Primary results were no surprise, YU president says

Some Jewish New Yorkers and others concerned about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel views have warned that the successes of three Mamdani-backed candidates in Democratic primaries last week suggest that Jew-hatred is rising to unprecedented levels in the Big Apple.

But Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University, believes that the results simply confirmed a threat that was already present.

“I don’t think it’s new,” he told JNS. “This is an effort that was there beforehand. There were some wins and some losses, and it’s important to be mindful.”

While the Democratic Party has embraced some politicians with antisemitic and anti-Israel views, Rabbi Berman stopped short of saying that antizionism drove voters in the primaries or that the electorate shares the views of anti-Israel candidates.

“The research, as far as I know, hasn’t yet been done to know whether antizionism was a driving factor in the electorate, or whether people were voting on incumbency fatigue and pocketbook issues,” the Yeshiva president said.

“With that said, it is clear that there’s an organized effort by certain politicians, led by Zohran Mamdani, to attack Zionists and American values like free enterprise, self-determination and capitalism,” he said.

Brad Lander, the antizionist Jewish former city comptroller who accuses Israel of “genocide,” trounced Rep. Dan Goldman by more than 31 points in the primary for New York’s 10th Congressional District, which stretches from Lower Manhattan to Park Slope.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was part of the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University, unseated a five-term congressman who chairs the Democratic Hispanic caucus in the House, and New York state Assembly member Claire Valdez won a race for an open seat. Valdez won by more than 20 points, and Chevalier by 3.5 points.

Rabbi Berman said that there is what he described as a socialist party at the helm of the attack on America’s core values. Antizionism is “the core element” of that effort, he said.

“For someone to deny the rights of the Jewish people to have a state, while comfortably accepting all of the Christian and Muslim states that exist in the world, it’s a double standard, it’s discrimination and it’s antisemitism,” he said.

“Antizionist, anti-capitalist, anti-American ideals — it’s all part of a broader agenda,” he said. “It’s very clear. It’s self-stated.”

“It’s important to know that and to respond collectively and appropriately,” he said.

The Brooklyn coffee shop Poetica said two days before the primary that it was returning Goldman’s money and that the congressman’s business wasn’t welcome because he supports Israel.

Inna Vernikov, a Republican member of the City Council who is part of its Jewish Caucus and co-chair of its bipartisan task force on Jew-hatred, told JNS that the shop’s action, “while masked as righteous ‘antizionism,’ was a clear move to exclude Jews from public life.”

It is essential not to normalize that, and it must be opposed “with every fiber of our being,” she said.

JNS asked Rabbi Berman if the primary results keep him up at night.

“No,” the Yeshiva president said. “I think it’s an important moment for us to rally. I think that there is an organized effort, and we need to think about this consciously and embody, really, the core values of our community.”

Rabbi Berman does not fear for the safety of YU, which is located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan.

“We’re not concerned about the university,” he told JNS. “We are concerned about New York and our community, that we need to be represented by people who actively oppose hate and work to actually bring people together.”

“I’m concerned about America,” he said. “This is our concern.”

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, told JNS that he worries about the election results.

“We are deeply concerned by public leaders who vilify Jews and others who support Israel, including many who also strive for peace, support Palestinian rights and mourn the suffering of innocent civilians,” said the senior vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism.

“We reject the false choice between Jewish safety and Palestinian dignity,” said.

He added that the Reform Judaism movement will work with leaders across political and ideological lines when they share its values but will not tolerate rhetoric or actions that threaten Jewish safety.

“We will speak out forcefully when their words or actions undermine Jewish safety, demonize supporters of Israel or deny Israel’s right to exist and thrive in security,” Pesner said.