Poll: 2/3 of American Jews think Mamdani will make NYC less safe

Two-thirds of American Jews believe that New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will make the city’s Jewish community less safe, according to a new survey.

The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Voice of the Jewish People Index, published yesterday, finds that 67 percent of respondents said Mamdani’s victory was likely to make Jews in the city less safe. Some 64% of American Jews say they view Mamdani as both anti-Israel and antisemitic.

Mamdani is set to take office in January 2026 in the city of more than a million Jews, the largest Jewish population in the world. Some 56% of respondents said they were “concerned” by Mamdani’s victory, the most common emotion cited.

Beyond New York, American Jews report broad anxieties about rising antisemitism coming from both sides of the political spectrum, the report finds. Of them, 62% said they were worried equally about antisemitism coming from both political sides (left and right), 20% were mainly worried about antisemitism from the left, and 17% claimed most concern about antisemitism from the right.

The report also finds that 82% of American Jews plan to light Hanukkah candles all eight nights of the holiday, and another 11% plan to light at least some nights.