The top nine Democratic candidates for NYC mayor gathered Wednesday night for the race’s first debate, with less than three weeks to go before the primary.
A number of Jewish-related topics were discussed over the latter part of the wide-ranging two-hour debate, including antisemitism, Trump’s crackdown on college campuses like Columbia, and foreign visits to Israel.
Most of the candidates on stage were persistent in levelling criticism against a pair of targets: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is the frontrunner and stood in the middle of the nine candidates, and President Donald Trump.
Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations, his handling of COVID-19 as governor — he is currently being investigated over whether he lied to Congress about actions he took during the pandemic — and his ties to billionaires and special interest groups, were among the criticisms raised by his opponents.
Michael Blake, a former Obama staffer who received less than 1% of first choice votes in a recent poll, repeatedly held Cuomo’s feet to the fire, and was the first person to bring up Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations. “The people who don’t feel safe are young women, mothers and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo — that’s the greatest threat to public safety in New York City,” Blake said.
Cuomo, meanwhile, was especially keen to shoot back at Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, the popular Democratic Socialist who has voiced support for the BDS movement, who is second in the polls.
“Mr. Mamdani is very good at videos, but not reality,” Cuomo said during the debate, referencing Mamdani’s social media presence which he’s used to connect with young voters.
The other candidates present at the debate, which was co-hosted by WNBC and Politico in a studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, were Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, City Comptroller Brad Lander, State Sen. Jessica Ramos, State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, and former Comptroller Scott Stringer. (Read our Jewish guide to each Democratic candidates here.)
Back in April, Cuomo referred to antisemitism as the “most important issue” of the mayoral race, while Mayor Eric Adams — who is running for re-election as an independent candidate in November, and was therefore not at Wednesday’s debate — is running on an “EndAntiSemitism” ballot line.
While some Jews voiced concerns about the politicization of the rise in antisemitism, the recent acts of violence outside Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. and Sunday’s firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado on a demonstration raising awareness for Hamas-held hostages in Gaza, have given the subject an increased sense of urgency.
“This is a frightening time for Jews, and I feel it really personally,” Lander, who is Jewish, said during the debate, referring to the aforementioned attacks.
“I go to a lot of Jewish communal events — and you can’t just be looking over your shoulder — so I’ve got a really detailed plan for how we’re going to deal with hate crimes and antisemitism in New York City,” Lander said.
The moderators’ question about antisemitism was wrapped into a more specific question: Candidates were asked for their reaction to the breaking news that the Trump administration is threatening Columbia University’s accreditation, citing the school’s response to antisemitism on campus in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
“Let’s be clear,” Lander said. “Donald Trump platforms white nationalists and antisemites all the time. This has nothing to do with keeping anyone safe.”
Like Lander, the most candidates gave similar, two-part responses, first addressing the issue of rising antisemitism before denouncing the Trump administration’s crackdown on college campuses.
Cuomo, who said he believes antisemitism is “a growing problem,” alluded to the use of slogans found at pro-Palestinian protests, which have also been uttered by the attackers in both D.C. and Boulder. (Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the man accused of Sunday’s firebombing, yelled “free Palestine” during the attack.)
“I believe the rhetoric about Israel has actually inflamed the antisemitism,” said Cuomo, who wore a yellow ribbon on his lapel.
But, Cuomo continued, “I think this is just another overreach of the Trump administration. Now he’s going to take over the academic universities in this country.”
Cuomo added, “He is literally attacking the foundation of democracy, and he must be opposed.”
Myrie, who represents the heavily Orthodox Jewish Crown Heights neighborhood, said that there is an “unequivocal rise in antisemitism” both locally and nationally.
“We have to be just as clear and unequivocal in calling it out and rooting it out wherever it rears its ugly head,” Myrie said, before calling the Trump administration crackdown “shameful” and “unconstitutional.”
Mamdani, who did not mention antisemitism in his response, called the move against Columbia “yet another example of a gross overreach of the Trump administration.”
When answering the following question — should detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil be set free or deported? — Mamdani called antisemitism a “very real issue” being weaponized by the Trump administration.
“He should be at home with his wife, Noor, and their young child,” Mamdani said. “And the fact that he is still in Louisiana is an abomination.”
Eight of the nine candidates were unequivocal in saying Mamdani should be free, including Cuomo.
“He should be released,” Cuomo said. “He should be released immediately. He shouldn’t have been detained in the first place.”
Only Whitney Tilson, who also wore a yellow ribbon, qualified his answer, saying, “I can’t answer the question without knowing all the facts,” but clarified that, unless the administration proved that Khalil had “ties to terrorism” via due process, then he should be set free.
“I don’t think the Trump administration will be able to do that,” he said.
Scott Stringer called Khalil’s detainment a “horrifying moment for our Constitution,” especially “as a Jewish American whose wife works at [the Museum of Jewish Heritage],” the Lower Manhattan museum and memorial for victims of the Holocaust.
One of the debate’s final questions was about where each candidate would travel for their first official foreign visit as mayor of New York City. Four of them chose Israel.
“I would visit the Holy Land,” said Adrienne Adams, who notably skipped a 2022 City Council educational trip to Israel. (She later said she supported her colleagues who attended and was “proud” that they did so, and did not indicate that she had any qualms about taking part in the trip.)
“Boy, what Trump is doing to Canada — there’s a lot of opportunities for us to partner better with them,” Lander said.
Jessica Ramos said she would travel to her parents’ homeland of Colombia, but that she would “love to meet Claudia Sheinbaum,” Mexico’s president, who is Jewish.
Cuomo, Tilson and Stringer all picked Israel as their destination. “It would be a great trip,” said Stringer, who’s never been. “And it could coincide with my young son Miles’ bar mitzvah.”
Mamdani answered, “I would say in New York City. My plans are to address New Yorkers across the five boroughs and focus on that.”
When pressed about whether he would visit Israel as mayor, Mamdani cited his response to a UJA questionnaire: “I believe that you need not travel to Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers, and that is what I’ll be doing as mayor,” he said. “I’ll be meeting them, wherever they are across the five boroughs, whether that’s in their synagogues and temples, or at their homes or the subway platform.”
If Mamdani is elected and chooses not to visit Israel, he’d be the first New York City mayor not to do so since Israel was established in 1948.
Asked if Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, Mamdani gave the same answer from the recent UJA-Federation of New York town hall: that “Israel has a right to exist as a state with equal rights.”
One prominent Jewish New Yorker was also discussed in the debate: NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Lander said he wants to keep her as commissioner “because crime is coming down and accountability is going up.”
When moderators asked for a show of hands on who would keep Tisch as NYPD commissioner, Lander, Myrie and Tilson were the only candidates to raise their hands. (Blake clarified that he’s undecided.)
Zero candidates revealed who they would rank second on their ballots, though Mamdani and Lander both advocated for leaving Cuomo off the ballot entirely. Meanwhile, Tilson advocated for an “ABZ” (“Anyone But Zohran”) ballot.
As for Cuomo, “I would leave it to the voters,” he said.
Early voting for the New York City primaries begins on June 14; Election Day is June 24. To find your polling site, click here.
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