Manhattan’s Central Synagogue’s Rabbi Angela Buchdahl dropped a scathing condemnation of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D) over the weekend, accusing the democratic socialist of contributing “to a mainstreaming of some of the most abhorrent antisemitism.”
Buchdahl is one of the country’s most prominent Reform rabbis, and her Reform Jewish congregation is one of the largest in the city. Despite her condemnation of Mamdani’s past rhetoric, Buchdahl also doubled down on her refusal to endorse a candidate in the race.
“We arrive this week at Parshat Lech-Lecha, the beginning of the Jewish story. God calls Abraham and Sarah to leave their home and comfort for a place they do not know, promising, ‘You shall be a blessing.’ But before we think of the grandeur of that destiny, imagine the uncertainty, the feeling of being strangers in unknown territory,” Buchdahl began, adding:
Many of you have shared that this is how you feel right now, that this is an existential moment for our Jewish community. Some fear that in the most Jewish city in the world, we are becoming strangers once again. I share many of those fears. I fear living in a city and a nation where anti-Zionist rhetoric is normalized and contagious, where Israel is singularly and repeatedly called out and demonized as the worst actor on the world stage, where our children feel ashamed to call themselves Zionists or afraid to wear Jewish symbols or worry they can only belong if they are the “good kind of Jew.” I’m terrified by how anti-Zionist rhetoric and antisemitic tropes have led to some deadly violence against Jews.
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has contributed to a mainstreaming of some of the most abhorrent antisemitism. His shocking 2023 accusation—”When the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF”—crosses the line clearly into antisemitism, not only demonizing Israelis, but echoing the age-old antisemitic trope that Jews across the world are the root cause of our problems here. His false claims of genocide, his reluctance to label Hamas a terrorist organization, his unwillingness to condemn phrases like “globalize the Intifada,” and absolute opposition to Israel as a Jewish state contributes to an atmosphere of denigration and ostracization of Jewish people everywhere.
In addition to dangerous rhetoric, he’s pledged to shut down the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, which broke up the violent protests at Columbia, which could mean that when Jews are under attack, we may not feel protected. It is hard not to fear that the environment we witnessed for our Jewish children on Columbia’s campus after October 7th could be a preview of the way that New York City could start feeling for all Jews. For so many in this community, this is reason enough to determine your vote unequivocally.
Watch the full sermon above.
