Mamdani's campaign highlighted his socialist views on life, and he made several promises that would increase government involvement in New Yorkers' lives.
Michael Mashbaum is a lead educator at Club Z, a Jewish Zionist organization that aims to cultivate and prepare the next generation of Jewish leaders.
Associated Press reported previously on how Mamdani has accused Israel of committing genocide and said that he would honor an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mashbaum thinks that, if Mamdani moves ahead with “really any” of the initiatives he has put forth in his platform, that it “could set a really dangerous precedent for the rest of the country.”
"You know, as goes California and New York, so goes the rest of the country," states Mashbaum.
How does the future look for Jews in New York City under Mamdani’s leadership, including on college and university campuses where there have been numerous anti-Semitic demonstrations since the October 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel?
"I was going to say that I think everything needs to be taken in proportion. Obviously, nothing has happened yet. His rhetoric and many of the things that he has aligned himself with or come out in favor of are obviously very concerning to the Jewish community," says Mashbaum.
Another thought, he says, is that the Jewish population of New York needs to take a “long, hard look at the reality on the ground.”
“It’s a reality that has not been great already, and that is looking at getting much worse. Reductions in police force and just law enforcement in general is going to be received, I think, as a green light to people who have already been targeting the Jewish community," states Mashbaum.
Mashbaum thinks this can embolden people who are looking to blame Jews for “whatever.” He adds that the Jews will have to put forth “some type of defensive posture to prevent a rise in hate crimes, a rise in violence, and a rise in targeting.”
"I think that they're going to need to work with the federal government, to whatever degree they can, to limit the power that Mamdani is looking to exert," says Mashbaum.
But that's not all, Mashbaum says. He thinks that the Jewish community is going to have to make individual decisions on what their “red lines” are.
"At what point do you pick up and flee? Which is a terrible thing to have to consider, especially in a city like New York, especially in a country like the United States; but I think this is unfortunately, at least based on this election, the direction it seems that the people of New York are, are moving in,” states Mashbaum.
He concludes by saying that he doesn’t know if there is going to be much space for Jews left in that.
