Democrats Must Engage, Not Despair, After the New York Election

Last week’s election had many more Democrats asking a question that once seemed unthinkable: is our party losing its moral compass on Israel?

In the wake of Mr. Mamdani’s victory in New York, my phone was filled with messages from friends wondering if the Democratic Party is now lost to anti-Israel forces. I don’t dismiss their concern – but I also don’t share their despair.

When my colleagues and I launched Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) in January 2019, it was because we saw what happened to Britain’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Too many people were dismissive or complacent while antisemitism and anti-Israel extremism took root. We were determined not to let that happen here.

I’m not naïve about the challenges we face. Anti-Israel voices have grown louder and more organized, particularly in the two years since the Gaza war began. But perspective matters – and the story of this election is more complex than the headlines suggest.

I don’t dismiss anyone’s anxiety over Mamdani – his rhetoric on Israel frequently crosses into dangerous territory. But the reality is that he won under unusual circumstances. He ran against a deeply flawed candidate, a failed governor who appeared angry and bitter during the entirety of the campaign as he tried to convince voters that he hadn’t abused women.

The war did play a role in his success. It gave him an engaged base and increased his profile. Our community needs to be wary. But Gaza alone didn’t make him mayor – a weak opponent did. Remove either variable, and this race would have looked very different.

New York is not the country by any stretch of the imagination. Look at the New York mayors who have had national ambitions and how well they did. Giuliani. DeBlasio. Not even Bloomberg could take the next step.

I understand this reality doesn’t make people feel better, but the truth is being overlooked: Mamdani was a low tier candidate who ran a great campaign, focused on the most pressing issue of the day, affordability, and was immensely more charming and exciting than an angry, abusive failure. I’ll take the former as a client over the latter any day.

And crucially, Mamdani isn’t a mainstream Democrat. He’s a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an organization that openly seeks to take over the Democratic Party. The DSA’s influence is noisy, but it’s nowhere near dominant.

If you look beyond New York, the electoral map tells a different story — one of resilience and balance within the Democratic Party.

In New Jersey, Representative Mikie Sherrill, a proud pro-Israel voice in Congress, won decisively. In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, another consistent ally of Israel, carried mainstream Democrats to victory statewide. And in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey, a proud Jew and outspoken Zionist, defeated a DSA-backed challenger supported by Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Even in New York, there was a bright spot. Mark Levine, who ran openly as a Zionist, was elected City Comptroller – the city’s second most powerful position. During his campaign he pledged to restore investments in Israel Bonds and celebrated his Zionism in his victory speech.

These aren’t isolated wins. They show that across the country, Democrats who are both progressive and pro-Israel continue to succeed – because most voters still want leaders who balance empathy with realism, and who see Israel as an ally, not an adversary.

Still, I understand the unease. Mamdani’s rise will embolden others who share his worldview, and we can expect more candidates who conflate criticism of Israeli policy with delegitimization of Israel itself. That’s precisely why disengagement is the wrong response.

Some have suggested that pro-Israel Democrats should walk away from the party altogether. I couldn’t disagree more. Our community has always succeeded when we engage — even with those who disagree.

I never thought I’d be old enough to say, “I’m old enough to remember…”, but I am. It wasn’t that long ago Republicans were skeptical of Israel. Some opposed foreign aid outright. Others saw Israel as a liability, not an ally. But the Jewish community didn’t retreat; we reached out, argued, and persuaded. Today, despite a recent increase in troubling voices on the right, there’s a broader recognition of Israel’s importance as a strategic partner. That shift didn’t happen by accident. It happened because people, including this Liberal Democrat, stayed in the fight.

The same must be true now for Democrats. We can’t abandon the field to the extremes. We must organize, educate, and advocate – especially with younger voters who may be hearing only one side of the story. If we believe in the moral and strategic value of the US-Israel relationship, we can’t whisper it. We must make the case boldly, proudly, and consistently.

The road ahead won’t be easy. Anti-Israel rhetoric will persist in certain corners of the left. But I refuse to believe that the Democratic Party – the party of Harry Truman, who first recognized Israel, and the party of countless American Jews who built it from within – is slipping away.

We’ve faced darker moments and prevailed through engagement, not despair.

As Shimon Peres, z”l, reminded us: “Optimists and pessimists die the same death, but they live very different lives.”

I choose to live – and fight – as an optimist.