I Am an 83-Year-Old Jewish New Yorker and I Love Zohran Mamdani
I’m old enough to be Zohran’s bubbe. I was arrested with him and I can tell you, he’s a mensch.
First, a quick note about Zeteo’s election night coverage: Join Mehdi and Prem LIVE TONIGHT at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT) as they cover the New York City mayoral race from Zohran Mamdani’s election night rally. They’ll have results, analysis, and great guests.
You can catch it on Substack here and on YouTube here!
Zohran Mamdani’s desperate critics are using Islamophobia and fearmongering to smear him as an antisemite. As an 83-year-old Jewish New Yorker who has worked with Zohran, I can say that the mayoral candidate is not only decidedly NOT antisemitic but, in fact, will be a compassionate and caring friend to Jews and all ethnic groups throughout the city. I don’t just know this because of his politics. I know this personally.
Soon after Zohran launched his campaign for mayor, he asked me to join him in Astoria to film his “launch video.” It was the first of those cool videos that made Zohran’s face and voice part of the city’s dreamscape. I was featured as the old lady who was ecstatic about free, faster city buses. As a woman in my 80s, my own mobility is steadily declining, and subway travel is difficult. I see the prospect of quick, free buses as life-changing for me and others, particularly the elderly. Like me, they should be inspired not only by his brilliance as a politician but also by the mensch of a person he is. It has been one of the great honors of my long life to be able to experience who Zohran is up close and personally.
At 83, I am easily old enough to be Zohran’s bubbe (that’s Yiddish for grandma). Yet, despite obvious differences of age and background, our political and moral alignment runs deep. While the pundits emphasize the youth vote that propelled Zohran’s victory, thousands of elderly Zohran fans helped deliver his primary win, too. We gave material support, made countless phone calls, canvassed when we could, and voted for him in large numbers. We – the NYC elders who support Zohran – might not be a majority of our age cohort, but we are a significant contingent with lifetimes of political experience and organizing skills. We have been holding down the New York left for decades, and are now excited to work with Zohran for a New York for all.
Treated Me Like His Own Nani
My first interaction with Zohran Mamdani came in May 2023 when I testified before a group of legislators in Albany on behalf of the historic bill he was introducing, along with State Senator Jabari Brisport, called the Not on Our Dime Act. This bill sought to prohibit New York-based organizations that claim non-profit status from abusing this status to reinforce and further Israeli war crimes, such as illegal Israeli settlement of Palestinian land, displacement of Palestinians from their homes, and war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. For my organization, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, and for me, as a nearly lifelong Jewish critic of Israeli policies toward Palestine, it is nothing short of historic.
Zohran’s concern for the elderly isn’t limited to his political vision; it’s also something he practices personally. On Oct. 13, 2023, I joined my fellow members of JVP and New Yorkers to protest in front of Senator Chuck Schumer’s home, calling on Congress to immediately push for a ceasefire to stop what was already taking place: the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza. Hundreds of us sat down in the street in the first of countless actions demanding a ceasefire, with many of our elders on the front lines. I found myself sitting next to Zohran. In the midst of the action as people began moving to a busier street, Zohran took my hand and helped me move along to keep up with our fellow protesters.
I won’t ever forget his care, making sure I was safe every step of the way. It would be the first of my three arrests during the genocide to say, “Not in Our Name” and “Let Gaza Live!” But that night, I noted not only Zohran’s commitment to justice but also how he treated me, an elderly Jewish activist, like I was his own nani (maternal grandma in Hindi and Urdu). This is the level of care I believe he will bring to New York City as mayor.
When Zohran announced in October 2024 that he was running for mayor, JVP Action – the sibling organization of JVP – endorsed Zohran’s campaign for mayor on the very first day. From going on hunger strike for indebted New York City taxi drivers to leading a hunger strike for a ceasefire in Gaza, Zohran’s commitment to justice does not know limits or borders. At the campaign’s launch party in Long Island City, I listened to a diverse array of New Yorkers explain how Zohran’s platform of affordability for our city would be life-changing for them. His brilliantly winning platform demonstrated to many voters that providing people with basic needs – and taxing NYC’s billionaires to pay for it – isn’t radical. Like free fast buses, it’s just common sense.
Palestine Solidarity Is Zohran’s Asset
Pundits and politicians – including disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo – still believe Zohran’s stance on Palestine will sink his election chances in the city with the second-largest Jewish population in the world. But in the primary, overwhelming results showed New Yorkers, including Jewish New Yorkers, respect his moral consistency and commitment to justice for all people. In the general election, as the right wing and Cuomo desperately churn up Jewish fears of antisemitism and Muslims, they confront a sea change in popular opinion about Israel and Palestine, both nationally and locally, in the wake of a livestreamed genocide. One survey of New York primary voters found that 78% of respondents agreed with Mamdani’s belief that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and 79% support restricting weapons to Israel. Even Cuomo once admitted Zohran’s position on Palestine and criticism of Israel’s military policies were a boon to his campaign because of their popularity. And this past summer, for the first time in history, a majority of the Senate’s Democrats voted to block a US arms sale to Israel. Zohran’s Palestine solidarity no longer looks like an outlier but a bellwether of the oncoming tide
For Jews, as many of us and Zohran himself have emphasized, a politics of division and fear actually creates greater danger and likelihood of growing antisemitism and ethnic hatred. We are all – Muslims and Jews, Palestinians and Jewish Israelis – safer when we embrace inclusion, mutual respect, and love. In fact, it’s the only way we’ll all survive this horrific time.
The billionaires continue to try to tank Zohran’s campaign and will challenge his mayoralty at every turn. But this New York bubbe is determined to stand firm against them. We have in this mayoral election a historic opportunity, one I have not seen in my many decades as a New Yorker, to build a city grounded in affordability and dignity for all, especially immigrants and the working class. I’m proud to know that tens of thousands of my fellow elders, and tens of thousands of those young enough to be our grandchildren, are knocking on doors, marching in the streets, and standing there with me to defend my mayor and his hopeful vision. Rejecting the politics of fear, we will win on November 4.
Rosalind Petchesky is a distinguished professor emerita of political science at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. She is an activist in the Palestine solidarity movement, a member-leader of Jewish Voice for Peace-NYC, and co-editor/author of the book ‘A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism’ (Monthly Review, 2021).
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Zeteo.
Check out more from Zeteo on the NYC mayoral election:
Bravo! I'm 87 and voted for Mamdani as the only viable candidate for mayor.
I am a man from New Zealand so cannot vote, but his humanity and moral compass shines like the sun warming and life giving when compared to those who champion the status quo for their own corrupt benefit.