NEW YORK — Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday was elected mayor of New York City, capping a stunning rise for the far-left anti-Israel activist and state assemblymember who, at 34, will be the city’s youngest mayor in over a century.

Mamdani’s win marks a sea change for Jews in New York City, home to the Diaspora’s largest Jewish community, which has enjoyed the support of City Hall for generations. It was long taken for granted that mayoral candidates needed to be pro-Israel to win office, but no longer.

He defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. He will replace Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped his reelection bid in September but remained on the ballot. More than 2 million New Yorkers cast ballots in the contest, the largest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, according to the city’s Board of Elections. With roughly 90 percent of the votes counted, Mamdani held an approximately 9-point lead over Cuomo.

He entered the general election as the favorite following a 12-point victory in the ranked-choice Democratic primary earlier this year.

Addressing concerns among many Jewish New Yorkers, Mamdani stated in his acceptance speech that he will “not waver” in combating antisemitism as the mayor.

“We will build a city hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism,” he said. “Where the more than one million Muslims know that they belong — not just in the five boroughs of this city, but in the halls of power. No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election.”

“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,” Mamdani declared.

He cast his win as a victory for blue-collar workers struggling to get by. “New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change,” he said, vowing to “wake up each morning with a singular purpose: to make this city better for you than it was the day before.”

Mamdani’s victory came in the face of fierce attacks on his policies and Muslim heritage from business elites, conservative media commentators, and US President Donald Trump, a prominent New Yorker.

“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani said in his victory speech. “In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light.”

Trump appeared to acknowledge Mamdani’s challenge, posting ”…AND SO IT BEGINS!” on his Truth Social site.

Conceding to Mamdani, Cuomo vowed to continue to oppose antisemitism.

“We will not make the NYPD the enemy,” Cuomo told a crowd of several hundred supporters, referring to Mamdani’s past opposition to the police.

“We cherish our diversity and we have no tolerance for discrimination of any kind,” he said. “We will not tolerate any behavior that fans the flames of antisemitism.”

The crowd cheered in approval.

Cuomo made combating antisemitism a central plank of his campaign, winning the support of mainstream Jewish groups.

US Jewish groups concerned, vow to hold Mamdani ‘accountable’

Reacting to Mamdani’s victory, mainstream American Jewish organizations mostly withheld congratulations.

The UJA-Federation of New York, in a rare political statement, said it will hold the mayor-elect “accountable” after his victory.

“We recognize that voters are animated by a range of issues, but we cannot ignore that the mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values,” UJA said in a statement.

“We will continue to work across every level of government to ensure that our city remains a place where our Jewish community, and all communities, feel safe and respected,” the statement said. “We call on Mayor-elect Mamdani and all elected officials to govern with humility, inclusivity, and a deep respect for the diversity of views and experiences that define our city.”

“We will hold all elected officials, including Mayor-elect Mamdani, fully accountable for ensuring that New York remains a place where Jewish life and support for Israel are protected and can thrive,” the statement said.

Citing Mamdani’s “disturbing record on issues of deep concern to the Jewish community,” the Anti-Defamation League said it “will approach the next four years with resolve.”

“We expect the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world to stand unequivocally against antisemitism in all its varied forms and support all of its Jewish residents just as he would all other constituents,” the ADL said. “In the months ahead, we will hold the Mamdani administration to this basic standard, and ADL will be relentless and unyielding in our work to ensure the safety and security of all Jewish New Yorkers. We will neither compromise nor relent in our pursuit of our core purpose, to protect the Jewish people.”

The Republican Jewish Coalition lamented Mamdani’s win as “a deeply distressing result for New Yorkers, particularly Jewish New Yorkers, but in fact this election will affect all of us.”

“Democrats have shamefully endorsed and elected an antisemite to run the largest city in America with the largest number of Jews in the country,” the RJC charged.

Mamdani, when he takes office at the start of next year, will become the city’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in generations.

His energetic, optimistic, media-savvy campaign galvanized young progressives, including Jews, while his vitriol toward Israel sparked fear in mainstream Jewish communities, who worry his anti-Israel platform will feed into hostility against Jews.

Cuomo, Sliwa, and other critics assailed him over his vehement criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Mamdani, a longtime advocate of Palestinian rights, has accused Israel of committing genocide and said he would honor an arrest warrant the International Criminal Court issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mamdani has acknowledged that many Jews disagree with his stances on Israel and has vowed to fight antisemitism as mayor.

The race was divisive for New Yorkers, and the Jewish community, from Manhattan’s Reform synagogues to Hasidim in Brooklyn. Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, one of the city’s leading Reform rabbis, said this week that Mamdani has contributed to “abhorrent antisemitism,” but added that the “true danger” was a “fracture in our Jewish family.”

More than 1,000 rabbis from across the US, including New York City community leaders, signed an open letter last month warning against the threat. Jews are disproportionately targeted in hate crimes in the city; last month, 62% of all hate incidents were antisemitic.

Mamdani’s unlikely rise gives credence to Democrats who have urged the party to embrace more progressive candidates instead of rallying behind centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters who have abandoned the party.

And his far-reaching policy proposals — free buses and childcare, new approaches to community safety, and government-run grocery stores among them — coupled with his political inexperience, herald an uncertain future for the city.