‘I hate my choices’: How Zohran Mamdani’s run for mayor has split Jews in New York and elsewhere | CNN Politics

David, a 29-year-old wearing a yarmulke who declined to give his last name, said the vote felt like an “existential” decision. He said he didn’t particularly care about how the mayor feels about Israel, but Mamdani’s focus on Israeli-Palestinian politics made it hard to believe he’s not antisemitic, and he worried whether that could bleed into other policies.

He said he planned to vote for Cuomo “reluctantly.” “He’s bad on everything,” David said of his preferred choice. “He’s a bad person.”

Eric Weltman, a 58-year-old wearing a suit and tie, proudly said he voted for Mamdani.

“He’s smart, competent, principled and progressive,” he said, adding he had no qualms about Mamdani’s positions on Israel.

“He’s going to be mayor of New York, not ambassador to Israel,” he said.

As for Needleman, the 77-year-old who quoted “Fiddler,” he said he couldn’t support Mamdani and felt Cuomo was too dishonest. So he decided to vote for Sliwa even though he disagreed with the Republican’s politics, saying Sliwa seemed like a “decent guy.”