I'm a Zionist Jew from New York; I had to vote Mamdani

The decision was agonizing and took me weeks of reflection. As a New Yorker and lifelong Zionist, I questioned, “Who would best lead our city in these challenging times?”

A conversation with a respected family friend, an Israeli living in New York for 25 years, helped clarify my choice. He said about Andrew Cuomo, whom I already saw as arrogant, too old, and a womanizer:

“I'd vote for Bibi, who you know I despise, before I'd vote for Cuomo.”

He also explained how many Israelis, who warned me that Mamdani was an antisemite and a threat to Jews in America, lacked the right perspective on this mayoral race. This lack of context is similar to how Israelis accuse Americans of misunderstanding the Palestinian cause.

Many Americans supporting Palestinians did not grasp the meaning of the phrase “From the river to the Sea,” nor had they visited Israel to understand the close borders and frequent attacks.

They failed to recognize how Hamas has deliberately embedded fighters and ammunition in hospitals, schools, and mosques for decades, endangering their own civilians. Nor did they understand how the Netanyahu government dismissed the possibility of a Hamas attack as severe as the one on October 7.

Author's summary: The author faced a difficult mayoral choice, influenced by complex Israeli-American perspectives on candidates and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.