With only hours to go before voters head to the polls, a new report from a prominent antisemitism research group is drawing renewed attention to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and his past political associations. The report, released by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), outlines concerns about Mamdani’s background, views, and endorsements, urging voters to take a closer look before casting their ballots.
Charles Asher Small, the founding director of ISGAP, spoke exclusively with Fox News Digital about the 11th-hour report. “It is incumbent on voters to understand the ideological context that Zohran Mamdani comes from and espouses,” Small said.
The report, titled Zohran Mamdani: From SJP to Gracie Mansion?, reviews Mamdani’s personal and political history, starting with his time at Bowdoin College, where he founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. The report also notes the influence of his father, a Columbia University professor known for controversial views on Israel. According to the document, Mamdani has surrounded himself with anti-Israel figures and has refused to clearly condemn slogans like “globalize the intifada,” which the report states is widely understood to reference violent uprisings and attacks against Jews.
Mamdani has said he would “discourage” others from using the phrase, but he has stopped short of denouncing it outright. The report also claims that Mamdani “downplayed” the October 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians and instead labeled Israel’s military response as “genocide.”
Additionally, the ISGAP report points to Mamdani’s introduction of legislation that would allegedly penalize New York-based charities for providing support to Israel. That proposal has drawn criticism from faith-based and pro-Israel groups who say it threatens religious freedom and charitable outreach.
One of the most controversial episodes tied to Mamdani’s campaign came last month when he posted a photo alongside Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn religious leader who has served as a character witness for the convicted mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Wahhaj has also defended others convicted of terrorism and has raised money for their legal defenses. Mamdani’s campaign has not denied the meeting, which sparked a backlash from members of the law enforcement community.
Antisemitism is an ideology that sees the Jews as the source of all the world’s interlocking problems.
Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite. pic.twitter.com/58SkvoNBhJ
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) October 28, 2025
Further concerns are being raised over a reported $100,000 donation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to a super PAC supporting Mamdani. While CAIR is a legal advocacy organization, it was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal terrorism financing trial involving the Holy Land Foundation. The Mamdani campaign has not publicly addressed the donation or its connection to CAIR.
“The normalization of antisemitism and anti-democratic rhetoric is now mainstream,” Small told Fox News Digital. He emphasized that extreme political movements, whether from the far-left, far-right, or radical Islam, often rely on antisemitic narratives to push their agendas. “Words and ideas lead to action,” Small said. “The antisemitic discourse of Mamdani will inevitably lead to increased hate and violence.”
A group of hundreds of rabbis also released a joint statement last month urging New Yorkers to reject Mamdani’s campaign, warning that his rhetoric and policy proposals pose a serious threat to the Jewish community. The letter emphasized that Jewish Americans “cannot remain silent” in the face of discrimination and called the election a “moment of moral clarity.”
BREAKING: In an unprecedented move, Angela Buchdahl, the Rabbi of NYC’s largest reform Synagogue comes out against Zohran Mamdani.
“Mamdani is echoing age old antisemitism, with claiming Jews across the world are the root cause of our problems here.”pic.twitter.com/eoqO3ob8eh
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) November 2, 2025
Despite the growing opposition, Mamdani continues to lead in most public polls. He has also received support from some progressive Jewish leaders who see his platform as addressing long-standing social and economic issues in the city. Charles Small acknowledged the reasons for Mamdani’s popularity, noting that “people are frustrated as their needs are not being met.” He added that in difficult times, extreme or populist movements often gain momentum by offering easy answers, even when those solutions may be unrealistic.
If you are a Democratic Party leader who refuses to explicitly say that Mamdani should not become mayor — even after he refuses to say that Hamas should disarm — you are a bad person. And if you say that you care about combating antisemitism, you are also a liar. pic.twitter.com/61bibqEq1T
— Ben B@dejo (@BenTelAviv) October 16, 2025
The ISGAP report ends with a stark warning: that a Mamdani administration could “shatter the city’s fragile communal trust and roll back decades of hard-won progress in protecting Jewish life.” It argues that what may appear as progressive activism is, in this case, tied to an ideology that could reshape New York’s political and cultural future in dangerous ways.
As New Yorkers get ready to vote, the stakes have clearly risen, and the conversation around Mamdani’s candidacy has shifted from economics to questions of community trust, security, and the broader fight against antisemitism in American politics.
