‘I will work to protect you,’ Mamdani tells Orthodox voters in interview with Hasidic paper
Whitney Tilson invests heavily in Jewish outreach, warning voters about Mamdani’s Israel statements
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, on April 3. Photo by Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh June 12, 2025
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist whose insurgent run for mayor has rattled Jewish voters wary of his support for an Israel boycott, is making a late push to win over Haredi voters.
Mamdani’s interview, appearing on Wednesday in Der Blatt, a Yiddish-language Hasidic newspaper affiliated with the Satmar Ahronim sect, comes as polls show him closing in on front-runner former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Early voting in the June 24 primary starts Saturday.
Cuomo has made combating antisemitism a central plank of his campaign and has trained fire on Mamdani for his sharp criticisms of Israel and his backing for the boycott Israel movement.
Mamdani told the paper he feels connected to the pain of observant Jews amid rising antisemitic violence and wants to better understand their needs and traditions.
“As someone who grew up Muslim in New York City, I know very well what it means to be targeted, and I understand what it means not to feel safe in your neighborhood,” Mamdai said in the interview.
He also alluded to the scrutiny Hasidic yeshivas have faced in recent years for failing to meet state education standards.
“The issue of your education is something I will listen to your leaders,” Mamdani said. “ I will work to protect you from anyone who wants to disturb your way of life.”
Every major Hasidic voting bloc in Borough Park and Williamsburg left Mamdani off their ranked-choice slates. The slates ranked Cuomo first and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams second.
Moshe Indig, a political leader of the Satmar sect led by Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum who conducted the interview, told The New York Times he was now open to ranking Mamdani.
Indig said the candidate came across as “very nice, very humble,” and assured him he is not antisemitic. “As mayor, we wouldn’t have a problem with him. But because of all the public statements, it’s a little difficult,” he said.
Indig’s conciliatory posture toward Mamdani may be strategic: The Hasidic leader is known to be close to incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is no longer a Democrat and is running as an Independent. Adams’ reelection chances are likely better if Cuomo does not clear the primary.
Mamdani has faced scrutiny for his unapologetically critical views of Israel and his embrace of the movement to boycott Israel.
Jewish voters, historically a crucial voting bloc in the Democratic primary, have tended to lean more to the right on Israel. They account for at least 16% of the electorate in the primary. Mayor Eric Adams, who opted out of the primary to run on an independent line in the general election, won in 2021 with the help of Orthodox support.
A recent poll of Jewish voters showed Mamdani with 0% among Orthodox voters, who typically vote in blocs based on rabbinic endorsements.
That hasn’t stopped Mamdani from reaching out as he closes in on Cuomo, who was considered the frontrunner since he launched his campaign in March.
A new poll of 573 likely voters published on Wednesday showed Mamdani edging past Cuomo for the first time, 35% to 31%. The survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling for City Comptroller candidate Justin Brannan’s campaign on June 6–7, has a reported margin of error of plus or minus 4.1%.
Another poll, conducted by the Honan Strategy Group with a larger sample of 975 voters, showed Cuomo maintaining his lead, ultimately defeating Mamdani by 12 points in the final round of the ranked-choice system.
“I am not running for president or secretary of state,” Mamdani said in Der Blatt interview. “I am running to represent all city residents. Why shouldn’t some give me a chance?”
Seven candidates are expected to face off again in a second televised debate airing on NY1 Thursday night.
Targeting Mamdani over Israel
In the last televised debate, Cuomo and Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund investor, went after Mamdani for declining to visit Israel and his refusal to recognize Israel specifically as a “Jewish state.” The other candidates have refrained from attacking Mamdani over his stance on Israel.
Speaking to general audiences, Cuomo has prioritized highlighting Mamdani’s inexperience, a message that resonates more with Democratic voters than his stance on Israel. A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday found that only 12% of registered Democrats sympathize more with Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A recent Emerson College poll found that 49 percent of Democrats said it was unimportant for the next mayor to have a pro-Israel stance.
In outreach to Orthodox voters, Cuomo has focused heavily on Israel and antisemitism, casting himself as the only candidate who can “stop the far left” and prevent a Mamdani upset. “A Mamdani win would send the message that it’s okay to be anti-Israel and anti-Jewish in New York City,” he told COLLive, a Chabad-Lubavitch-affiliated news site.
Cuomo reportedly “expressed deep regret” in private meetings for singling out Hasidic communities for enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was governor. The episode remains an obstacle in his effort to rebuild trust.
The other candidate asking Orthodox voters to be ranked
Tilson, who is married to a Jewish woman, Susan Dana Blackman, is polling at 1%. Tilson has clashed with Mamdani in public mayoral forums and recently launched the sharpest Israel-related attacks on the Democratic Socialist.
The Tilson campaign recently hired Jeff Leb, a lobbyist and campaign consultant who has targeted socialist candidates in past elections, to reach Orthodox voters. Leb’s group, Ironclad Strategies, is helping the Tilson campaign with mailers, newspaper advertisements and digital ads.
Tilson has committed to spending at least $250,000 to educate Jewish voters about Mamdani. Tilson’s campaign said they also spent $200,000 on two digital online ads, one that warns about “Socialists at the Gate” and another that cites Mamdani’s past comments on defunding the police.
One full-page ad Tilson placed in Hamodia, a Haredi newspaper, features photos of Mamdani at pro-Palestinian protests after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. A red headline cites the biblical commandment “Lo ta’amod al dam re‘echa,” which translates into, “Thou shall not stand idly by the shedding of the blood of thy fellow man.”
“Vote anyone but Zohran,” the ad says. “A blank ballot helps Zohran Mamdani. Bring family, friends, neighbors: fill the ballot, stop the hate and antisemitism.” A similar ad in the conservative Ami Magazine cites Mamdani’s defense of the BDS movement.
In a 60-second radio spot on the two popular radio shows, Talkline with Zev Brenner and the Nachum Segal Show, Tilson said he was “alarmed by Zoran Mamdani’s actions and words” and urged voters to choose “ABZ — anyone but Zohran.”
Tilson may be emphasizing the Israel issue because he is to Cuomo’s left on yeshiva education. At a mayoral forum on Jewish issues, co-hosted by the liberal New York Jewish Agenda, Tilson and Brad Lander were the only candidates to pledge to cut public funding to yeshivas that are found to be out of compliance with state education standards. The cuts would affect security funding and childcare vouchers.
David Greenfield, a former Council member and head of the Met Council charity, said it was “brave” of Tilson to take on Mamdani. “It’s going to make him one of the most impactful candidates in this mayoral race, regardless of what percentage he ends with,” Greenfield said.
