Jews Like Mamdani

Polls show that Hakeem Jeffries and Jonathan Chait are ignorant buttheads.

Image credit: Dmitryshein, CC

Progressives are often suspicious of polls. They don’t like polls which show that people trust Trump on immigration (though those numbers have fallen); they don’t like polls that suggest that people like cops; they don’t like polls that suggest that Joe Manchin was in fact the only Democrat who could have won West Virginia back when he could win West Virginia. Leftists generally want politicians to take courageous stands no matter what polls say; centrists often hide behind polls to reject progressive policies. Polls seem wonky, bloodless, technocratic, opposed to democracy and people power. Progressives don’t trust them.

It's true that polls are not perfect. They can be inaccurate or confusing; they fail to capture the way that people’s views can shift over time. Polls don’t tell you everything and can be manipulated or weaponized to stifle change.

Also, though, polls are one of the only ways to get a good sense of what the public thinks. Without polls, you’re generally stuck with vibes, with pundits, or with leaders who claim to have a mystic connection with the polis.

You’re left listening, for example, to Jewish leaders who insist they speak for the Jewish community, and that that Jewish community, by an overwhelming majority, is afraid of New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani because said NYC mayoral candidate has not enthusiastically cosigned Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and has a nuanced take on Palestinian calls for freedom and equality.

“Definitely people are concerned,” said Rabbi Shimon Hecht, of Congregation B’nai Jacob in Brooklyn, who characterizedd Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary as a dangerous “a wake-up call.” Pundit Jonathan Chait at the Atlantic finger-wagged and fulminated about the evils of Mamdani’s refusal to outright condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada,” which Chait characterized as “incendiary.” Disgraced, racist Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro criticized Mamdani for not condemning the phrase;.House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (who is not Jewish) also furrowed his brow and refused to endorse Mamdani. Jewish leaders, Democratic leaders, and pundits agree! Mamdani is scary! Jews, be afraid!

At last, though, we have an actual poll of what Jewish people actually think of Mamdani. And it turns out they’re not “concerned”. They do not think that Mamdani needs to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifadah,” and they do not seem to think the phrase is “incendiary.” On the contrary, they seem to like Mamdani a great deal; he’s leading among Jewish voters in the upcoming mayoral election by 17 points. 43 percent of Jewish voters support him, and only 26 percent support grotesque sexual abuser and disgraced governor Andrew Cuomo.

You can dig down into those numbers in various ways; Mamdani does better with younger voters, and voters in the mayoral race are in general more concerned with issues like affordability and city governance than with foreign policy (which makes sense since New York City mayors don’t determine US foreign policy!)

But the big takeaway is really straightforward. Some Jewish leaders, some Democratic party leaders and some pundits insisted that Jewish voters disliked and were frightened of Mamdani. They insisted that Jewish voters were driven by a narrowly defined Zionism, and that any expression of support for Palestinians, or any acknowledgement that Palestinian people had ben and were being oppressed, would be seen by Jewish voters as an existential threat.

And now we have data, and that data shows conclusively that the leaders and pundits were full of shit. Jewish people in New York like Mamdani’s vision of multiracial democracy. They admire his willingness to speak up for Palestinians facing a vicious genocide. They do not identify their Jewishness primarily or solely with Israel policy. They aren’t frightened of the guy telling them he’s going to reduce the cost of public transportation, make it easier to open small business, and fight bigotry, including antisemitism. They like him and want to vote for him.

Again, polls aren’t perfect. But in a democracy, everyone wants to speak for the electorate; everyone wants to claim to be the voice of the people, or of some segment of the people. When supposed Jewish leaders say their community is scared, or that their community condemns someone as a bigot, it’s important to know whether what they are saying is accurate, or whether they are just projecting their own views onto others. In that context, polls are a valuable resource for democracy.

Obviously, the Jewish community isn’t a monolith; there are Jewish people in New York who are hard core Zionists and/or conservatives and will vote for corrupt Eric Adams or abuser Cuomo instead of Mamdani. But it’s important to know whether the majority of Jewish people do in fact fear and loathe Mamdani. And they don’t. Which suggests that Jewish “leaders” and “pundits” are in fact wildly out of touch with the electorate, and that they should either reconsider their divisive, bigoted statements and apologize. Or (even better!) they should shut the fuck up.