NYC Rabbis Condemn Zionist Smear Against Zohran Mamdani

In late 2025, as the New York City mayoral elections approached and the main candidates — Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo — were running for office, a troubling situation arose when Zionist groups accused candidate Mamdani of being anti-Semitic for expressing support for Palestine.

These events unfolded two years after the devastating genocide in Gaza, which the world had witnessed live on television and across social media. By this time, a large portion of the global population had awakened to the suffering of the Palestinian people and the atrocities committed in Gaza.

These issues became a major topic in the election debates. As Mamdani firmly maintained his support for Palestine, the attacks against him grew increasingly harsh and personal — fueled by Zionist propaganda that falsely portrayed him as anti-Semitic and a supposed danger to New York’s Jewish community.

In response, anti-Zionist rabbis from New York issued a strong statement denouncing these attacks. Their statement read:

“These attacks, unfortunately, are not the first of their kind. In recent years, we have seen politicians — both in the United States and in Europe — who have taken a courageous moral stance, being viciously attacked in this manner. This is an evil tactic used to silence anyone who dares to stand up for justice and peace.”

The rabbis further declared:

“We strongly decry these allegations and affirm that anti-Zionism is in no way antisemitism. This accusation is misleading Zionist propaganda.”

Later that week, anti-Zionist rabbis and students gathered on the steps of New York City Hall on October 30, 2025, to publicly denounce these attacks and make clear that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.

Despite heavy rain and flooding in the city, the press conference drew passionate support.
Rabbi Dovid Feldman stated:

“Recent intimidation against mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is baseless, misleading, and unjust.”

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss added:

“This is an evil tactic used to silence anyone who dares to stand up for justice and peace.”

The crowd joined in chanting in support of Palestine and denouncing AIPAC’s or any pro-Zionist influence in U.S. elections.