By: Samuel Mortel
Mayor of New York City (NYC), Zohran Mamdani, has become a key figure in the anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian movement in the United States; a position that has made him a beloved leader to a large segment of the population while also making him a villain in the eyes of another segment of the population. The constant backlash and slander has led Mamdani to put in unprecedented effort to earn their trust, often to no avail; meanwhile, these same efforts lead some on his left to believe he’s abandoning his values.
Though Mr. Mayor has repeatedly clarified that his feelings against zionism have absolutely no bearing on his feelings towards Jewish people, this has done nothing to appease those to his right who have already made up their minds and are fully convinced that anti-zionism is akin to antisemitism.
It seems the mayor has found himself in a lose-lose situation. While he’s trying to win back a seemingly unwinnable base, people ostensibly on his side are growing disappointed, culminating in an Oct. 7 anniversary vigil.
Anti-Zionism has long been central to Mamdani’s political identity. In fact, even before the prominent democratic socialist joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Mamdani co-founded Bowdoin College’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter in 2014. In a 2019 video explaining why he joined DSA, Mamdani said his political journey began with Palestine. His committed allegiance to the pro-Palestinian cause and opposition to the state of Israel has made him an enemy of ardent zionists.
Since winning the mayoral election, Mamdani has faced backlash from zionist organizations like the ADL and publications like The Free Press, accusing him of antisemitism. For some, anti-zionism and antisemitism are two sides of the same coin, despite the mayor’s constant insistence to the contrary.
It seems there’s a segment of the population who will always see Mamdani’s stance against Israel as a sort of proxy for a stance against Jewish New Yorkers, but the mayor has not given up on these people. He’s a pragmatic politician with an uncanny ability to charm the most unlikely people. He was even able to form an unexpected relationship with President Donald Trump—a man he’s infamously called a fascist—in an effort to secure benefits for the city.
So, in the same way Mamdani has had to cozy up to Trump to secure federal support, he figured there might be steps he could take to unite New Yorkers and win over people who strongly oppose him.
Even before he was sworn in, Mamdani reached out to the Jewish community, holding private meetings with rabbis in December of last year to address this critical issue. This is something the mayor has continued to do, with the latest meeting being reported on Aug. 11, 2026. Despite this, Mamdani has still had to answer accusations that he’s fueling antisemitism, along with protests from people claiming he’s not protecting Jewish New Yorkers.
In order to combat this narrative, Mamdani has recently unveiled a one-of-a-kind strategy to combat antisemitism, investing millions of dollars into the effort. Even this has drawn criticism, with publications like Times of Israel claiming that the strategy falls short by “disregarding anti-zionism.”
On the other hand, Mamdani’s constant efforts to appease his detractors have garnered criticism from some of the more radical people on his side of the political spectrum. In such a short amount of time, Mamdani has become one of the leading figures on the left flank of the Democratic Party, unwaveringly advocating for progressive values like socialism, trans rights, and a free Palestine—all issues that the more moderate members of the party have been eager to throw under the bus in a misguided effort to appeal to conservatives. However, some of his more radical constituents are starting to turn against him.
On this year’s three-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Mayor Mamdani started the day by releasing a statement condemning the attacks, while still maintaining his opposition to Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians. The statement drew criticism from some Jewish New Yorkers.
Later that day, Mamdani attended a vigil commemorating the Israeli lives lost in the Oct. 7 attacks.
This really should come as no surprise; Mamdani has long made it known he thought the attack was terrible, and despite the vigil being organized by Israeli peace activists, it drew counterprotesters who saw those on the other side, including Mamdani himself, as advocating for Zionism. The mayor was met with a wave of antagonism from people ostensibly on his side, calling him a “coward,” “sellout,” and even going so far as to accuse him of being complicit in the genocide.
In reality, there’s no legitimate reason to call Mamdani a “traitor.” He has certainly fallen short in some ways, like his puzzling decision to keep zionist Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Another blight of Mamdani’s term so far has been the continued allowance of land sales of illegal West Bank settlements throughout the city. These sales usually draw protests from anti-zionists, and many have questioned why nothing has been done to ban them. The mayor has condemned the sales, but his left-wing critics demand action rather than a simple condemnation.
Still, the mayor continues to espouse the same positions he’s always had on Israel, even when it’s caused controversy, like his belief that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested for violating international law, or his decision to break tradition and abstain from attending the actual pro-zionist Israel Day Parade.
When asked about the criticism he faced from Oct. 7 vigil protesters, the mayor said the backlash is “what he signed up for” as the mayor of New York City.
But it’s also unfortunately what he signed up for as a leftist, an anti-zionist, and a pragmatic politician. The American left is prone to constant bouts of infighting and purity testing. There are people within the coalition who will always unwaveringly express the most extreme positions and will disavow you if you don’t exactly agree, even if it pushes away people who could help grow the movement.
Mamdani hasn’t been a perfect representative of leftist politics, sure, but to be an effective politician, you have to compromise. That’s why he’s in Gracie Mansion in the first place. It’s the reason he’s formed an alliance with Trump that could end up paying off for some items in his agenda. His leftist policies, particularly concerning Israel, have also put him in a position where some people will always consider him an antisemite, but that’s also what you have to sign up for when you advocate for this cause.
Mayor Mamdani is in a situation where he’ll always make somebody mad; he’ll always lose.