"The life of the largest Jewish population outside Israel is at risk," political strategist and consultant Rabbi Dr. Hank Sheinkopf told The Jerusalem Post in a conversation about Zohran Mamdani, democracy in the US, and the future of Jews in the Land of the Free.
Sheinkopf has worked on over 700 political campaigns in 14 countries, in four continents, and 44 US states. Some names among his previous clientele are former US president Bill Clinton, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Mexican president Leonel Fernandez.
He is therefore well placed to speak on the current political campaigns for next mayor of New York – a race that has drawn significant media and public attention due to the controversial statements and past of democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani is a longtime supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, co-founded his college’s branch of Students for Justice in Palestine, and defended the slogan “Globalize the Intifada.”
He has also said he would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he step foot in New York, and previously recorded a rap song praising the five heads of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development who were convicted of providing material support to Hamas terrorists.
Many New York Jews fear the city’s descent into even worse antisemitism and the defunding of law enforcement protecting Jews against hatred, should Mamdani win.
“If New York is lost, the rest of the country is not far behind,” Sheinkopf told the Post. He added that whatever happens in New York sets the trend for other major cities, such as Chicago and Los Angeles.
“He is pro defunding the police, his positions are dangerous, and his supporters have been violent towards Jews in the street. What he stands for is very clear.”
“If Mamdani wins, there will be an exodus of Jews from New York City,” he added. “This is not a matter of capitalism vs socialism; it’s a matter of antisemitism vs Jewish survival.”
He praised current New York City Mayor Eric Adams for his industrious efforts to combat antisemitism in the city, noting that Adams “has gone out of his way to try to stop it, but it’s hard to stop.”
Adams is running for a second term, this time on an independent ballot.
Sheinkopf believes it is possible to defeat Mamdani, although the democratic candidate has a strong voter base, and has fashioned himself as a charismatic leader to younger voters (he is only 33). His staunch pro-Palestine stance has made him attractive to much of the anti-Israel crowd, with a poll earlier this month by American Pulse revealing that 30% of voters were more likely to vote Mamdani due to his refusal to condemn the slogan “Globalize the Intifada.”
Yet despite this, Mamdani has secured around 20% of the Jewish New Yorker vote, which shocks Sheinkopf. Mamdani has been endorsed by Jewish legislators Chuck Schumer and Jerry Nadler, and Jewish candidate Brad Lander.
A spokesperson for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice said: “A lot of wealthy interest groups tried to paint him as a Muslim man who hates Jews, but that image doesn’t reflect who Zohran really is.”
What’s going on with American Jews?
For Sheinkopf, the votes from young Jews for Mamdani is an “indication of how poorly taught our children are.”
He called today’s younger generation – from all backgrounds, but Jews in particular – “the most pampered generation in the history of the world.”
“We have created a new social class of unproductive intellectuals, who are pampered and who have yet to pay the price for democracy.”
He calls them the “if only” generation, as they think: If only we do this, they will love us more.
He referenced the famous 1942 “Give Me Your Children” speech by Chaim Rumkowski, the head of the Judenrat in the Lodz Ghetto. In it, Rumkowski urged the Jews to give up their children and the elderly. “If we deliver our victims by ourselves, there will be peace.”
Sheinkopf cited this case as an example of a person who thought sacrificing his brethren would save himself, but failed.
The “if only Jews” will not gain any more favor than the others, he added.
Israel and Zionism are at the forefront of this issue, he noted. Some Jews feel distancing themselves from the Jewish state and from Zionism will curry favor in the eyes of antisemites.
“Israel is an embarrassment for some young Jews, so get past it by being with [Mamdani],” he said.
“The denial of history and fact is what propels the Mamdani movement.
“It’s this fantasy of history that Jews constantly create, but the historical fantasy doesn’t necessarily hold. They have created a sense of history on which to base their opinions which is inaccurate.
“They give their souls to charismatic leadership in the hope that they will be saved, but ultimately the pendulum swings the other way,” he added, pointing out that “history is very severe when it comes to charismatic leadership.”
Sheinkopf cited Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Mamdani as young charismatic leaders who “don’t wish well on anyone who thinks differently.”
The Democratic Party
Asked to condemn the “Death to America” chants of pro-Palestine protesters in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2024, Democratic Rep. Tlaib remained silent.
Omar, a Democratic rep from Minnesota, posted “death to the colonial empire” from Los Angeles to Rafah in Gaza on an Instagram story.
“It’s this worship of the cult of death,” Sheinkopf said. “The Democratic Party is a problem: it doesn’t stand for the things it once stood for, which were the things that Jews used to align with.”
He added that both parties “don’t stand for much anymore,” and that the polarization between the parties is so extreme that it is hard to agree on much.
A lot of it relates to how Americans, and specifically American politicians, view democracy. According to Sheinkopf, Americans are no longer “the great defenders of democracy” that they once were.
“There is no sense of patriotism, no sense of belonging to the system. Now you have these figures who want to take the system apart.”
The future of the US
Additionally, he explained that “the US is no longer of European derivative,” with around 50% coming from other origins. The values of US society used to be based on religious texts, the Constitution, and, to a large extent, the Talmud, said Sheinkopf. “All these things the Talmud teaches such as protecting women’s rights, the get, marriage contract – these Western ideas are all at risk.”
He added that with the decline in the percentage of US citizens of European descent, and with the increase in immigration from other countries, “America is going through a period of reidentification and redefinition.”
“America is at an inflection point. The era of Judeo-Christian ethics may have reached its high point,” he added. “There is now no respect for democracy, because people take democracy for granted.”
He spoke of how today’s moment of absolute rejection of Jews is also a rejection of Judeo-Christian ethics.
“The US doesn’t teach prayer, allegiance; there is no sense of belonging or national mission,” he added.
Another factor is that the US has no mandatory national service, and as such many younger generations feel disconnected from what it means to be American, what it means to serve their country, and value patriotism much less, especially in blue states.
Sheinkopf believes that America is soon heading to “two distinctive countries,” with Florida through Arizona in one, and the rest in another.
“There will be a split in the country in terms of identification,” he told the Post. “Who believes in the constitution, who believes in values of democracy, and who doesn’t?”
Democracy, Sheinkopf continued, is an active concept, and one that requires participation.
“Only collective action can make this all better,” he said. “And that’s more than voting; it’s voting and participating, not voting and disappearing.”
This all being said, “Nothing is irreparable,” according to Sheinkopf.
For Jewish Americans in particular, who Sheinkopf said are facing the greatest threat since McCarthy, it’s about going back to values, learning and history.
With “generations who have no connection to Israel, to Torah Judaism,” he believes it’s time to reconnect.
And in terms of Mamdani? “The Jews have been at the forefront of every new social movement in history,” Sheinkopf reminded. Perhaps it’s time for a new one.