Daily Podcasts Video Research

Why rabbis across America are taking sides in New York’s mayoral race

JL;DR SUMMARY The New York City mayoral race featuring Zohran Mamdani has sparked significant debate among rabbis across the United States, highlighting deepening divisions over Israel and antisemitism. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

JL;DR members get full summaries of all articles in the archive, including this one. Donate & start reading »

Tags

Rabbinic LeadershipJewish Muslim RelationsPolitical EndorsementsZohran MamdaniNew York City Mayoral RaceIrs RulingJewish Communal DebatesGenerational Shifts

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani prepares before the New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary Debate in June."
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
"The community scholar of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh avoided open statements about far-off politics."
Oregon, United States
"But not all rabbis saw danger in Mamdanis rise. From Oregon to California to Illinois, other clergy have spoken out in support of him."
California, United States
"But not all rabbis saw danger in Mamdanis rise. From Oregon to California to Illinois, other clergy have spoken out in support of him."
Illinois, United States
"But not all rabbis saw danger in Mamdanis rise. From Oregon to California to Illinois, other clergy have spoken out in support of him."
Pleasantville, New York, United States
"Rabbi Shoshana Leis, co-rabbi with her husband of Pleasantville Community Synagogue in Westchester County, New York, said she wrote it after seeing how the national conversation about Mamdani had hardened into mutual accusation."
Manhattan, New York, United States
"In Manhattan, two of the citys most prominent rabbis took sharply different approaches to the campaign."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"From Los Angeles, Rabbi David Wolpe, emeritus of Sinai Temple, said the anxiety is less about New York policy than precedent."
Eugene, Oregon, United States
"From Eugene, Oregon, Rabbi Ruhi Sophia Motzkin Rubenstein of Temple Beth Israel a Reconstructionist congregation of about 400 households signed the Shared Future letter."
Riverside, California, United States
"Rabbi Suzanne Singer, emerita of Temple Beth El in Riverside, California, signed both letters the one opposing Mamdani and the one urging solidarity."
Chicago, Illinois, United States
"Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, who writes the newsletter Life Is a Sacred Text from Chicago, said the controversy reflects deeper communal and generational shifts."
Israel
"Schiff, who splits his time between Pittsburgh and Israel, said Mamdanis campaign risks normalizing a playbook that other politicians might follow."

Support this source

This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 65489
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-10-30 05:30:59 UTC
Curated 2025-10-30 08:30:45 UTC