank candidate to take city hall.” Honan’s surveys were finding support among anti-Trumpers for Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) triple that of moderates in a mayoral election.

Following Mamdani’s coup against the widely favored former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, we reconnected with Honan for insight into how the young socialist pulled it off, and whether he can be defeated in the general election.

Many pundits thought the far left had been knocked cold by the Trump election, and that the Democratic Party would have to reorient rightward. Honan explains that quite the opposite may be true. After studying voter trends and conducting extensive polling, his company concluded that Trump’s win expands the Democratic electorate on the far-left flank, bringing many people out to the polls who otherwise would not have voted.

“Trump’s first term gave us AOC and the Squad,” Honan points out, “and we saw Jamal Bowman upset Eliot Engel.”

Mamdani capitalized on this, working hard on reaching and motivating voters who typically do not turn out. “He is a gifted political communicator,” Honan explains, “and was able to introduce himself to young, disenfranchised voters through extensive use of social media and canvassing campaigns.”

As much as Mamdani cast himself as the anti-Trump; he borrowed his formula, making him the progressive neo-Trump.

Democrats have been struggling to find actionable lessons since November. They were roundly rejected by voters, but are having trouble pinpointing what precisely voters were rejecting. The Mamdani election spells a new theory: Voters didn’t mind the far-left platform — they were fed up with the old-school Democratic establishment that didn’t care for them. They wanted a straight-talking, atypical politician. For president, that was Trump; when comparing Cuomo and Mamdani, it was clearly the latter. Speaking with MSNBC following his win, Mamdani said his primary victory is “part of a larger referendum” on the Democratic Party’s direction.

“The big loser of the night wasn’t… Andrew Cuomo,” says Democratic pollster Frank Luntz, “but US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents the Democratic Party establishment.”

Like Trump, Mamdani built support through sharply worded messaging on various social media platforms, and pure showmanship. Trump drove a garbage truck and served burgers at McDonald’s, Mamdani walked the length of Manhattan over six hours.

“Much of politics is performance art,” Honan says, “and Mamdani is a talented performer. He was able to cast himself as down-to-earth, relatable, and empathetic.”

The Issues Aren’t the Issue

Like Trump, Mamdani campaigned hard on affordability; his pitch was freebies, from rent freezes to free bus transportation. But he didn’t win on the issues: Many who voted for him told Honan’s exit pollsters they didn’t believe Mamdani could deliver the things he promised.

Cuomo didn’t lose over his Covid policies or scandal-ridden history, either. Polling also showed that most voters had positive associations about Cuomo and Covid. The ex-governor’s usual base of support still stuck with him, but he was unable to expand his coalition and get his message through to new voters.

Incumbent mayor Eric Adams, who was hoping for an easier opponent in the general election than Cuomo, complimented Mamdani for being “true to who he is” before the primary. But Adams was quick to point out that the state assemblyman’s promises were not even within the power of the mayor to deliver.

“He’s a snake oil salesman,” Adams said. “[He] wants to raise taxes on the 1% of New Yorkers’ high incomes… as the mayor, you don’t have the ability to do that.”

Mamdani’s wildly leftist positions and alleged fearmongering has kicked over a hornet’s nest of opposition, and there may be a coalition strong enough to defeat him.

The wider moderate Democrat and Independent bases didn’t take Mamdani seriously during the primary, but they are now. Now it seems Republicans have also perked up. President Trump has chimed in several times since the primary, calling Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic,” and threatening all manner of federal punishments against the city if he “doesn’t behave” as mayor.

Federal border czar Tom Homan said his teams would “double and triple down on New York City,” and Rep. Andy Ogles sent a letter to AG Pam Bondi, asking her to revoke Zohran Mamdani’s citizenship and deport him to Uganda. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon warned Mamdani that his proposal to shift taxes onto “richer white residents” is illegal racial discrimination.

Mamdani has not softened any of his hardline rhetoric. Asked three times on Meet the Press to condemn the phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” he refused, despite being warned by national Democrat leaders that he must.

“He doesn’t realize what he is up against,” Bradley Honan says. “An enormous amount of money is going to coalesce against him. Every moderate organization and community, including the Jewish community, the business community, and Republicans are racing to define him has an unviable candidate. He’s going to run into a buzz saw the likes which he hasn’t seen.”

The problem, of course, will be getting this broad anti-Zohran coalition to agree on one candidate. There’s widespread concurrence on the need to unify, but everybody wants to unify on their own terms. It’s too late for anyone to officially drop out of the general election, but a candidate can effectively accomplish that by not mounting a serious campaign.

Three alternatives remain: incumbent mayor Eric Adams (independent), Andrew Cuomo (“Fight and Deliver”), and Curtis Sliwa (Republican).

“Adams is too wounded politically to win,” Honan says. “If he remains in the race, he will only play spoiler against Cuomo, and Mamdani will be the next mayor. But if he drops out, Cuomo will defeat Mamdani in the general election.”

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one, but at least 10% to 15% of them are DINOs, Honan says — “Democrats in name only.” Combine that with moderates and the 20% who are Republicans, and you have enough to beat him.

Honan Strategy Group’s latest poll shows Mamdani and Cuomo are tied at 39%, with Adams at just 13% and Sliwa polling at 7%. If Cuomo drops out, Mamdani beats Adams by 15 points; if Adams exits, Cuomo wins by four.

For a city already hemorrhaging business and residents, the stakes are high, and it may already be too late. Media sites cite significant numbers of Jews, police officers, and regular hardworking Americans already setting their sights on sites outside the city.

The real winners may be real estate agents in Lakewood and Florida.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1068)