In the symbolic heart of Brooklyn, Grand Army Plaza, on the steps of the borough’s main public library, nearly 300 supporters of mayoral candidate Zohran Kwame Mamdani gathered this past Saturday to celebrate their canvassing and fundraising efforts.

Standing before the cheering crowd, the Astoria Assemblyman spoke of freezing rents, making public transportation free, creating government-operated daycares and supermarkets, and boycotting Israel. Such unrealistic promises could elect a candidate on a neighborhood level but usually offered little chance of success in this large, diverse, and business-friendly city.

But then there are the hard numbers backing up the leading progressive in the crowded Democratic primary for the city’s top job. Public records of his campaign reveal that Mamdani raised $642,339 from 6,502 unique donors in its first 80 days, with 84 percent of them residing in the city. Under the City’s eight-to-one public financing program, candidates are incentivized to collect from fellow New Yorkers to receive taxpayer funding for their campaigns.

“I am overwhelmed and profoundly grateful for the outpouring of support from nearly every neighborhood in New York City,” Mamdani said in a statement. “We knew there was a hunger for a different kind of politics, but this is beyond even our highest expectations. Our thousands of donors have launched us and our vision for a more affordable city into the top tier of this race.”

Powered by social media, appeals to leftist voters and Muslim communities – he could make history as the first Muslim elected to citywide office – Mamdani is quickly catching up to incumbent Eric Adams in name recognition and eclipsing fellow progressive candidates Brad Lander, Scott Stringer, and Zellnor Myrie.

First elected in 2020 at age 29, Mamdani narrowly won his seat just two years after settling in Astoria, with experience managing political campaigns since college, where he founded the Bowdoin chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. He used his position to amplify his pet cause, staging an anti-war sit-in outside the home of Sen. Chuck Schumer, holding rallies where he accused Israel of genocide, and authoring Not on Our Dime, a bill seeking to rescind tax-exempt status from pro-Israel organizations.

Mayoral candidate Zohran Kwame Mamdani

The latter was quashed, largely thanks to Assemblyman Dan Rosenthal in 2023, his successor Sam Berger in the following year, and their colleagues David Weprin and Nily Rozic, among others.

Considering the other Democrats in the June 24 primary, Adams is facing bribery and fraud charges, Stringer’s reputation is tarnished by misconduct allegations, and the same for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is mulling a run. Lander is leaning towards the political center, running from his record of defunding the police and supporting racial justice causes. As a result, Mamdani stands out as a candidate free of corruption and misbehavior, with a solid progressive legislative record. His running in the New York Marathon, swimming at Coney Island at the New Year’s Day plunge, and slick videos with memorable quotes makes the 33-year-old appear as a fresh face in a political scene dominated nationally and locally by older men.

On the evening after his supporters had their rally at Grand Army Plaza, a nearby restaurant had its windows splattered in red paint reading “genocide cuisine” and “Israel steals culture.”

“This was a despicable act of anti-Semitism at Miriam, a beloved Israeli restaurant in Park Slope,” Adams wrote. “As mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, I am particularly heartbroken by this evil act. Make no mistake, the NYPD is investigating and will find those responsible.”

The vandalism was also condemned by Myrie, Stringer, and local Councilwoman Shahana Hanif (who also accuses Israel of genocide). Lander had a Sunday night dinner at Miriam, with members of the New York Jewish Agenda, a liberal advocacy group.

Mamdani tweeted a brief statement late into the evening, calling it vandalism, without further comment.

To prevent Mamdani from winning City Hall, a coalition of Jewish activists are mobilizing voters across the five boroughs, with experience gained in last year’s victories in which two Congressional Squad members were unseated as a result of Jewish communities exceeding turnout expectations. Despite an uptick in support for President Donald J. Trump among Jewish voters overall, especially among Orthodox communities, the Jewish Voters Action Network is reminding them to register as Democrats ahead of the February 14 deadline to switch parties, in order to vote against Mamdani and other DSA candidates.

“You can stop them by registering to vote, making sure you are registered in closed primaries, and turning out to vote,” tweeted Maury Litwack of Jewish Voters Unite. “They don’t have the numbers. They simply take advantage of you not voting!”

A veteran of voter registration drives in the Orthodox community, Litwack wrote that Mamdani’s candidacy is “very real,” with momentum in his favor. “The only way to stop him? VOTE!” he wrote.

Historically, the winner of the Democratic primary in a citywide race usually wins the general election. Queens Jewish voters understand this reality, having given Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz the razor-thin edge against leftist Tiffany Cabán in 2019, and offering Councilman Jim Gennaro his seat in 2021, when he defeated Moumita Ahmed.

The latter candidate had many similarities to Mamdani, a South Asian Muslim who had a robust social media presence, endorsements of celebrities and national political stars such as AOC and Bernie Sanders, and plenty of free press as reporters covered the young woman’s improbable candidacy. Fortunately, the Jewish community and this newspaper highlighted her hateful views towards Israel in a district where the effectiveness of Jewish organizations depends on their partnering with the city.

The race for the 24th Council District did not receive as much press as Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s loss to George Latimer last year in Westchester County, but it followed the same playbook that can defeat Mamdani and preserve New York’s status as a sister city to Jerusalem.

Every mayor since William O’Dwyer has either visited Israel or at least attended pro-Israel functions while in office in an unbroken tradition. Support for Zionism goes back further – to 1924, when Mayor John F. Hylan welcomed British Palestine Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook to City Hall. To find a city leader unfriendly to Jews, one would have to reach back nearly three centuries, when Peter Stuyvesant tried to prevent Jews from settling in Manhattan.

We cannot allow New York to become like Toronto, whose mayor snubbed an October 7 memorial rally last year and an Israel flag raising at City Hall; or Montreal, where vandalism against Jewish businesses and institutions has become routine.

So much of New York’s success as a city comes from the contributions of Jews to its culture, economy, and alliances formed with its many ethnic communities. The future of Jews in New York will be determined in the Democratic primary. Everyone must be registered and vote in it!

By Sergey Kadinsky