Showing posts with label mayor election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mayor election. Show all posts

Sunday, November 02, 2025

New York's Jews and How They Vote: Democrat or Republican?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

    Brad Lander was a Reform Jewish candidate for New York's mayor position 

New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani,  is joined by fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City.
(photo credit: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/GETTY IMAGES)

Brad didn't make it through the first voting;  Mamdani did for the Democratic Party.                  
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran K. Mamdani and NYC comptroller Brad Lander speak during the Jews For Racial And Economic Justice's Mazals Gala on September 10, 2025 in New York City. (credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images)

 Bradford Scott Lander (born July 8, 1969)56 years old,  is an American politician, urban planner, and community organizer who has served as the 45th New York City comptroller since 2022. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, Lander was elected to the New York City Council in 2009, serving for twelve years, later serving as Deputy Leader for Policy. His district included portions of Brooklyn. In 2021, Lander was elected city comptroller, and assumed office on January 1, 2022. He was endorsed by progressives such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (I'm shocked !) and Elizabeth Warren. Here's who he had to contend with:    

Israel and Palestine                        
                

 Linda Sarsour,

 

born 1980, 45 years old

 is a former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York.  A Muslim of Palestinian descent, Sarsour first gained attention for protesting police surveillance of American Muslims,  her stance and remarks on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have been criticized by some conservatives and Jewish leaders and organizations. Sarsour has advocated for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories and expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.(But, Linda, Hamas is always shooting at us;  Hamas is the fighting element of Palestinians and you civilians voted them in!)  

 Dov Hikind (born June 30, 1950) 75,  is an American politician, activist, and radio talk show host in the state of New York. Hikind served as a Democratic New York State Assemblyman representing Brooklyn's Assembly district 48 for 35 years – from January 1983 until December 2018. He's from a very orthodox Jewish family.  Hikind grew up in a Haredi Jewish family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, his father being a devout follower of the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty. His parents were both Holocaust survivors, with his mother being liberated from Auschwitz.

Lander's district includes large numbers of Jewish and Muslim people. According to The Forward, Lander has worked to balance relationships with both groups, "befriending both the far-right Brooklyn politician Dov Hikind and the pro-Palestinian activist and organizer Linda Sarsour". Hikind criticized Lander and other progressive politicians for not distancing themselves from Sarsour, citing her criticism of Israel and past associations with controversial figures such as Louis Farrakhan.it (Religious ethics and beliefs can be quite as different between Reform and Orthodox as there is between Catholic and Protestant, or Sunni and Sh'ai) .  His district had long been one of the most conservative districts in New York City. For instance, it gave Donald Trump 69 percent of the vote in 2016, his second-best showing in the entire state; Hikind believes that the national party has moved too far to the left, particularly on social issues, for the liking of many of his constituents

In 2020, Lander wrote that he had visited the West Bank (Judea/Samaria) to learn more about conditions under Israeli occupation and expressed support for efforts to achieve Palestinian human rights.  

Richard Goldstein, the Jewish former executive editor of the Village Voice, who lives in Greenwich Village, said he had been turned off by Mamdani’s stances on Israel, which he said would be “a recipe for a bloodbath” in the Middle East if fully acted upon.  (I'm thankful)

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dov_Hikind

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Lander

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-872329#google_vignette


Why Mamdami Is Not Good For New York City

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

Zoran Mamdami was born in 1991, only 34 years old!  He is a  politician who has served since 2021 (4 years) as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district, representing the Queens neighborhood of Astoria. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he is the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election.  His campaign platform includes support for fare-free city busespublic child carecity-owned grocery storesLGBTQ rights, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, additional affordable housing units, comprehensive public safety reform, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030. Mamdani also supports tax increases on corporations and those earning above $1 million annually.

 His mother is a Punjabi Hindu who was born in Rourkela and raised in Bhubaneswar, and his father is a Gujarati Muslim who was born in Bombay and grew up primarily in Uganda, where Mamdami was born as a Muslim.                      

  He is Shia Muslim and identifies with the Twelver branch.   This is the state religion of Iran! I feel that by voting for him, it will bring Iran closer than ever, a country out to destroy the USA and Israel. Iran is Israel's enemy, and also the USA's.  

Shiism has a complex relationship with Israel, primarily driven by the geopolitical actions of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah. While Shiites are a minority within the global Muslim population, and there is virtually no presence of Shiites in Israel itself, Hezbollah and other factions have historically opposed Israel, leading to increased regional tension. Shias of Iran blame Sunni Islamists for teaching them to hate Israel.   

Palestine, whose Muslim population is predominantly Sunni, was thus exclusively a Sunni issue, never a Shia problem, at least until 1979, when Shia firebrand cleric Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in Iran. Khomeini preached a version of militant Shiism that incorporated Muslim Brotherhood doctrines alien to the traditional Shia creed as upheld by Iraq’s Najaf, the Vatican of the Shia world.

Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate, has a long history of strongly pro-Palestinian activism and criticism of Israel. His views include calling Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide and stating he cannot support it as an officially Jewish state, which has drawn both praise and sharp criticism from various communities. His past statements have also faced scrutiny, such as a remark linking the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a 2023 speech. Connection to NYPD and IDF: He has explained a 2023 comment linking the NYPD and IDF as a reference to training exercises between the two, though some critics remain concerned about his views on the relationship between the two forces. 

  • Views on Israel as a Jewish state: Mamdani has stated he would not recognize any state's right to exist based on a system of hierarchy of race or religion, leading to the criticism that he is questioning Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.  (Is he forgetting how many states are listed as Muslim states?)  
  • Eight Islamic states have adopted Islam as the ideological foundation of state and constitution.  There are about 50 that are Muslim majority states. How about Iran?   Yes, Iran is a Muslim state, officially a Muslim theocracy whose legal system is based on Islamic law (sharia). Its constitution declares Twelver Ja'afari Shia Islam as the official state religion, and all laws are supposed to be based on Islamic criteria. The government is structured as a religious democracy, combining elected institutions with an unelected supreme leader and a Guardian Council that vets all candidates for public office.    
  • Israel's actions: He has called Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide and is critical of its treatment of Palestinians.
  • Past legislation: In the New York State Assembly, he sponsored the "Not On Our Dime" Act, which aimed to strip tax-exempt status from charities with ties to Israeli settler groups.
  • Oh G-d !  This man has the mouth of Iran!  So many people have already joined him in this  acceptance of nonsense, but he has been first as a Muslim that following Iran's thinking patterns, I'm afraid. This may be why he's running in the first place! 

 A July 2025 poll indicated a shift in Jewish American political attitudes, with 43% of Jewish New Yorkers and 67% of Jewish voters under 44 planning to support Mamdani — levels of support suggesting waning attachment to traditional pro-Israel politics, while many Jewish leaders and voters remained critical of Mamdani.  This is why these Jewish youth especially are Regressive Jews.

They know nothing about Israel and seem to not care about learning at all.  They are believing all the misleading anti-Israel news reports from other people other than the Jews themselves.  This way, they are getting more  social approval from their peers.  They are joining them!  In a way, they feel ashamed of their Jewish inheritance.  I am really disappointed that this is what theyturned out to be.                            

                  Portland, before assistance, in Japanese Gardens

And why should I care?  I'm living in Portland, Oregon, 91, living in Assisted Living, and hold dual citizenship with Israel.    What has this election got to do with me?  New York has been the center of Jewishsociety since its beginning; creating the acceptance of the Jewish peoplethere.  Jews makeup 2% of New York's population, of which we are only 0.02% (2/10 of one%) of the world's population.  As they feel and treat Jews in New York soas they will treat Jews in Portland, Oregon.  Is it progress these days to follow others like sheep do?  

So between his socialistic outlook, and his anti-Israel upbringing, no thankyou in choosing Mamdami  in the Mayor election. Here is more informationof how he feels about Israel.

Unlike his opponents in the mayoral race, Mamdani has offered perspectives on Israel, Zionism, and antisemitism that have upset and even alarmed some voters. Although he has never denied that the state of Israel has a right to exist, he simultaneously has not affirmed that it should exist as a Jewish state. Mamdani is forthright in his opposition to Israel’s use of weapons that he calls "violence" against the Palestinian people, and has classified the ongoing war in Gaza as a “genocide.” He also has not swayed from his support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, which aims to pressure Israel so that the state may comply with international law. When it comes to New York’s institutional ties to Israel, Mamdani wants to deviate from the past practice of the city’s mayors, who supported initiatives such as the NYC-Israel Economic Council and the NYPD’s police exchange programs. Perhaps the most remarkable promise Mamdani has made is to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he ever enters the city.

Instead of marketing himself as an ally to Israel, Mamdani has instead channeled his energy into targeting many of the everyday concerns of Jewish New Yorkers. According to data released by the NYPD, Jews were the primary target of hate crimes reported (hate crimes remain largelyunderreported across the board) in the city in 2024, constituting nearly 54 percent of the hate crimes counted. He has called for increasing funding for hate violence programs from $3 million to $26 million. He has also signified support for the implementation of the “Hidden Voices” program, which would teach students from kindergarten through 12thgrade about Jewish Americans in U.S. history (but teaching them what about Jews? 

On the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks, Mamdani released a statement mourning those killed in both Israel and occupied Palestine, and he has repeatedly expressed a continued commitment to condemning antisemitism across the country. 

Update 5:30am 11/5/25: Mamdani won, even with Trump behind Cuomo., and I hope for all of us 

that he will keep his promise of ridding New York of anti-semitism;  however,

he will be the first shi'a Muslim who will have all Jews in New York available

through the web, phone, etc, and he will know where they are.  Just hope

no Iman calls for a Jihhad against Jews.  Mamdani was not born in the 

States, you know, but Uganda. Sorry to be so leery of a Shi'a Muslim at the

head, but we are at war with Iran and it is a Shi'a country.  

  • Global Threats: Israeli intelligence (Mossad) has recently revealed that Iran has expanded its efforts to target Israeli and Jewish interests worldwide, thwarting dozens of attack channels across Europe and Australia in the past year.
  • Nuclear Posturing: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed the world saw only a fraction of Iran's power during the June 2025 conflict and warned Iran is now "even more prepared for any potential new conflict," while denying its nuclear program poses an imminent threat.
  • War with the US: Senior Iranian officials, including former IRGC commander Major General Mohsen Rezaei, have stated that if Israel initiates a war, Iran will also enter a war with the United States.

Resource:

https://israel-nadene.blogspot.com/2025/11/they-are-called-progressive-jews-but.html

https://prospect.org/2025/10/30/mamdani-and-the-jews/

https://www.fpri.org/article/2010/05/shiism-what-students-need-to-know/