Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

A new Siena College poll shows Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani facing an overwhelming backlash from Jewish voters in New York City, with a staggering 75 percent holding an unfavorable opinion of the Queens Democrat and just 15 percent viewing him favorably.

The numbers mark Mamdani as one of the least popular figures among Jewish New Yorkers, undermining narratives that the progressive lawmaker enjoys substantial support from the Jewish community. His unfavorable rating among Jewish voters is more than 38 points higher than his standing with the general electorate, where 37 percent view him negatively compared to 28 percent favorably. (The remainder responded they either don’t know or have no opinion.)

The steep disapproval comes as Mamdani continues to face criticism for adopting explicitly anti-Israel rhetoric during his campaign. He has repeatedly accused Israel of “apartheid,” called for a US arms embargo on the country, and championed pro-Palestinian causes. He has also accused Israel of committing a so-called “genocide” in Gaza and refused to affirm its right to exist as a Jewish state.

Many local Jewish leaders have condemned these positions as dangerously one-sided amid rising global antisemitism. Critics within the Jewish community have said Mamdani’s rhetoric ignores Israel’s right to defend itself and alienates Jewish New Yorkers who see anti-Israel animus leading to increased antisemitism in the US.

Only 20 percent of Jews stated in the new poll that they plan on voting for Mamdani, undercutting previous polling which indicated the firebrand progressive winning a plurality of New York City Jewish support. According to the poll, 44 percent and 23 percent of Jews in the city plan on voting for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and conservative activist Curtis Sliwa, respectively. Only 4 percent plan on voting for incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.

Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assemblymember and self-proclaimed democratic socialist, defeated Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.

A little-known politician before this year’s primary campaign, Mamdani is an outspoken supporter of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination. Mamdani also defended the phrase “globalize the intifada”— which references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israels and has been widely interpreted as a call to expand political violence — by invoking the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during World War II. In response, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum repudiated the mayoral candidate, calling his comments “outrageous and especially offensive to [Holocaust] survivors.”

The scene on Aug. 12, 2025, after vandals struck at the Israeli embassy in The Hague. Photo: Israel Foreign Ministry

Law enforcement in The Hague has apprehended three suspects following vandalism at the Israeli embassy on Tuesday morning.

“This is what dangerous incitement and lies against Israel look like,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on X, alongside an image of the crime featuring splatters of blood-like red paint and a broken window. “This incitement against Israel has already claimed the lives of two workers of the Israeli Embassy in the US, and in the Netherlands itself, this resulted in a pogrom against Israelis just a few months ago. This incitement must be confronted with the full force of truth.”

The ministry was referring to how, in June, a gunman murdered two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, while they exited an event at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by a national Jewish organization. The suspect charged for the double murder, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, yelled “Free Palestine” while being arrested by police after the shooting, according to video of the incident. The FBI affidavit supporting the criminal charges against Rodriguez stated that he told law enforcement he “did it for Gaza.”

That incident came months after Israeli soccer fans were brutally assaulted in Amsterdam after watching a European League match. During the premeditated and coordinated violence on Nov. 7, 2024, the Israeli fans were chased with knives and sticks in several locations around the city, run over by cars, physically beaten, and some were forced by their attackers to say “Free Palestine” to avoid further assault. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema called the attackers “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” who went “Jew hunting.”

Modi Ephraim, Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands, called this week’s crime a “cowardly act” and “yet another illustration of the dangerous consequences of rising hatred and incitement.”

Ephraim said that “diplomats must be able to carry out their work safely and unhindered at all times. The police have arrested suspects. We are confident that the Dutch authorities will take all necessary measures to prevent such attacks in the future.”

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) released a statement on X following the attack: “Make no mistake: this is an act of intimidation, the result of two years of incitement against Israel. We are left wondering: Where were the Dutch police? Where were the security forces tasked with protecting diplomats in The Hague? This grievous breach of security is unacceptable.”

Pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs said following the crime that “these vile actions must be universally condemned.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League’s Global 100 survey of antisemitism levels around the world — updated Jan. 14 — the Netherlands is one of the least hateful countries with 8 percent of the population harboring elevated antisemitic views (agreeing with at least 6 common antisemitic stereotypes.) This places the Netherlands as the nation with the fourth lowest rate of antisemitism on the planet.

On Nov. 22, 2024, the Dutch government announced plans to increase security funding at Jewish institutions by €1.3 million ($1.5 million) annually, establish an antisemitism task force, and research the root causes of hate against Jews in order to develop “instruments to make young people and adults more resilient and that can lead to changes in attitudes and behavior.”

A friend organized a vigil for Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, both Israeli embassy workers who were allegedly murdered by an anti-Israel activist, in Washington, DC on May 22, 2025. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

Local governments in two states which annually hold the negative distinction of being listed in the highest ranks of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) “Antisemitic Incidents By State” report recently took major steps towards combating anti-Jewish hatred.

In Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb outside the city of Chicago, the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance on Monday, voting 7-0, to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — becoming the first city government in Illinois to do so. According to the Jewish civil rights group, StandWithUs, the definition will be applied to “employment and anti-discrimination” policies.

IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries including the US and Israel — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations.

According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” It provides 11 specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.

“Antisemitism is surging — across the world, across our nation, and right here in Highland Park,” StandWithUs director of policy outreach Peggy Shapiro said in a statement on Monday. “This legislation is a critical first step in the fight against the rise of antisemitism nationwide. In order to combat this hatred, we must first clearly define it. Highland Park’s adoption of the IHRA definition is especially significant, given its location within the greater Chicago area, which has recently experienced a staggering 58 percent increase in antisemitic hate crimes.”

Just two months ago, Highland Park saw a disturbing incident in which an antisemitic letter threatening  violence was mailed to a resident’s home. So severe were its contents that the FBI and the Illinois Terrorism and Intelligence Center were called to the scene to establish that there was no imminent danger. Later, the local government shuttered all religious institutions as a precautionary measure.

On Monday, Highland Park City Council member Annette Lidawer said the city is now better equipped to respond to antisemitism, adding, “Not only do we condemn all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism, but we can now identify such behavior in order to combat it and to teach others to do the same.”

In Massachusetts, in which the ADL recorded the fifth most antisemitic incidents in the US in 2023, a Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism (SCCA) convened by the state legislature on Friday endorsed a spate of recommendations offered for combating antisemitism in the K-12 public school system.

According to the SCCA, Jewish students and educators both have been subjected to “hate, bullying, harassment, and discrimination.” It recommended holding lessons on “antisemitic tropes and myths,” creating news programs for the observance of Jewish American Heritage Month, and facilitating the reporting of antisemitic incidents with a new, statewide reporting system.

“As a state, Massachusetts is committed to doing everything we can to address antisemitism,” Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll said on Tuesday in a joint statement. “That starts in our schools. If we want to combat antisemitism and protect the members of our Jewish community, it starts with educating our children, building a better understanding of the Jewish experience, and making it clear that antisemitism has no place in Massachusetts.”

Local government policy has come into focus as Jewish civil rights groups implore lawmakers to take concerted action against antisemitism in their communities.

On Friday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) launched the Jewish Policy Index (JPI), a “first interactive tool of its kind” for evaluating the efficacy of policies that US states have adopted to combat antisemitism.

JPI has already identified both positive and negative trends. Nine states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia — have all passed legislation to address a surge of antisemitic discrimination and violence across the country, earning a JPI designation as “Leading States.” But, the ADL noted, 41 other states failed to merit the distinction.

The distribution of the first JPI ratings forms a bell curve, with most states, 29, clustered in the middle, having been classified as “Progressing States” which have adopted “some key pieces of the policy agenda” the ADL recommends. Twelve received the poorest mark, “Limited Action States,” for showing “little systematic effort to address antisemitism through policy.”

The ADL and its partners say the JPI can facilitate democratic action which “empowers residents” to challenge their states to fight antisemitism with vigor.

“Jewish communities know that if we are to flourish through difficult times, we must mobilize to fight antisemitism,” Eric Fingerhut, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federations of North America, said in a statement. “The most important responsibility of government is keeping its citizens safe. The Jewish Policy Index is an important tool to help inform and advance how state governments respond to antisemitism and protect their Jewish communities.”

The advent of JPI comes on the heels of harrowing new FBI statistics which reveal the extent to which violent antisemitism has become a pervasive occurrence in American life.

While hate crimes against other demographic groups declined overall last year, those perpetrated against Jews increased by 5.8 percent in 2024 to 1,938, the largest total recorded in over 30 years of the FBI’s counting them. Jewish American groups noted that this surge, which included 178 assaults, is being experienced by a demographic group which constitutes just 2 percent of the US population.

Additionally, a striking 69 percent of all religion-based hate crimes that were reported to the FBI in 2024 targeted Jews, with 2,041 out of 2,942 total such incidents being antisemitic in nature. Muslims, the second most targeted religious group, were victims in 256 offenses, or about 9 percent of the total.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.