Now that’s a bold move!
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is emerging as a prominent figure among a new generation of NYC Jews, with their admiration only growing in response to accusations of antisemitism, his chief legal advisor enthusiastically remarked.
“Our campaign has demonstrated that Zohran Mamdani is truly the political leader for the young Jewish community in New York. There’s a noticeable gap between the traditional leaders of the community and their younger counterparts,” commented progressive attorney Ali Najmi during a recent podcast with Oberlin College President Twillie Ambar.
Ambar, who leads one of the world’s most progressive academic institutions, found the comment surprising.
“That’s quite a pronounced claim,” she responded.
This is especially striking since Mamdani supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel, has accused Israelis of perpetrating genocide in Gaza, and aligns himself with leftist figures such as Hasan Piker and Linda Sarsour, who are often labeled as antisemitic.
Mamdani’s critics have also expressed concern over the mayor’s refusal to condemn the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry for violence against Jewish people.
And his wife, Rama Duwaji, has come under fire for recently resurfaced social media posts she liked, praising Palestinian militants’ attacks against Israel and claiming Hamas’ rapes of Israelis during the Oct. 7, 2003 terror attack were a “mass hoax.”
But Najmi – who was Mamdani’s top election lawyer during his mayoral campaign and transition to city government and now chairs the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary – insisted that the more Mamdani is bashed, the more he was embraced by young Gotham Jews.
“What we wound up learning after this election is that most people agreed with what he was saying in support of Palestinian human rights,” claimed Najmi during the Feb. 28 “Running With The Noise” podcast.
“In fact, the more they called him an anti-Semite, the more young Jewish people showed up to the campaign. Perhaps the biggest bloc of support that Mandani has that people don’t realize is young Jewish people.
“You look at the donor list; you look at the names, the last names; you look at who’s knocking on the doors, ’cause I know who our fellow campaign people are. And so it had this, like, inverse reaction response.”
Critics were galled by Najmi’s doublespeak.
“Hilariously ridiculous,” said state Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn).
“If anything, his campaign has shown a real attempt to erase Jews from civic life. The notion that Mr. Mamdani and his friends get to decide the makeup of the Jewish community is laughable.
“In Jewish neighborhoods throughout New York City, he got trounced. Youth, seniors and everyone in between, including an overwhelming majority of Democrats in my neighborhood, resoundingly rejected his hate message.”
Moshe Davis, who headed the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism under ex-Mayor Eric Adams, said “Mamdani isn’t leading these young Jewish people. He’s exploiting their disconnection with their Jewish identity and their heritage.”
“These young people will grow up; they will seek belonging, meaning, and roots,” said Davis, who Mamdani fired in February before tapping Phylisa Wisdom his new antisemitism czar — despite her long history of spewing anti-Israel venom.
“And when they do, they will ask why the mayor of New York City spent his tenure attacking everything their community stands for.”
Mamdani captured only 31% of the Jewish vote during November’s general election, but he fared better with Jewish voters ages 18 to 29, securing 44% of their support, according to an exit poll conducted for CNN and other media outlets by Pennsylvania-based SSRS.
Najmi and Mayor’s Office did not return requests for comment.
“Ali Najmi met five confused Jews and wants us to believe that the guy who parades around with antisemites and Holocaust deniers, who refused to condemn Hamas, and whose wife celebrated October 7, is the leader of the Jews?” said Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn).
“I hear Pravda is hiring.”
