The Mayor Who Won't Say It

Zohran Mamdani spent ten years refusing to answer one question. Then New York made him mayor anyway.

The question came at 9:47 PM on June 4, 2025, during the first televised NYC Democratic mayoral debate.

"Do you believe in a Jewish state of Israel?"

Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who'd somehow vaulted past Andrew Cuomo in the polls, gave his answer: "I believe that Israel has a right to exist."

NBC's Melissa Russo pressed: "As a Jewish state?"

"I believe that every state should be a state of equal rights."

Andrew Cuomo pounced. Mamdani, he said, had just refused to say Israel should continue "as a Jewish state."

Mamdani tried again: "I believe that every state should be a state of equal rights."

Seven months later, at 12:01 AM on January 1, 2026, Mamdani became mayor of a city with 1.3 million Jews. Within 18 hours, he'd eliminated every protection his predecessor had erected for Jewish institutional life.

The rabbis who spent the fall warning about him weren't surprised. They'd been listening to what he wouldn't say.

The Evasion

Mamdani has been asked if Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state approximately 50 times since entering politics. He has never said yes.

The answers have been refined across six years into perfectly calibrated non-answers:

"I believe that Israel has a right to exist with equal rights for all." (UJA-Federation forum, May 2025)

"I'm not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion." (Fox5, June 2025)

"I will not recognize any state's right to exist with a system of hierarchy on the basis of race or religion." (October debate)

It sounds principled. He invokes equality. He never actually answers the question. And here's the thing: he means it as a no.

The IHRA definition of antisemitism—the one Mamdani revoked on Day One as mayor—explicitly states that "denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination" is antisemitic. Mamdani knows this. Which is why he had to revoke it.

The Pakistan Parade

August 14, 2025. Mamdani marches in New York's Pakistan Independence Day Parade.

Pakistan's constitution declares Islam the state religion. Religious minorities face state-sanctioned discrimination. People get executed for blasphemy. The U.S. State Department documents this annually.

Three months later, Mamdani boycotts the Israel Day Parade—an event every New York mayor has attended for 60 years.

When the Jewish Telegraphic Agency asks about this obvious double standard, he says: "My lack of attendance should not be mistaken for a refusal to provide security or the necessary permits for its safety."

Translation: I'll protect you. I won't celebrate with you.

Every New York mayor since 1965 has marched down Fifth Avenue waving an Israeli flag. Mamdani is the first to treat it like an ideological compromise he can't make.

October 8, 2023

Twenty-four hours after 1,200 Israelis are murdered—the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust—Mamdani releases his first statement as a state assemblyman.

Here's what he says about Hamas: Nothing.

Here's what he says about Israel: "Netanyahu's declaration of war will undoubtedly lead to more violence and suffering... The path toward a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid."

Five days later, on October 13, he posts: "We are on the brink of a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza right now."

When The Forward asks him nine months later how he concluded genocide was imminent just days after October 7—before Israel's ground invasion, before Rafah, before the death toll climbed—his answer is chilling in its certainty:

"Genocide is not just a crime of action, it's also a crime of intent. And what led me to make that remark was a fear based on the statements we received from a number of Israeli leaders that characterized Palestinians in language more befitting animals than people."

He saw Israeli statements and thought: genocidal intent. He saw Hamas's actions on October 7—the mass rape, the baby executions, the mutilations broadcast live on social media—and his first instinct was to warn about what Israel might do in response.

The Bill

May 2023. Mamdani announces "Not on Our Dime: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act" at an Albany press conference.

The bill would:

• Empower the Attorney General to dissolve nonprofits and revoke their tax-exempt status for "unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity"
• Allow Palestinians to sue New York charities directly for damages
• Define violations as aiding "illegal transfer of Israelis into occupied territory"—which includes East Jerusalem

Here's the problem: The vague definition could ensnare virtually every major Jewish charity. Does funding a yeshiva in East Jerusalem constitute supporting "illegal transfer"? Does providing medical supplies to an Israeli community in the West Bank qualify as "aiding settlement activity"?

Organizations like Friends of the IDF, American Friends of Magen David Adom, Hadassah—all potentially liable.

Democratic leadership killed the bill within 48 hours. Twenty-five assemblymembers, including Jewish lawmakers, signed an open letter denouncing it.

But Mamdani didn't abandon it. He reintroduced it in 2025. And when JTA asked if he'd implement similar policy as mayor, he didn't say no: "Charities and nonprofits that receive a taxpayer subsidy should not support the violation of international law."

The bill died in Albany. But the man who wrote it now controls New York City's contracting, pension investments, and tax enforcement.

The Rabbis

October 23, 2025. Three days before early voting begins, 650 rabbis sign an open letter warning about Mamdani's mayoralty. By week's end, it's over 1,150 signatures—one of the most-signed rabbinic letters in U.S. history.

The signatories include the senior rabbis of Temple Emanu-El, Park Avenue Synagogue, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Kehilath Jeshurun. These aren't fringe figures. These are the leaders of Manhattan's largest, most prestigious synagogues.

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue delivers a sermon calling Mamdani "a danger to the security of the New York Jewish community."

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of Stephen Wise records a video message: "Your opposition to Israel is not centered on policies, you reject the very existence of Israel as a Jewish state."

Hirsch is president of the New York Board of Rabbis. He's spent decades in progressive interfaith coalitions. He's not some right-wing hawk. And he's genuinely frightened.

Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Kehilath Jeshurun does something he's never done in his rabbinical career: he endorses a candidate. Andrew Cuomo. His reasoning: "Mamdani is obsessed with Israel, which has been his focus since his earliest involvement in politics. In the Assembly, nearly every one of Mamdani's foreign policy statements has attacked Israel."

A counter-letter supporting Mamdani gets 740 signatures, including 230 rabbis. But look at who signed: largely members of Jewish Voice for Peace and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice—explicitly anti-Zionist organizations.

The institutional mainstream—the rabbis who lead actual congregations with actual members—overwhelmingly opposed him.

Three weeks before inauguration, Mamdani finally meets with the New York Board of Rabbis. Ninety minutes. Content stays private.

Afterward, Rabbi Hirsch posts: "While we were pleased to be able to discuss our concerns with the mayor-elect, those concerns remain. I continue to worry deeply about the upcoming four years."

Translation: He listened. We don't believe he heard us.

Day One

January 1, 2026. 12:01 AM. Mamdani takes the oath of office in a decommissioned subway station beneath City Hall. His hand rests on a Quran.

At 10 AM, he delivers his inaugural address to thousands. Bernie Sanders administers a second oath. AOC speaks. The crowd chants "Tax the rich."

Mamdani tells them: "I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical."

That afternoon in Brooklyn, he signs his first executive order: revoking every policy Eric Adams enacted after September 26, 2024—Adams' indictment date.

His spokesperson frames it as giving the "incoming administration a fresh start."

But the blanket revocation accomplishes something specific. Gone is the IHRA antisemitism definition. Gone is the anti-BDS executive order. Gone are protections against discrimination in city contracts with Israel.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responds within hours: "This isn't leadership. It's antisemitic gasoline on an open fire."

A joint statement from seven major Jewish organizations—UJA-Federation, JCRC-NY, ADL, AJC, NY Board of Rabbis, Agudath Israel, Orthodox Union—expresses alarm: "Revoking these executive orders removes key tools for addressing antisemitism."

On January 3, reporters ask Mamdani about the backlash. His response is telling: "Protecting Jewish New Yorkers is going to be a focus of my administration, and I also know that a number of leading Jewish organizations have immense concerns around this definition. What we will do is actually deliver on our commitment to protect Jewish New Yorkers in a manner that is able to actually fulfill that."

Translation: I'll protect you. But not using your definition of antisemitism.

The Pattern

Look at the arc:

2014 — Co-founds SJP chapter at Bowdoin, advocates academic boycott of Israel

2021 — Urges activists to pressure candidates on BDS support

2023 — Introduces bill to strip tax-exempt status from Jewish charities funding Israeli communities

October 8, 2023 — First statement after October 7 doesn't mention Hamas, warns of Israeli "second nakba"

October 13, 2023 — Declares Israel on brink of genocide before ground invasion begins

May 2025 — Refuses at UJA forum to say Israel can exist as Jewish state

August 2025 — Marches in Pakistan parade, boycotts Israel Day Parade

October 2025 — Over 1,150 rabbis sign letter warning about his mayoralty

December 2025 — Meets with worried rabbis, says nothing that reassures them

January 1, 2026 — Eliminates IHRA definition and anti-BDS protections as first act as mayor

This isn't evolution. This is escalation with power.

What It Means

Mamdani controls city contracts worth billions. He appoints commissioners. He sets educational policy. He commands one of the world's most influential bully pulpits.

Before January 1, New York City officially recognized that denying Jewish self-determination can constitute antisemitism, and barred itself from rewarding entities that discriminate against Israel.

After January 1, New York City has no working definition of antisemitism beyond traditional prejudice, and maintains no prohibition on contracting with BDS-supporting entities.

The rabbis are watching for three things:

Does he attempt "Not on Our Dime" at the municipal level? City pension funds hold Israeli bonds. City contracts go to vendors with Israeli operations.

How does he handle antisemitic incidents? New York has the highest rate in the nation. When Jewish students get harassed, when synagogues get vandalized, when Jews get attacked on subways—does he use his framework that denying Jewish statehood isn't antisemitism?

Who does he appoint to run the Office to Combat Antisemitism? He kept the office. But who leads it?

Rabbi Shaul Robinson of Lincoln Square Synagogue told JNS: "I used to be very concerned. Now I am extremely concerned."

The Question He Still Won't Answer

Ten years. Dozens of interviews. Hundreds of questions.

Mamdani has never said Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. He's never condemned "globalize the intifada." He's never explained why he marches for Pakistan but not Israel. He's never disavowed praising Hamas funders in his old rap lyrics.

Every answer is calibrated. Every response is focus-grouped. Every word is chosen to avoid saying the thing that would end his political career in progressive circles.

Because if he said yes—truly said it, without caveats about hierarchies or equal rights—he'd lose the DSA, lose Jewish Voice for Peace, lose the activists who powered his campaign.

So instead he governs by omission. He doesn't attack Jews. He just dismantles the frameworks that protect Jewish institutional life. He doesn't target Israel. He just removes the tools that let New York support it.

And when pressed, he says: I will protect you.

Just not as you are.

Mamdani spent a decade telling everyone exactly who he was. New York elected him anyway with 51% of the vote.

The next four years will show us if the 1,150 rabbis were paranoid or prescient.