Antisemitism watchdog warns Mamdani victory will pose security risk to Jews in New York

ISGAP Action argues that anti-Zionism masquerading as progressive politics would erode security for New York’s large Jewish community.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On the eve of New York City’s mayoral vote, a new analysis from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP Action) is drawing fresh attention to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani’s record and associations.

The report, titled “Zohran Mamdani: From SJP to Gracie Mansion?,” reviews his campus activism, public statements, endorsements, and family background.

It notes Mamdani founded a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Bowdoin College and highlights writings by his father, a Columbia University professor, that critics view as hostile to Israel.

The document also catalogs backers described as anti-Israel and assesses what ISGAP Action says his agenda would mean for the city.

ISGAP’s founding director, Charles Asher Small, told Fox News Digital that voters should weigh the ideology Mamdani “comes from and promotes.”

He argued that antisemitic rhetoric has moved into mainstream debate and warned that extreme movements on the left, right, and within radical political Islam exploit anti-Jewish narratives.

In his view, language like this “leads to action” and risks more hatred and violence.

The report faults Mamdani for declining to explicitly denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which it says is linked to terror attacks and incitement. It says he has minimized the Oct. 7 massacre while labeling Israel’s response as “genocide,” and criticizes his push for legislation aimed at penalizing New York charities that back Israel.

ISGAP Action also flags controversies around figures in Mamdani’s orbit. It points to his smiling photo with Brooklyn cleric Siraj Wahhaj—who testified as a character witness for the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and has defended convicted terrorists—and cites a $100,000 contribution funneled through a super PAC from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case.

The group references additional campaign ties it considers troubling, as well as resurfaced comments from Mamdani’s mother in 2013 suggesting he is “not an American at all.”

Opposition within parts of the Jewish community intensified last month, when hundreds of rabbis urged voters to reject Mamdani, even as some Jewish leaders backed his bid. Despite the backlash and viral clips of his remarks about Israel, polls show him ahead.

ISGAP Action concludes that a Mamdani victory could damage communal trust and reverse safeguards for Jewish life, arguing that rebranded anti-Zionism masquerading as progressive politics would erode security for New York’s large Jewish community. Fox News Digital said the campaign was asked for comment.