Zohran Mamdani’s Nomination Sparks Fear Among NYC Orthodox Jews

NEW YORK – One day after Zohran Mamdani trounced former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary elections, members of New York’s Orthodox Jewish community are expressing concern over the possibility of him winning the general election on November 4th.

Former Queens resident and public school administrator Joel Petlin started issuing warnings on social media about the very real threat Mamdani posed in the mayoral primary back in March. Hoping to impress Jewish community members with the potential danger of him winning the primary, Petlin’s posts became a daily occurrence as the polls seemed to tip in Mamdani’s favor.

“New Yorkers have an opportunity to avoid the mistakes of Chicago and London,” tweeted Petlin on the morning of primary day. “Vote as if your life depends on it – because it truly does.”

Petlin said that he believes that Jewish New Yorkers have a lot to fear from a mayoral candidate who openly defends globalizing the intifada.

“As Jews are the number one target for hate crimes in NY, we should all be concerned that Democratic voters want a mayor who has repeatedly said that he wants to defund the police,” Petlin told VIN News. “This is a dangerous time for Jews all over the world, and this election made it clear that a majority of NY Democratic voters really don’t care.”

“Mamdani’s inexperience, coupled with his socialist extreme ideas, will be a toxic mix for this city,” added Jack Kaplan of Community Board 12, who noted that the last thing that New York City needs right now is to become a socialist test project. “Several cities around the country have tried it, and like the socialist countries around the world, it ends in higher crime, low quality of life, and it’s something we must try to prevent at all costs.”

Brooklyn resident Dovid Shor described Mamdani and his politics as a bad choice for New York City.

“The last thing a city that’s yet to fully recover from Covid needs, is communism. Earning a livelihood is bound to become much harder, as businesses will flee, and taxes will rise,” said Shor. “The police is already to stretched to its limits as a result of cashless bail, and the influx of illegals on our streets. A mayor of the mob would bring us total anarchy.”

Commentator Ben Shapiro had been extremely vocal in his criticisms of Mamdani in recent weeks. One day after the primary, Shapiro told his Daily Wire followers that he looked forward to interviewing Mamdani to hear how he plans to make New York City safer and more livable, even as he offered sharp criticism of the Democratic nominee and his supporters.

“If you had told me after September 11th that, fast forward a quarter century, and the person who be the New York City mayoral front runner and Democratic nominee would be a terror-supporting communist, I would have been a little surprised, but to be honest with you, it just goes to show you that no lesson is learned permanently in life, no political victory is ever complete,” said Shapiro.

“New York City deserves precisely what’s coming to it,” added Shapiro. “You guys broke it, and now you bought it, so I hope that you enjoy what you have created.”

In the days before primary, former City Council member and MET Council CEO David Greenfield had been actively encouraging people to go out and vote. Taking to social media after Mamdani’s win, Greenfield noted that Andrew Cuomo’s solid defeat may create new opportunities for other candidates.

“Hot take,” tweeted Greenfield, once the election results were officially confirmed. “Good night for @NYCMayor Eric Adams who suddenly has a real path to winning re-election in November.”

Former Assemblyman Dov Hikind took another view in a video that he posted to social media after Mamdani was formally declared the winner. Describing Mamdani’s victory as “pathetic, sick and painful” to people who care about New York City’s future, particularly the Jewish residents of the five boroughs, Hikind called on both Adams and Cuomo to drop out of the mayoral race to prevent a Mamdani win in November, paving the way for a two-man contest between Mamdani and his Republican challenger, Curtis Sliwa.

“All kinds of people who are so concerned about the possibility of this individual being mayor and what the repercussions might be have been calling me, people in business, people on Wall Street,” said Hikind, whose video garnered over a million views in less than 24 hours. “I think he definitely can win. People underestimated him and we have to do anything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

While Hikind hadn’t planned on being involved in the general election, his thoughts have changed since Mamdani’s win. Hikind believes that Cuomo’s political career is finished, and isn’t sure that Adams has what it takes to beat Mamdani.

“I think there is a long way to go – many, many months – and hopefully a lot of leaders in city and in the five boroughs can be brought together in a real coalition to take Mamdani down.”

“What can I tell you?” added Hikind. “Hashem runs the world.”