Uncategorized
The rabbinic backlash against Zohran Mamdani isn’t about Mamdani at all
The sheer number of letters by rabbis circulating about Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral campaign is “mind numbing,” a rabbi friend texted me earlier this week.
There’s the public letter decrying Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, sponsored by The Jewish Majority, which as of this writing has 1,138 signatures from rabbis, cantors and rabbinical students. But two or three other letters are also making their way through her circles. (One affirms a belief that Mamdani’s support for Palestinian rights comes from “deep moral convictions”; the others have not yet been made public.) “Make it stop,” she wrote.
The last two years have been unbelievably difficult for American Jews, and particularly so for rabbis. Rabbis have been tasked with counseling congregants deeply affected by the trauma caused by Oct. 7 and the rise in antisemitism, as well as the global outcry against Israel’s brutal bombardment of Gaza. Not to mention navigating efforts by certain political actors to weaponize Jewish pain in order to silence pro-Palestinian activists, remake higher education and accelerate an aggressive deportation agenda.
Now, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has created something of a vacuum, leaving rabbis to channel the complexity of the last two years into an unrelenting, disproportionate and often negative focus on Mamdani.
The old joke goes “two Jews, three opinions.” It’s rare to find Jewish consensus on where to get the best bagels, let alone a political issue. Yet rabbis from states as distant as Nevada, Illinois, Georgia, Indiana, New Mexico and Tennessee have signed the Jewish Majority letter, which calls out “rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization,” publicly affirming their opposition to a potential Mayor Mamdani. While the letter boasts 1,138 signatures, only around 100 of them actually live in New York City and would be directly affected by a Mamdani administration.
Isn’t it a bit strange that no cause has apparently rallied more American rabbis — not a devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza; not an antisemitic AI chatbot developed by the richest man on Earth; not the Department of Homeland Security sharing antisemitic dogwhistles; not Immigrations and Customs Enforcement kidnapping people off the street — than opposition to a Muslim, Democratic socialist mayoral candidate who is not pro-Israel?
I find it hard to believe that New York City’s next mayor is truly the most vital issue facing American Jews outside this specific city. So why this level of focused condemnation?
I think there’s an answer in the striking timing of these letters. Mamdani won the Democratic primary overwhelmingly in June. Where were the letters then? If anything, his victory seems less assured than it did a month or two ago — recent polls suggest that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an Independent, has cut Mamdani’s lead in half following Mayor Eric Adams’ withdrawal from the race.
So what changed? With the ceasefire and the return of the last living hostages, I think that diaspora Jewry is suddenly unsure about our political role. Now that the living hostages — the one issue most of us agreed on in the last two years — are home safe, whom do we advocate for? What are we supposed to talk about now?
The flurry of these rabbinic anti-Mamdani letters less than a month before the mayoral election in November has been framed by some as an extraordinary expression of rabbinic unity in the face of a dangerous candidate. “Look at how many American rabbis have ever signed a letter,” one commenter on r/Jewish wrote on Reddit. “This is one of the largest rabbinic sign-on letters in history.”
But I worry this proliferation is a sign of insecurity in our community, not health.
In a time when it has felt so impossible to express nuance and to allow for a multiplicity of truths, Mamdani represents, for many, an easy opportunity to align against a figure whose position on Israel departs from the long-accepted political norm of vocal support.
A recent poll conducted by The Washington Post shows that nearly 40 percent of American Jews believe Israel has committed genocide. That number jumps to 50 percent between the ages of 18 and 34. Synagogue leaders, who are always trying to grow their community with new, younger members, must appease older, more pro-Israel congregants while remaining in touch with the changing views of the new generations — a balancing act that is increasingly untenable.
For a rabbi who is attempting to negotiate the tensions of differing political beliefs within their congregation, it is far easier to sign a letter than it is to reckon, both personally and communally, with the profound generational divide on Israel.
Mamdani’s campaign is not the only time that rabbinic leaders have spoken out since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023 — or this year. On Feb. 13, 350 American rabbis took out a full-page ad in The New York Times to oppose President Donald Trump’s plan to remove all Palestinians from Gaza. “Jewish people say NO to ethnic cleansing!” it read in bold letters. In July, 1,200 rabbis and Jewish leaders from around the world signed a letter urging Israel to open Gaza to humanitarian aid, followed by a letter in August from over 80 Orthodox rabbis, led by the former mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Yosef Blau.
But the Jewish Majority letter has made by far the biggest impact. And I wonder at the usefulness of its signatories expending limited political capital against a candidate who, by all accounts, is likely to become mayor. When historians write about this charged era of American Jewish life, when authoritarian power is aggressively taking hold, I doubt that this letter will be regarded as a worthy use of their considerable communal power.
In the end, the anti-Mamdani letters say very little about Mamdani and everything about American Jewry. Instead of coming together based on a shared commitment to Jewish values, American rabbis are choosing an enemy to ally against. Instead of drawing “a line in the sand,” as one commentator framed the letter, I fear it is simply a line that will further divide us.
Since Oct. 7, American Jews have been buffeted by anti-war protests, antisemitic attacks and institutional strife. The Hamas attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza have unleashed a profound internal and external reckoning about the previously sacrosanct relationship between the U.S. and Israel. With the tenuous ceasefire coming soon after the start of a new Jewish year, and the traditional pro-Israel consensus irrevocably cracking under the strain of war and religious extremism, American Jews have an important opportunity, now, to look inward.
What have we learned over these painful years? How can we heal, while also taking responsibility for the ways in which we did not use our power for good? How do we want to use our communal power, period? If the party line on Israel has changed, how do American Jews want to change with it?
The conversations within the Jewish community are just beginning, and will last long past the New York City mayoral election on Nov. 4. I pray that our rabbinic leaders will have the courage to help us have them.
The post The rabbinic backlash against Zohran Mamdani isn’t about Mamdani at all appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Freed hostage Alon Ohel plays piano on Israeli sketch comedy show ‘Eretz Nehederet’
The Israeli sketch comedy show “Eretz Nehederet” is famous for parodying every aspect of Israeli politics and culture. But the smiles were sincere on Wednesday night when a special guest took the stage: freed hostage Alon Ohel.
Throughout his two-year captivity, Ohel became widely known for his prowess on the piano. And earlier this year, the cast of the show sang a tribute to him with the Israeli singer Hanan Ben Ari, as part of a national campaign to keep attention on the hostages being held in Gaza.
On Wednesday’s episode, Ohel grinned as he played a rendition of Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza’s “Under the Sky.” An eyepatch covered his right eye, following an injury that was left untreated after he was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We came here, from under the sky, two – like a pair of eyes, we have time, under the sky, in the meantime – we’re still here,” read the lyrics of the song, translated from Hebrew.
He was surrounded by his parents and sister as well as the show’s cast. “It was a moment the whole world had been waiting for, and not a single eye was left dry,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a post on Facebook.
Since the remaining 20 living hostages were released from Hamas captivity earlier this month as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal, their emergence into public view has drawn emotional celebrations from Israelis.
On Friday, freed hostage Nimrod Cohen attended a memorial service at the Kfar Saba military cemetery for Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel, who was killed in Cohen’s unit on Oct. 7 and whose body has not yet been released during the ceasefire deal.
On Sunday, former hostages Segev Kalfon, Eitan Mor, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal were met with parades as they returned to their homes after being released from Beilinson Hospital, which has shuttered its “Returning Hostages Ward.”
Some of the viral videos of the former hostages have captured their brushes with celebrity, including with Ben Ari, who sang with several of them while they were hospitalized.
Eli Sharabi, who was released in February to learn that his wife Lianne and daughters Noiya and Yahel were murdered on Oct. 7, walked the runway at Tel Aviv Fashion Week on Sunday where he was joined by the relatives of other freed hostages.
The following day, Sharabi’s brother, Yossi, who was killed in Hamas captivity in January 2024 and whose remains were returned to Israel as part of the ceasefire deal earlier this month, was buried in central Israel.
Sharabi said the funeral was “the beginning of delayed justice. Our hearts are broken but our heads are held high.”
—
The post Freed hostage Alon Ohel plays piano on Israeli sketch comedy show ‘Eretz Nehederet’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Hundreds of thousands of haredi Jews protest in Jerusalem against Israeli military draft
Hundreds of thousands of haredi Orthodox Jewish men joined a mass protest in Jerusalem on Thursday to rail against the Israeli government’s efforts to enlist yeshiva students into the military.
The mass prayer demonstration, called the “Million Man March,” was organized by the leaders of Israel’s different ultra-Orthodox groups in response to a spate of arrests of yeshiva students who had dodged the Israeli draft.
“The debate over the law is still ongoing, and it belongs in the Knesset,” one organizer told Haaretz. “If that were the only issue, we wouldn’t hold a rally. But following the arrests of yeshiva students and the persecution against us, it was decided to protest nonetheless.”
The protest comes one year after the Israeli Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Israel must draft haredi Orthodox Jews into its army, a decision welcomed by many Israelis who believe the haredi sector was not bearing its share of the burden of the war in Gaza. The ruling renewed demonstrations from haredi groups who have long argued that they should be exempt for religious reasons.
Earlier this month, upwards of 10,000 haredi Orthodox Jewish men staged another protest in New York City to oppose the draft.
At the demonstration Thursday, two ultra-Orthodox soldiers, a police officer and several journalists were attacked by protesters, including Channel 12 News reporter Inbar Twizer who had objects thrown at her during her broadcast.
Throughout the day, hundreds of protesters were seen entering construction sites, scaling roofs and climbing cranes. One 15-year-old boy died after falling from the 20th floor of a high-rise construction site.
One group of protesters were also seen carrying a banner from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which read, “Bringing back the hostages, bringing back hope.” The group has previously pursued legal action against a yeshiva that appropriating symbols for the hostages to rally for the release of jailed yeshiva students.
Israeli security forces disperse ultra-Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against conscription into Israel’s military in Jerusalem on October 30, 2025. (Fadel SENNA / AFP)
After the protests’ organizers called for an end to the demonstration on Thursday evening, some protesters remained near the entrance of Jerusalem and clashed with Israeli border police, according to the Times of Israel.
—
The post Hundreds of thousands of haredi Jews protest in Jerusalem against Israeli military draft appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Vance Says Israel ‘Not Controlling’ Trump, Fails to Defend Judaism in Response to Antisemitic Comments at Event
A screenshot of a question-and-answer session at the University of Mississippi in Oxford on Oct. 29, 2025, in which US Vice President JD Vance is questioned about his views on Israel and Judaism. Photo: Screenshot
US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday responded to a question from a right-wing student activist who made antisemitic statements against Israel and Judaism, arguing the Jewish state does not control American foreign policy while not countering the questioner’s remarks targeting the Jewish religion.
Vance appeared at the University of Mississippi for an event held by Turning Point USA, the influential conservative advocacy organization led for years by the late Charlie Kirk.
More than 90 minutes into the session, during the questions portion, a man wearing a red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap and a white “Ole Miss” hoodie was given the microphone.
“Thank you for the opportunity to speak,” the individual said. “I’m a Christian man and I’m just confused why that there’s this notion that we might owe Israel something or that they’re our greatest ally or that we have to support this multi-hundred-billion-dollar foreign aid package to Israel to cover this — to quote Charlie Kirk, ethnic cleansing in Gaza. I’m just confused why this idea has come around considering the fact that not only does their religion not agree with ours but also openly supports the prosecution of ours.”
The question — in which the student incorrectly quoted Kirk, an outspoke pro-Israel advocate —prompted applause from the audience.
“First of all, when the president of the United States says ‘America first’ that means that he pursues the interests of Americans first. That is our entire foreign policy,” Vance responded. “That doesn’t mean that you’re not going to have alliances, that you’re not going to work with other countries from time to time. And that is what the president believes is that Israel, sometimes they have similar interests to the United States and we’re going to work with them in that case. Sometimes they don’t have similar interests to the United States.”
Vance used the example of the US-brokered ceasefire to halt fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to illustrate his point.
“In this example, the most recent Gaza peace plan that all of us have been working on very hard for the past few weeks, the president of the United States could only get that peace deal done by actually being willing to apply leverage to the state of Israel,” Vance said. “So, when people say that Israel is somehow manipulating or controlling the president of the United States, they’re not controlling this president of the United States, which is one of the reasons why would we be able to have some of the success that we’ve had in the Middle East.”
The vice president, who was baptized into the Catholic faith in August 2019, then shifted to theological discourse, apparently wanting to respond to the student’s statement that Judaism “openly supports the persecution of Christians.
“Now you ask about, you know, sort of Jews disagreeing with Christians on certain religious ideas. Yeah, absolutely. It’s one of the realities is that Jews do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Obviously, Christians do believe that,” Vance said. “There are some significant theological disagreements between Christians and Jews. My attitude is let’s have those conversations. Let’s have those disagreements when we have them. But if there are shared areas of interest, we ought to be willing to do that, too.”
Vance continued, “One thing I really, really care about is the preservation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Christians believe that that is the site where Jesus Christ was crucified and also that his tomb is right there as well. My attitude is if we can work with our friends in Israel to make sure that Christians have safe access to that site, that’s an obvious area of common interest, I am fine with that.”
The vice president then emphasized to the student that he would not put Israel ahead of the United States, saying, “What I’m not OK with is any country coming before the interests of American citizens. And it is important for all of us, assuming we’re American citizens, to put the interest of our own country first. That’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we try to do every single day. I promise you. Thank you.”
Antisemitic sentiment on the American political right has surged in the weeks following the murder of Kirk, with prominent social media podcaster figures such as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens suggesting Israeli involvement in the shooting without any evidence. This conspiracy theorizing inspired death threats against pro-Israel conservative figures and the arrest of a man now facing 140 years’ imprisonment.
On Monday, Carlson published a more than two-hour interview with neo-Nazi podcaster Nick Fuentes on X. Photos of Carlson with his arm around Fuentes’ shoulder and smiles on both their faces began circulating around social media.
Carlson apologized to Fuentes in the discussion, saying “I’m sorry I called you gay, by the way.” He also referenced the prominent political commentator Ben Shapiro, who is widely known to be an Orthodox Jew, adding, “I don’t think Fuentes is going away. Ben Shapiro tried to strangle him in the crib in college, and now he’s bigger than ever.”
In the interview, Fuentes contrasted himself with Shapiro, stating, “I didn’t come from some strange background. I come from a normal home. My parents are Catholic.”
Fuentes’s comments appear to differ with the views of Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Catholic Church.
Leo on Wednesday condemned antisemitism and affirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to combating hatred and persecution against the Jewish people, arguing his faith demands such a stance.
Speaking in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for his weekly “general audience,” the pontiff acknowledged the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a declaration from the Second Vatican Council and promulgated on Oct. 28, 1965, by Pope Paul VI that called for dialogue and respect between Christianity and other religions.
Since the publication of Nostra Aetate, “all my predecessors have condemned antisemitism with clear words,” Leo said. “I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate antisemitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”