The Mayoral Candidate Who Wants to “Globalize the Intifada”

New York City’s 2025 mayoral race has taken an unprecedented turn. Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic Socialist assemblyman, has surged to second place in recent polling, trailing only former Governor Andrew Cuomo. His rapid rise would be remarkable in any major American city. But in New York — home to nearly 1 million Jewish residents, the largest Jewish population outside of Israel — Mamdani’s candidacy represents something far more serious than a typical progressive upset.

The assemblyman brings a record that directly challenges fundamental assumptions about security and belonging in America’s most Jewish city. Mamdani has publicly championed the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. For Jewish communities worldwide, BDS carries implications well beyond economic pressure. The movement seeks to isolate Israel completely, cutting off academic exchanges, cultural partnerships, and business relationships. BDS aims to delegitimize Israel’s very existence as a Jewish state. Its leaders have explicitly rejected the two-state solution. They demand the “right of return” for millions of Palestinian descendants; a demographic strategy designed to end Jewish majority rule. For most Jews, it’s a blueprint for erasing Jewish self-determination altogether.