In the hours after the U.S. first struck Iran on Feb. 28, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put out a statement that was characteristically blunt.

“This war is unlawful. It is unnecessary. And it will be catastrophic,” she wrote.

Her full-throated denunciation stood in contrast to the carefully calibrated messaging from Democratic leaders in Washington, who sternly criticized President Donald Trump for failing to seek congressional authorization, but also condemned Iran as a “bad actor” with dangerous nuclear ambitions.

And it helps explain why Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is increasingly seen by many insiders as a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.

At a time when many Democratic voters are looking for leaders who will push back forcefully against President Trump, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s brand as an outspoken change agent may hold appeal. Her views on issues, including pushing for universal health care and a wealth tax, and opposing U.S. aid to Israel, resonate with a younger generation of voters frustrated with the status quo. With fellow democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders not likely to mount another White House run, there’s an opening in the left-wing, antiestablishment lane – if the former bartender from New York wants it.

The 2028 campaign won’t officially begin for another year or so. But not-so-subtle maneuvering is already taking place. Many Democratic White House hopefuls are visiting early primary states, peddling political memoirs, and raising money for local candidates.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has not engaged in such overt signaling and has generally deflected questions about her political future. But the New York congresswoman has positioned herself for a possible run. Last year, she joined Vermont’s Senator Sanders on a nationwide “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that drew huge crowds. She also made some shrewd endorsements – including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another democratic socialist who rose from obscurity to pull off one of the biggest political upsets in recent history.

It was a similar upset that catapulted Ms. Ocasio-Cortez onto the national stage in 2018, when she beat 10-term Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, a member of the House leadership, to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She quickly became a darling of the left – and a villain to the right – criticizing the Washington establishment and pushing for progressive policies.

Now, she’s arrived at a kind of crossroads. Longtime observers and people in the four-term lawmaker’s orbit say she is looking past this fall’s midterm elections and carefully considering all her options. She could remain in the House and keep working her way up the seniority ladder, using her social media megaphone to steer her party. She could mount a primary challenge to New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader whose approval ratings have fallen as his party has languished in the minority. Or she could take an even bigger risk and run for president – offering herself as a young and charismatic underdog with fresh ideas and online savvy, at a time when the nation will be coming off its two oldest presidents ever.

“AOC conceivably fits in the Obama lane as an outsider,” says former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner. “The base is excited [by her]; she gives good speeches.” Paradoxically, he adds, she may benefit by being underestimated. “She’s seen as not having enough experience and is not being taken super seriously except by outsiders. Nowadays having less of a record is better than having more of a record.”

In national and early primary state surveys of whom Democratic voters would like to see as their next nominee, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez often lands in the top two or three. She is without question a polarizing figure, with policy preferences that put her to the left of the mainstream voter. But just as Mr. Trump moved the GOP in a more populist direction in 2016, the Democratic Party may be ripe for a takeover next year, particularly if frustrations with the war in Iran, rising health care and grocery costs, housing affordability, and Israel continue to build.

“We’ve seen progressives succeed at all levels across the country,” says John Paul Lupo, a Democratic political consultant. “She is the most electable progressive that we have, and she’d be foolish not to take a look at 2028.”

Playing the long game

Since coming to Washington as an inexperienced 29-year-old in 2018, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has transformed from a brash newcomer to someone who seems to be playing the long game.

She antagonized some of her new House colleagues before she was even sworn in, joining youth climate activists to occupy Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office that December. She partnered with Justice Democrats, a political action committee that recruits challengers to run against incumbents, including targeting newly selected House Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries.

Along with three other left-wing newcomers known as “The Squad,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez amassed one of the largest social media followings on Capitol Hill – and used that platform to voice displeasure with border security legislation and Speaker Pelosi’s reluctance to launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

Ms. Pelosi publicly panned The Squad’s influence, while privately telling them to tone down their tweets if they ever wanted to accomplish anything.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez seemed to heed the advice. Over the next six years, she became a more skilled Washington insider, promoting progressive policies such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal while also contributing campaign funds to moderate Democrats in swing districts.

She developed a friendly relationship with President Joe Biden, who adopted her agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand health care access for millions of Americans. When other Democrats began calling on President Biden to suspend his reelection campaign after a disastrous debate performance in the summer of 2024, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez forcefully defended him.

More recently, she has staked out positions on issues from online gambling to AI and privacy to the construction of data centers that have drawn approving comments from conservatives.

Still, navigating the corridors of power on Capitol Hill doesn’t guarantee a successful leap to a presidential campaign. In February, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez drew a slew of negative headlines after a high-profile stumble at an international security conference.

In her first major foreign policy address, she told an audience of global leaders in Munich, Germany, that income inequality has fueled the growth of far-right populism, urging Europe’s left and center-left communities to unite against it.

But when asked about other topics, her answers were less assured. She called the Transatlantic Partnership the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said Venezuela was below the equator, and paused for an excruciatingly long time when asked how the United States should respond if China invaded Taiwan. The criticism was so scathing that the congresswoman was forced to respond with a phone call to The New York Times.

To some, it was evidence of the greater scrutiny and higher standards that female candidates often encounter compared with male rivals.

“AOC has to avoid the ambition trap. Women of politics, particularly women of color, get seen as being impatient,” says Christian Amato, a campaign strategist from the Bronx. At the same time, he adds, “She has one of the clearest defined arcs to grow out of any candidate.”

The Senate option

In the wake of the Democrats’ 2024 electoral losses – when the party belatedly pushed its 81-year-old president out of the race, only to lose the White House to Mr. Trump and be shut out of power on Capitol Hill – generational tensions have continued to grow.

That winter, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez mounted a bid for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, but lost out to eight-term Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died six months later. She declined to seek the position a second time, telling reporters “the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary.”

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The union representing New York City’s subway workers has renewed its push to enshrine the role of subway conductor into law.

The Transport Workers Union — whose Local 100 represents many NYC Transit bus workers and all subway workers — is once again pushing for lawmakers in Albany to require subway trains to have a two-person crew.

Conductors are in charge of operating the trains’ doors, ensuring passengers get on and off the subways safely, and making announcements.

State legislators passed a law last year that would have required all trains — including those like the shuttle trains, or weekend service on low-ridership lines, which currently run without a conductor — to run with two crew members.

Gov. Hochul vetoed that effort, which would have cost the MTA an estimated $10 million in order to add conductors to trains currently running under OPTO — one-person train operation — rules.

But now union leaders — who say they expect the MTA to try to expand OPTO during upcoming contract negotiations — are trying again, preparing to ask lawmakers to pass a bill that would lock in the status quo by mandating conductors only on the trains that currently have them.

“The overwhelming majority of riders want to keep Conductors on their trains and don’t want to see staffing reduced because of automation,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said in a statement. “They don’t trust their safety and security to robots, to artificial intelligence, to technology.”

According to a poll by the union that was conducted by the Honan Strategy Group, among 1,517 transit riders surveyed in New York City, North Jersey and Long Island, 87% said they would support legislation mandating two-person subway crews and 61% said they opposed moving to OPTO system-wide.

The pollsters said 86% of respondents felt uniformed conductors on trains deter crimes, and 84% said two-member crews are better during emergencies.

Indeed, the MTA has previously recognized train conductors for their role in tending to train passengers in distress, and conductors and train operators have worked together to safely stop trains during instances of subway surfing.

The union has also built up a coalition of support, including the groups Disabled in Action, the Brooklyn Center for the Independence of the Disabled, and the Riders Alliance.

But modern signaling systems — like those currently installed on the No. 7 train, the L train and portions of the E, M, F and R trains along the Queens Blvd. line — are capable of controlling trains with minimal input from a human operator.

As modern signaling is installed elsewhere throughout the system, some transit advocates say it’s an opportunity to make the system more like others worldwide by paring down the number of train crew members to one.

Payroll and benefits for the New York City subway system’s roughly 3,600 conductors costs the MTA roughly $400 million per year.

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The Brief

• The Transport Workers Union reports that a poll conducted by the Honan Strategy Group reveals that 87% of people support the idea of both a train operator and a conductor riding the subway.
• “Most riders view conductors as essential front-line workers because they deter crime with their uniformed presence, they summon police and other first responders when needed and are trained for emergencies such as train evacuations.”

NEW YORK – Over 80% of subway riders would prefer trains to have two-person crews, according to a recent poll.

2-person crews on subways

What we know:

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) reports that a poll conducted by the Honan Strategy Group reveals that 87% of people support the idea of both a train operator and a conductor riding the subway.

“Most riders view conductors as essential front-line workers because they deter crime with their uniformed presence, they summon police and other first responders when needed and are trained for emergencies such as train evacuations.”

Six out of ten riders oppose moving to one-person subway crews, and the same number of people are against fully automated trains.

Local perspective:

The MTA currently has a few smaller shuttles running without any conductors, a method referred to as “one-person train operation.”

MTA rules and regulations from 2016 state that “train operators assigned to One-Person Train Operation service will assume full responsibility for all aspects of the operation of their trains.”

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Julie Menin, the newly-elected speaker of the New York City Council, understands the significance of becoming the first Jew to lead the city’s legislative body.

“We live in a day with the first Muslim mayor of New York City and now the first Jewish speaker of the Council serving at the same time,” Menin, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, said in her inaugural speech.

In a recent interview, Menin said she views it as a “historic time for the Jewish community” amid rising antisemitism and tension over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and believes it is up to her to “bridge divides, as opposed to the kind of divisiveness that we’ve seen.”

When she was officially selected as speaker – the second-most powerful government position in America’s largest city – Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, remarked, “In medical terms, the word Menin is a protein that suppresses disease. We need more Menin to stop the spread of this disease of hatred.” Potasnik, who is a veteran chaplain of the fire department and was a member of Mamdani’s transition team, called Menin a leader “who knows the way, who shows the way and who goes the way.”

Menin’s leadership and relationship with Mayor Zohran Mamdani will be tested in the coming weeks as he comes under growing scrutiny from New York’s Jewish community over his anti-Zionist worldview and revocation of executive orders tied to antisemitism and pro-Palestinian protests.

Mainstream Jewish leaders see Menin as a check on the mayor and a potential guardrail on his actions. A recent Honan Strategy Group poll of 848 NYC voters found that 39% want Menin to be a check on Mamdani’s agenda, while 38% want her to fully embrace it.

The Menin-Mamdani relationship faces its first test

In her first legislative move, Menin introduced last week a five-point plan to combat antisemitism that includes a bill that would ban protests around entrances and exits of houses of worship; provide​​$1.25 million in funding to the Museum of Jewish Heritage; and create a hotline to report antisemitic incidents. Mamdani said he broadly supports the package but expressed reservations about the proposal to establish a 100-foot buffer zone around synagogues. A City Hall spokesperson said the mayor would wait for the outcome of a legal review before taking a position.

Mamdani told the Forward on Wednesday he has yet to discuss the specifics of the bill and would veto it if he determines it’s illegal. “I wouldn’t sign any legislation that we find to be outside of the bounds of the law,” he said.

Menin, who has already appeared several times alongside Mamdani — including in a social media clip promoting new public restrooms — said that, given her career as an attorney and her experience serving in a senior role at the New York City Law Department, she would not have introduced legislation that lacks legal standing.

“I feel very confident that the bills that we are going to put forward absolutely meet that legal muster,” she said. Menin declined to say whether she would seek to pass it with a veto-proof majority to get it signed into law, but said that her private conversations with Mamdani on the matter have been productive.

“I feel we’re going to have very broad-based support in the council,” she said. “They do not infringe upon the peaceful right to protest, but they do ensure that both congregants and students can enter and exit their respective facilities without intimidation and harassment. And I look forward to continuing to have productive conversations with the mayor on this topic.”

Menin will also be talking with a powerful group of progressive members, all of whom backed her bid for speaker. The body’s progressive caucus now includes 24 members, two short of a Council majority. The Jewish Caucus, which Menin attended last week, has seven members.

The Council is expected to vote on the set of bills at next month’s meeting.

Menin said passing the plan on an “aggressive and fast timetable” is crucial. “It’s obviously very important to call out antisemitic incidents as soon as they happen,” she said. “But we need far more than words. This is real decisive action to combat antisemitism.”

Fighting antisemitism and hate

Menin said she has a record of confronting antisemitism in public life.

When she was first elected to the City Council in 2021 — after serving as the city’s census czar during the 2020 count — she devoted her first town hall meeting to the issue. The virtual forum, attended by hundreds of constituents, brought together antisemitism experts and law enforcement officials to discuss how to report and prevent hate crimes. The meeting followed two incidents in her Upper East Side district. One involved a social media post by a popular comedy club that likened COVID-19 vaccination mandates to the Holocaust. Menin’s condemnation prompted a defamation lawsuit against her, which was dismissed. The other was the discovery of a swastika stamped on a $100 bill withdrawn from an ATM by a local woman.

Menin stressed the need to build relationships with other faith communities and “take the temperature and the rhetoric down” by focusing on “our commonality of spirit, not the differences.”

When she served as chair of the Community Board 1 in the 2000s, Menin supported the Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero, despite facing significant opposition and death threats.  Menin mentioned in the interview a Muslim high school student in her district who formed a Muslim-Jewish club with a Jewish best friend after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel as an example of shared values.

Menin said she will continue the tradition of leading a City Council mission to Israel during her tenure, a contentious issue in recent city elections. In 2021, the Democratic Socialists of America local chapter required candidates who sought their endorsement to pledge not to travel on a sponsored trip to Israel. Her predecessor, Adrienne Adams, was the first speaker to break that tradition, in 2022, citing budget negotiations.

Favorite dish at the Shabbat table

Menin is an active member of Central Synagogue, a Reform congregation in Midtown Manhattan.

Her mother, Agnes Jacobs, and grandmother survived the Holocaust hiding in a cellar in Hungary, and her grandfather was killed. They first lived in Sydney, Australia for 6 years and then settled in a rent-controlled apartment in New York City’s neighborhood of Yorkville, known as “Little Hungary.”

Her favorite dish on the Friday night dinner table is palaschinta, a Hungarian crepe, using the toppings her grandfather liked — apricot jam and walnuts, and layered with chocolate.

Her bagel choice: sesame with scallion cream cheese.

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ALBANY — She’s playing it safe.

Gov. Kathy Hochul largely tap-danced around thorny election-year issues as she gave her 2026 “State of the State” address Tuesday afternoon, focusing instead on crowd-pleasing measures such as universal child care.

But while Hochul’s agenda on paper was framed around “affordability,” the governor in her speech couldn’t resist readopting her self-proclaimed leader of the “resistance” mantle by blaming President Trump and the federal government for New Yorkers’ woes.

“It’s all part of an agenda that only makes our lives harder,” she thundered. “But here’s the thing about New Yorkers: We don’t back down. We rise up.”

The 50-minute speech veered between video montages of Hochul’s past initiatives, attack lines against President and bizarre digressions, mostly centered around the governor’s beloved Buffalo Bills.

Hochul also perpetuated her habit of riding Mamdani’s coattails, notably by highlighting her $4.5 billion proposal to expand child care to 100,000 more kids across the state, including a “2-Care” program in New York City for 2-year-olds.

The marquee affordability measure partially fulfills a key campaign promise by Mamdani, who dutifully appeared in a video montage to crow he’s “working with Governor Hochul to make affordable, high-quality child care.”

After the speech, Mamdani stressed the “new force of cooperation” between the city and the state.

But he implicitly noted Hochul didn’t propose new taxes on the wealthy to pay for the plan as the Democratic socialist mayor wanted.

“I look forward to making the case directly to our partners in Albany as to what our city needs to not only be able to operate sustainably, but also to fulfill an agenda to keep people second,” he said.

The governor also kept silent on Mamdani’s pushes for free buses and city-owned grocery stores, noted pollster Bradley Honan said.

“Is there going to be a brewing fight between the two of them?” the pollster, who runs the Honan Group. “The left is expecting much more than she gave them in that speech.”

The speech is Hochul’s fifth “State of the State” speech as governor — and will kick off a year in which the Democrat hopes to win re-election against a Republican Party eager to reclaim the Executive Mansion for the first time in two decades.

Hochul spent much of her speech lambasting Trump and Republicans, throwing red meat to a blue-state electorate.

She ripped the Minneapolis ICE shooting as she pivoted to “rise up” against Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown after previously toeing the line of going after criminal migrants.

“Just last week, the world watched his immigration operation in Minneapolis, that never should have been there, left a child without a mother and a community, and indeed, a nation shattered,” Hochul said.

“It’s all part of an agenda that only makes our lives harder. But here’s the thing about New Yorkers: We don’t back down. We rise up.”

The crowd gave Hochul a raucous standing ovation as she attacked ICE. She seemed to flirt with supporting the proposed “NY4All” law that’d extend sanctuary protections statewide, but didn’t go all the way.

“New York will not allow the use of state resources to assist in federal immigration raids on people who have not committed serious crimes, not doing it,” she said.

“Let me be clear. Public safety will always come first, but it must be pursued lawfully and with humanity. We will not allow masked ICE agents to storm our schools, our daycare centers, our hospitals, our houses of worship with civil immigration raids unless they have a judicial warrant.”

Hochul did propose a law making it easier for New Yorkers to sue federal immigration authorities over alleged civil rights violations.

“Power does not justify abuse,” she said.

While the governor largely avoided hot-button public safety issues, she did take time in her speech to boast about gains against crime.

“Our communities are safer than they’ve been in years,” she said.

Hochul did follow through on a $77 million promise to fund a surge of NYPD officers in the city’s subway system.

And she also supported a proposed law creating protest “buffer zones” around houses of worship after anti-Israel demonstrators stoked outrage by targeting synagogues.

Protesters just week led pro-Hamas chants outside a synagogue in Kew Gardens Hills, Hochul pointed out, calling it “harassment.”

“Targeting a Jewish community this way is antisemitism,” she said. “That’s why I’m proposing a ban on these protests. Now, I’ll respect people’s right to protest any day of the week, but not within 25 feet of the property line at houses of worship.”

Hochul’s lines about respecting the right to worship in peace drew applause, but Mamdani notably did not clap.

The fine, election-year line Hochul toed during the speech was evident in her careful pitch for overhauling the state’s environmental review process for development, a bid to speed up green energy and housing projects.

While the effort is enthusiastically cheered by the Empire State’s business community, Hochul seemed to avoid roiling suburban communities that cling to the regulations as a way to block what they may consider pesky development.

“We’re going to keep changing the culture around building,” Hochul said.

“Everybody agrees we need affordable housing, clean energy, critical infrastructure can spend years trapped in red tape, pushing up the costs and pushing opportunity further and further out of reach. So this year, we’re taking a hard look at the environmental review processes that have not been updated in half a century. Right now, they slow down the very projects that help us fight climate change, create housing and strengthen our communities.”

At least one affordability proposal in Hochul’s agenda directly cribbed from Trump: a call to end income taxes on tips up to $25,000. She didn’t mention it in her speech.

“This proposal will deliver meaningful relief to tipped workers, strengthening their economic security and better valuing their contributions to our economy,” the agenda states.

Republicans quickly panned Hochul’s address.

“It’s the same talk, different year,” state Sen. Steve Chan (R-Brooklyn) said in a pre-taped rebuttal address released shortly after Hochul’s speech.

“This is not a crime wave, it’s a wave of bad policies. Let the cops do their jobs. Look around, crime is rampant… We should lock up the thieves, guys, not the toothpaste. The only words for all of this is madness, anarchy.”

The lefty coalition Invest In Our New York, which includes the Democratic Socialists of America, also slammed Hochul for not pushing to tax the rich.

“Instead of actually addressing New York’s affordability crisis and the attacks coming from Washington, Governor Hochul boasted that she won’t raise taxes on the rich, effectively leaving working-class New Yorkers behind,” the statement from the group read. “Without new, robust, and consistent public funds, New Yorkers will suffer.”

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The Brief

• A new poll finds 67% of New York City voters oppose ICE raids, with 55% saying enforcement should stop entirely.
• Most voters support the city’s sanctuary laws, with 52% saying the NYPD should not assist ICE during immigration raids.
• Two-thirds of respondents say ICE raids create fear and chaos in immigrant communities, while 30% say they are necessary to enforce immigration laws.

NEW YORK – As the country grapples with federal immigration enforcement ramping up in parts of the country, New Yorkers are weighing in on enforcement policy.

What we know: A new citywide poll released Monday shows a strong majority of voters oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and want local police to stay out of them.

Here’s what the poll found:

More than half disagree with ICE raids

By the numbers: The survey, conducted by the Honan Strategy Group, found that 67% of likely voters oppose ICE raids being conducted in New York City, while 32% support them.

More than half of voters, 55%, said ICE should stop conducting raids in the city altogether.

Voters showed little appetite for expanding enforcement.

Only 17% said ICE should increase raids in New York City, while 14% favored scaling back operations and 11% said raids should continue at current levels.

Support for NYC sanctuary laws

The survey also found broad support for New York City’s sanctuary laws, which limit cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities.

A majority of voters, 52%, said the New York Police Department should follow sanctuary restrictions and not assist ICE.

By contrast, 30% said the NYPD should fully cooperate with ICE during raids, and 17% supported limited involvement, such as crowd control.

Local perspective: Concerns about public safety and community impact appear to be driving opposition to ICE raids.

Two-thirds of voters, 66%, said raids create fear and chaos and endanger immigrant communities.

Whereas, 30% said raids are necessary to enforce immigration laws and maintain order.

NYPD involvement

When asked specifically about police involvement, 58% of voters said the NYPD should refuse to participate in raids to protect the city’s sanctuary laws.

On the other hand, 35% said police should assist ICE if federal agents request help.

View NYC ICE Poll

Methodology: The poll surveyed 848 likely New York City general election voters from all political parties using a text-to-web methodology. Interviews were conducted from Dec. 4 to Dec. 12, 2025.

The survey was conducted independently by Honan Strategy Group and was not commissioned or funded by any political campaign, candidate or advocacy organization.

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By New York Jewish Week Staff | Original Article

Menin coasts to victory

• Julie Menin was unanimously elected speaker of the City Council on Wednesday. The first Jew in the role and a centrist Democrat, she will be a significant check on Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who promised to “govern as a democratic socialist.”

• Menin’s mother and grandmother survived the Holocaust hiding in a cellar in Hungary, and her grandfather was killed.

• In her inaugural speech, Menin celebrated the new frontiers she shared with Mamdani. “We live in a day with the first Muslim mayor of New York City and now the first Jewish speaker of the Council serving at the same time,” sad Menin.

• But the two have strong ideological differences. Mamdani sought to thwart her bid in favor of a more progressive candidate, Politico reported, and Menin declined to endorse him for mayor.

• Menin invited Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, the head of the New York Board of Rabbis, to deliver her invocation. The organization recently criticized Mamdani for revoking two of his predecessor’s executive orders related to defining antisemitism and banning boycotts of Israel. (Potasnik sat on one of Mamdani’s transition committees.)

• Menin herself called Mamdani to say she was “extremely concerned” about repealing the orders, according to the New York Post.

• She referenced a recent anti-Zionist protest outside a Manhattan synagogue in her speech, saying, “We cannot let what happened outside Park East Synagogue ever happen again, at any house of worship.” Mamdani suggested that the event, which promoted migration to Israel, misused a “sacred space.”

• But Menin also said that Mamdani seemed open to a bill she plans to pass, which would prohibit protests in a perimeter around houses of worship and schools. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she will announce a similar statewide measure on Tuesday.

Anti-Zionist protest canceled

• PAL-Awda, the anti-Zionist group that organized the rally outside Park East Synagogue, nixed another protest on Wednesday night. It was planned to target Nefesh B’Nefesh, the same organization that hosted the synagogue event.

• “Our planned action tonight to protest the settler recruitment event is being cancelled,” the group said on Instagram. “Although NBN is still holding their event, their reach and attendance has been diminished.”

• PAL-Awda has not yet announced if it will continue to hold a rally against an Israeli real estate event in Kew Gardens Hills on Thursday night.

• An Instagram account for the Bukharian Jewish community, which has a large concentration in the area, urged local residents “not to show up” for fear of altercations.

Jews and non-Jews split on Mamdani

• Jewish New Yorkers view Mamdani’s criticism of Israel very differently from their non-Jewish neighbors, according to a poll from Honan Strategy Group released this week.

• A majority of non-Jewish voters, 53%, said that Mamdani’s rhetoric about Israel reflected legitimate policy disagreements. Among Jewish voters, 47% agreed and 40% said his criticism “crosses a line and fuels antisemitism” — a view shared by only 23% of non-Jews.

• Similarly, a majority of Jewish voters said they “have reason to feel threatened by some of Mamdani’s statements and allies,” while a majority of non-Jewish voters said that concern was “an overreaction fueled by politics.”

• Jews were more likely to interpret Mamdani’s rise as a sign of deepening division and normalized antisemitism, while more non-Jews said he brought dialogue and healthy debate.

• Voters also differed sharply on Mamdani’s steps into foreign affairs. Most Jews (69%) said that his pledge to arrest Netanyahu was “inappropriate and dangerous,” while 46% of non-Jews agreed.

• The poll surveyed 848 likely New York City voters from Dec. 4-12, with a 3.6% margin of error that increased among subgroups.

From the campaign trail

• Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Jewish state senator representing the Upper West Side, endorsed Rep. Dan Goldman for reelection in his competitive contest against Brad Lander.

• “With all of the Trump administration’s threats to our city and our democracy, New Yorkers need someone in Washington who will not only fight but who knows how to win,” he said in a statement.

• Hoylman-Sigal endorsed Mamdani, a supporter of Lander’s, in the general mayoral election.

• Yeshiva University Professor Will Sussman, who sued MIT for antisemitic harassment as a PhD student last year, announced he is running for New York State Assembly.

• “We need an assemblyman who will say ‘no’ to Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani — no to higher taxes, no to bail reform, and no to antisemitism,” said Sussman.

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By Prakriti Deb | Original Article

New York City voters are showing sharp differences in how they view Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his statements on Israel. A new survey by the Honan Strategy Group shows contrasting perceptions across different voter groups.

The poll comes amid continued debate over Mamdani’s pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York under an International Criminal Court warrant. His criticism of Israeli military actions and positions of his associates has drawn attention nationwide.

The Honan Strategy Group surveyed 848 voters from December 4 to 12, including 131 Jewish respondents. The margin of error was ±3.7% overall and ±8.6% for the Jewish subsample.

In contrast, 55% of non-Jewish voters said those concerns are an overreaction fueled by politics. These results are cited by the New York Post and The Forward.

The poll also found that 54% of Jewish voters said Mamdani’s positions deepen division and tension, while 51% viewed his rise as a troubling sign that antisemitism may be becoming normalized in progressive politics.

Non-Jewish voters responded differently, with 61% seeing his ascent as evidence of healthy debate and diverse opinion.

Also Read: Cea Weaver row: Mamdani official’s alleged old posts go viral amid fury over remark on ‘white people’s property’

Among non-Jewish voters, 53% said his statements represent policy debate, according to The Forward.

In addition, 71% of Jewish voters said speaking out against Israeli military actions today is likely to be perceived as antisemitic. Among non-Jewish voters, 51% shared that concern.

Jewish voters expressed strong opposition to mayoral involvement in foreign affairs. 69% said it is inappropriate and dangerous for a mayor to intervene in international matters, while 46% of non-Jewish voters agreed, reported NY Post.

Read More: ‘Logon ke dil badal gaye hai’: Top quotes from Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral speech after taking oath

Mamdani, a democratic socialist and former state assemblyman, has defended his positions, stating, “We must distinguish between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government,” and has pledged to confront all forms of bigotry.

The post Hindustan Times: Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel stance threatens several NYC voters, new poll shows. Here’s who feels uneasy and why appeared first on Honan Strategy Group.

By Jacob Kornbluh | Original Article

A majority of New York City voters believe that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s harsh criticism of Israel is a legitimate policy disagreement and that elected officials should challenge U.S. support for Israel, even if it upsets some voters, a new poll found. Views differ sharply among Jewish New Yorkers.

The Honan Strategy Group survey of 703 voters, conducted from Dec. 4 to 12, found that 55% of non-Jewish respondents say Jewish concerns about feeling threatened by Mamdani’s statements on Israel are an overreaction fueled by politics. By contrast, among the smaller sample of 131 Jewish respondents, 53% say they have reason to feel that way, given Mamdani’s statements and associations.

The poll, first shared with the Forward, was conducted via text-to-web and analyzed separately for Jewish and non-Jewish respondents. The overall sample has a reported margin of error of plus or minus 3.7%, while the Jewish subsample has a margin of error of plus or minus 8.6%.

New York City is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. Jewish voters make up an estimated 15% of the electorate. New York Police Department data shows that antisemitic acts made up 57% of all reported hate crimes citywide in 2025.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist whose strident criticism of Israel deepened rifts within New York City’s Jewish community during the election, spent the months after his surprising Democratic primary victory in direct outreach to clergy and prominent Jews to ease concerns about his record.

But his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and his refusal to explicitly condemn the “globalize the intifada” slogan used at some pro-Palestinian protests, perceived by many as a call for violence against Jews, fueled backlash. The city’s Jewish voters were divided in the competitive mayoral election. Concern intensified after Mamdani’s mixed response to a demonstration outside Park East Synagogue that included anti-Israel and antisemitic slogans, in which he questioned the use of a sacred place for an event promoting migration to Israel.

Mamdani reignited deep suspicions about what kind of mayor he intends to be within hours of taking office, revoking two executive orders by former Mayor Eric Adams that many Jews felt supported them and Israel. Mamdani insisted that the move was not intentional or targeted at the Jewish community. He said he wanted to begin his administration with a “clean slate,” clearing away measures signed by Adams so he could enact his own agenda that he said would protect Jewish New Yorkers. But that explanation was met by skepticism. The New York Times reported that the revocations were planned well in advance and rolled out in a way that aimed to minimize backlash.

In a rare joint statement, a coalition of mainstream Jewish organizations said they were deeply concerned by Mamdani’s actions. It called for “clear and sustained leadership that demonstrates a serious commitment to confronting antisemitism” and one that ensures that the mayor’s office is not used to advance BDS.

The Honan Strategy Group found that 53% of non-Jewish voters and 47% of Jewish voters think Mamdani’s criticism of Israel reflects legitimate policy disagreements over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, 40% of Jewish voters believe it crosses a line and fuels antisemitism. Similarly, 51% of Jews view Mamdani’s rise as a troubling sign that antisemitism is being normalized, while 61% of non-Jewish voters see it as evidence of healthy debate and diversity. Fifty-four percent of Jewish voters say Mamdani’s positions deepen division and tension.

Pollster Bradley Honan described the positions on Mamdani and Israel as a “temperature gap” between communities in the Mamdani era. “This issue is turning into a defining political fault line in New York City,” he said. “Jewish voters are significantly more likely to say it’s making public antisemitism more acceptable and driving division.”

Mamdani has repeatedly defended his stance on Israel and the administration’s appointments of individuals who share his views. “We must distinguish between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government,” Mamdani said during a recent press conference, responding to an ADL report that scrutinized many of his transition team members. He also accepted the resignation of his newly appointed director of appointments, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, after her past antisemitic posts resurfaced.

Mamdani kept open the recently created mayor’s office to combat antisemitism that pursued the measure he revoked adopting the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which considers most forms of anti-Zionism as antisemitic. Mamdani also promised to divest from city investments in Israel and pledged to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to New York in compliance with an International Criminal Court warrant.

The poll shows that Jews and non-Jews hold sharply different views on Mamdani’s foreign policy focus. Large majorities of Jewish voters — 71% and 69% respectively — say that speaking out against Israel’s military actions is likely to be viewed as antisemitic and that arresting Netanyahu would harm New York’s global standing. By contrast, 51% of non-Jewish voters say criticism of Israel reflects legitimate policy debate, 53% say it is appropriate for leaders to challenge U.S. support for Israel, and 40% say Mamdani has a moral obligation to uphold international human rights standards by ordering Netanyahu’s arrest.

In his inauguration speech, Mamdani reassured Jewish New Yorkers, “some who view this administration with distrust or disdain,” that he will protect them.

The post Forward: Jewish New Yorkers Say Concerns About Mamdani Are Real, New Poll Shows. Most Other Voters Say They’re Overblown. appeared first on Honan Strategy Group.