Mamdani’s candidacy roils Jewish communities across the country

The controversy over Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of Israel has moved well beyond New York City, where he is the front-runner in the race for mayor, and is roiling American Jews across the nation.

While tensions have been simmering in New York for months, the debate over what Mamdani’s ascent means for the future of Jews in American politics is now playing out in community centers, homes and congregations from Atlanta to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Houston to Highland Park, Illinois, and beyond.

A recent letter signed by more than 1,100 rabbis across the country decrying the “political normalization” of anti-Zionism has pushed the debate into the synagogue pulpit, as American Jews all over searched the list of signatories to see if their rabbis did — or did not — sign.

The letter cited Mamda