\n<\/p>\n
As election day<\/span> creeps closer in a mayoral race that New York Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani is heavily favored to win, critics to his left are voicing concerns<\/a> over his flirtation with the political mainstream. <\/a>Detractors have balked at Mamdani\u2019s decision to apologize<\/a> for his past criticisms of the New York Police Department, questioned whether he\u2019s really a socialist prepared to take on corporate power<\/a>, and mused that \u2014 maybe \u2014 he\u2019s a closet Zionist<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The critiques almost perfectly contradict the flack Mamdani has gotten from the political establishment to his right, long considered the biggest barrier in the Queens assembly member\u2019s path to Gracie Mansion. His closest competitor, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, <\/strong>attacked Mamdani in a debate Thursday night<\/a> on the grounds that he \u201cwon\u2019t denounce \u2018globalize the intifada,\u2019\u201d claiming the phrase meant \u201ckill all Jews.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani has been hailed as a uniquely talented political communicator, but it\u2019s his response to the invocation of that protest cry that has repeatedly drawn ire from his left and his right as he attempts to toe the line.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned that this phrase evokes many painful memories,\u201d Mamdani said Thursday night. \u201cAnd in hearing that and the distance between that impact and the rationale that some use of saying it, of speaking about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, is why I said that I would discourage this language, language that I do not use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After Mamdani made similar remarks to Al Sharpton<\/a> on MSNBC last month, one user wrote<\/a> on X that he had thrown the movement for Palestine \u201cunder the bus.\u201d \u201cZohran is a zionist,\u201d commented another. Some have said they\u2019d rather see Cuomo win than Mamdani get elected and let them down.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Mamdani\u2019s most outspoken critics on the left likely represent only a tiny share of the local voting base, they help illustrate the ongoing identity crisis within the Democratic Party, where a party establishment long beholden to Israel struggles to adjust to its supporters\u2019 overwhelming opposition to the genocide in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n He has drawn ire over his reported remarks to a room<\/a> of Jewish leaders in New York that he would not condition employment in his administration on a person\u2019s stance on Zionism. A New York Times magazine profile<\/a> characterized him as \u201cnot anti-Zionist.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the mayoral candidate has staked out a position far more critical of Israel than almost any Democratic politician with his level of prominence and \u2014 likely \u2014 success. When Cuomo slammed Mamdani Thursday night for invoking Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestine, he responded that \u201cthe occupation is a reference to international law and the violation of it, which Mr. Cuomo has no regard for because he signed up to be Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s legal defense team<\/a> during the course of this genocide.\u201d\u00a0(Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate in the race, chimed in with praise for President Donald Trump in brokering the recent ceasefire in Gaza, reminding the moderators: \u201cIt\u2019s a debate of three, do we acknowledge that?\u201d)<\/p>\n The concerns from the left are symptomatic of a movement that has grown understandably disillusioned with electoral politics. Some of the critics are likely worried that New Yorkers who turned out in droves to support Mamdani this summer have been hoodwinked by another Democrat voicing sympathy for the Palestinian cause when it\u2019s politically convenient while trying at the same time to please his pro-Israel detractors. But they may also be urging him toward a political posture that baits his biggest critics in the mainstream.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it is a very small collection of very principled people on the internet combined with bots,\u201d said a Democratic strategist in New York. While the strategist dismissed the significance of the criticism, they also requested anonymity in order to speak freely.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n