Dispute breaks out in Satmar Hasidic movement over NYC mayoral endorsement

A dispute breaks out in the Satmar Hasidic movement in New York City over which candidate to endorse in the upcoming mayoral election.

Local media reported earlier today that Rabbi Moishe Indig, a prominent leader in the Satmar Ahronim faction, was set to endorse State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a far-left, anti-Israel candidate. Indig and Mamdani then met this afternoon.

Around the same time, three other leaders of the faction released a statement endorsing former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, a pro-Israel centrist and Mamdani’s leading challenger.

“The progressive movement’s crusading agenda is a threat to our ability to live as Torah Jews,” the statement says. “Please out-vote the progressive agenda and vote for Andrew Cuomo.”

“Sincerely honored by the endorsement of my good friends in the Satmar community,” Cuomo says on X. The Cuomo campaign is also claiming that the Aharonim faction endorsed him due to his “leadership and commitment to protecting their community in the face of an increasingly radicalized political environment.”

Sincerely honored by the endorsement of my good friends in the Satmar community https://t.co/XYZTvd7ipP

— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) November 2, 2025

Mamdani said on X that he was “honored to receive the endorsement of Rabbi Moshe Indig and Ahronim leaders.”

I was honored to receive the endorsement of Rabbi Moshe Indig and Ahronim leaders in Williamsburg today, where we were joined by my friend @LincolnRestler.

Together, we will fight the scourge of antisemitism and build a city that works for every New Yorker. pic.twitter.com/hPyAh5k3MH

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) November 2, 2025

A separate faction of the Satmars, the Zalonim, said last week that it was not making an endorsement in the race.

Mamdani is the heavy favorite to win Tuesday’s election over Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Some far-left Jews are backing Mamdani, while many mainstream and Orthodox groups and leaders have backed Cuomo or issued warnings about Mamdani.

The Satmars, whose New York City community is based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, are one of the city’s largest Hasidic voting blocs.

The movement is theologically non-Zionist, making Mamdani’s anti-Israel activism less of an issue, even if the movement is not aligned with left-wing political anti-Zionism.

Mamdani has said that, if elected mayor, he would not restrict yeshiva education, one of the community’s top priorities.

But progressives around Mamdani and in his potential administration could oppose the yeshiva system and other Satmar community priorities, like restricting bike lanes in their neighborhood.

Hasidic areas of Williamsburg overwhelmingly voted for Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary earlier this year, which the former governor lost to Mamdani.