By: Abe Wertenheim

It is not often that matters of faith and politics collide so openly in New York’s Jewish community. Yet, as The New York Post reported on Friday, Congregation Shaare Zion in Gravesend has taken the extraordinary step of tying access to coveted High Holiday seats to proof of voter registration, a move that underscores the deep anxiety Sephardic leaders feel about the potential election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City.

The synagogue, a prominent institution within Brooklyn’s tight-knit Syrian Jewish community, issued a stark notice warning congregants that the city’s political future posed “serious problems.” The only recourse, the synagogue leadership said, was to make voting an absolute prerequisite for participation in Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services.

“We have no choice but to require that all of our members and their spouses provide proof of voter registration prior to securing their High Holiday seats,” the announcement stated, in language obtained and verified by The New York Post.

While Mamdani is not explicitly named in the synagogue’s notice, sources told the paper the message was unmistakable: the requirement was aimed squarely at mobilizing the Sephardic Jewish vote against the Democratic nominee, whose sharp criticism of Israel and refusal to denounce incendiary slogans has left many Jewish leaders alarmed.

The High Holidays — Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, beginning at sundown on Sept. 22, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, beginning Oct. 1 — are the most sacred and widely attended days of the Jewish calendar. Securing seats at synagogues during this period is often a competitive process, as space is limited and demand surges. For Congregation Shaare Zion to use access to those seats as leverage for voter registration reflects both the gravity of the current political moment and the depth of unease surrounding Mamdani’s rise.

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, the Orthodox synagogue’s leadership was particularly troubled by Mamdani’s history of statements that they regard as antisemitic. These include his refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada,” which the Anti-Defamation League describes as a rallying cry for violence against Jews, and his outspoken support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel. Mamdani has even pledged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he set foot in New York City, a threat that sent shockwaves through Jewish circles in the city and beyond.

“They were alarmed that someone who has expressed antisemitic sentiment in the past such as the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’ and supporting the boycott against Israel,” a synagogue insider told The New York Post.

The move by Shaare Zion comes amid a broader mobilization of the Sephardic Jewish community. In recent weeks, as The New York Post report highlighted, a coalition of prominent Sephardic rabbis issued a rare joint declaration urging their congregants to vote in November’s mayoral election. Their language was blunt and urgent: “We dare not be passive when our way of life is on the line,” the declaration read. “This is not optional. It is a mitzvah.”

The word “mitzvah,” meaning commandment or good deed in Hebrew, imbued the call with religious weight, transforming civic duty into spiritual obligation. The timing was deliberate — weeks before the High Holidays, when rabbis would have maximum influence over their communities.

Mamdani, an assemblyman from Queens and self-described democratic socialist, would make history as New York City’s first Muslim mayor if elected. While he has strenuously denied charges of antisemitism, he has also refused to walk back his most controversial statements about Israel and its supporters. Instead, Mamdani has positioned himself as a champion of Palestinian rights, frequently invoking terms like “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Despite these positions, Mamdani’s support among Jewish voters is more complex than some might expect. A poll conducted by Zenith Research and Public Progress Solutions in late July, reported by The New York Post, found that Mamdani actually enjoyed a 17-point lead among Jewish voters, with 43% backing him. That figure was heavily influenced by generational divides: younger Jews — particularly millennials and members of Generation Z — overwhelmingly supported him, with 67% of Jewish respondents under 40 casting their lot with Mamdani.

However, the same polling revealed that older Jewish voters, especially within Orthodox and Sephardic communities in southern Brooklyn, remain staunchly opposed. Roughly 75% of likely Jewish voters told pollsters they viewed Mamdani unfavorably.

Another survey by GQR and the pro-Israel New York Solidarity Network found that 37% of Jewish voters supported Mamdani, with the remainder divided among Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Eric Adams. That result, noted in The New York Post report, called attention to both Mamdani’s resilience as a candidate and the fractured nature of Jewish political opinion in the city.

For decades, the Sephardic community in Brooklyn has played an outsized role in New York politics, with leaders guiding congregants toward candidates perceived as reliable allies of Israel and defenders of Jewish life in the city. According to the information contained in The New York Post report, many Sephardic leaders had quietly thrown their support behind former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, viewing him as the most viable alternative to Mamdani.

“There’s an expectation they will do so in the general election,” a synagogue source told the paper. The reasoning was clear: while Cuomo carries his own baggage, from past scandals to political rivalries, he is seen as steadfastly pro-Israel and a safer choice for Jewish security in the city.

Current Mayor Eric Adams, running as an independent after his reelection campaign faltered, also enjoys stronger support among Jewish voters than Mamdani, particularly within the Sephardic community. A New York Post review of the polling data showed Adams leading with 42% among Jewish voters compared to Mamdani’s 21%.

The decision by Shaare Zion to condition High Holiday seating on voter registration is not merely a bureaucratic maneuver; it reflects a pervasive sense of vulnerability. For many Sephardic Jews, the rise of Mamdani symbolizes a broader shift in American politics, where support for Israel — once a bipartisan consensus — is increasingly contested, particularly among younger and more progressive constituencies.

The synagogue’s notice warned of a “serious risk” to congregants’ safety depending on the election’s outcome, language that The New York Post report described as unusually blunt for a religious institution. The leadership framed voting not only as a civic responsibility but as a defensive measure against what they view as existential threats to Jewish life in New York.

Yet the Jewish electorate remains divided. Mamdani has attracted endorsements from several prominent Jewish politicians, including Comptroller Brad Lander and Congressman Jerry Nadler, both of whom have defended him against accusations of antisemitism. They argue that his criticisms are directed at Israeli government policies rather than Jews as a people, and that equating the two sets a dangerous precedent for silencing dissent.

Still, many Orthodox and Sephardic leaders see little distinction. As The New York Post report emphasized, Mamdani’s refusal to denounce slogans such as “globalize the intifada” has been particularly damaging. For rabbis and synagogue leaders, such rhetoric is inseparable from the violence of the intifadas that claimed hundreds of Israeli lives in the early 2000s.

The convergence of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and a hotly contested election has created a combustible mix in New York’s Jewish community. Congregation Shaare Zion’s unprecedented requirement for proof of voter registration underscores the stakes as its leaders see them: nothing less than the survival of Jewish life and safety in the city.

As The New York Post report noted, this is an extraordinary case of religious leaders mobilizing political action through spiritual means. Whether the tactic will meaningfully alter the election outcome remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the synagogue’s move has sent a resounding message that this November’s election is not business as usual — it is, in their eyes, a matter of life, faith, and survival.