By: Ariella Haviv

As New York City prepares for the swearing-in of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Jewish students across the city’s major universities are expressing growing fear and disillusionment, warning that the democratic socialist’s victory represents what one called “a huge blow to the New York City Jewish community.”

In an exclusive series of interviews with Fox News Digital, students from Columbia University, Barnard College, Baruch College, and New York University voiced alarm about the potential consequences of Mamdani’s rise to City Hall. Their concerns—ranging from safety on campus to the normalization of anti-Israel rhetoric—paint a troubling portrait of the mood among young Jewish New Yorkers in the wake of a mayoral election that many describe as “a turning point.”

“I think it’s a huge blow to the New York City Jewish community,” said Aidan Herlinger of Baruch College in his interview with Fox News Digital. “We’re looking at someone who has shouted out the Holy Land Five in a rap song, which he still hasn’t taken off his Twitter. He’s supported ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ refused to condemn it, and I think that’s such a dangerous precedent.”

The apprehension expressed by these students is rooted not just in Mamdani’s record, but in what they see as the symbolism of his victory—a validation of political currents that have made Jewish identity, Zionism, and support for Israel increasingly contentious in New York’s academic and civic life.

For many of these students, the memory of anti-Israel protests that erupted following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel remains raw. As the Fox News Digital report recalled, some of the most aggressive demonstrations in the country took place in New York City’s universities.

In April 2024, hundreds of demonstrators took over Columbia University’s East Butler Lawn, chanting “from the river to the sea”—a slogan long associated with calls for Israel’s destruction. The protest quickly devolved into confrontation, with non-student agitators joining the encampment.

A year later, in May 2025, protesters occupied Columbia’s Butler Library, temporarily renaming it the “Basel Al-Araj Popular University” in honor of a Palestinian militant who advocated violence against Israelis. Hundreds of arrests followed, but as Fox News Digital reported, the experience left many Jewish students deeply shaken.

“We’ve been screamed at. We’ve been blocked out of our own library during finals week,” said Mera Skobolo of NYU. “We’ve had professors yell at students, not support students. Some of us hide our identities.”

The sense of alienation, Skobolo told Fox News Digital, has only deepened as local political leaders have failed to speak decisively against anti-Israel incitement. “We want to feel protected by our elected officials,” she said. “A lot of us are scared. The past two years on college campuses across New York City have been difficult for Jewish students.”

Mamdani, a 33-year-old progressive from Queens and a self-described democratic socialist, defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican radio host Curtis Sliwa in last week’s historic election. His platform—focused on wealth redistribution, housing reform, and what he calls “decolonizing New York”—has been celebrated by left-wing activists and sharply criticized by centrist and conservative groups.

In a statement following his victory, Mamdani appeared to address his critics directly: “We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism.”

Yet many in the city’s Jewish community view this assurance with skepticism. Fox News Digital noted that Mamdani’s past affiliations—his participation in anti-Israel rallies, his public praise of radical activists, and his repeated refusal to condemn “Globalize the Intifada”—have left many questioning the sincerity of his commitment to fighting antisemitism.

Shoshana Aufzien, a student at Barnard College, articulated the frustration shared by many of her peers.

“The call is coming from inside the house,” she told Fox News Digital. “We have a lot of systemic issues we need to work through. But the fact that Mamdani has never acknowledged his father’s antisemitism or condemned it is pretty telling. I think it’s going to be a big litmus test for my campus and for New Yorkers generally to see if they can tolerate a mayor with such radical policy proposals.”

The interviews conducted by Fox News Digital reveal a deep sense of unease not only about Mamdani’s politics, but about the broader cultural shift occurring in New York’s universities—where pro-Israel students increasingly describe themselves as targets of exclusion and hostility.

At NYU, Columbia, and Barnard, Jewish students have reported being ostracized by peers, intimidated by faculty, and marginalized in student groups. At Columbia’s encampment protests, demonstrators openly chanted support for Hamas, while some faculty members signed petitions accusing Israel of “genocide” and calling for an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

“We’ve seen professors justify terror, and students wear Hamas emblems as though it’s a fashion statement,” said one Columbia student who spoke with Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity. “This isn’t about disagreement anymore—it’s about dehumanization.”

The Fox News Digital interviews highlight the growing rift between New York’s academic institutions and the city’s Jewish community, which historically saw universities as bastions of intellectual freedom and inclusion. For many Jewish students, those ideals now feel hollow.

“We’ve entered an era where Jewish visibility is treated as provocation,” said Eliana Birman of Barnard College. “We’ve never seen a socialist country that has actually worked, and I think this may be a major downfall if Mr. Mamdani is able to act on the policies he’s stated he wants to enact.”

 

Birman’s critique, grounded in both political skepticism and personal experience, underscores the paradox many Jewish students face: they are both participants in and outsiders to a progressive movement that increasingly views Zionism as incompatible with social justice.

While Mamdani has yet to take office, students interviewed by Fox News Digital emphasized that his symbolic power—his ability to shape discourse and legitimize certain narratives—poses the greatest concern.

“You will undoubtedly see students feel inspired by what [Mamdani] says and what he wishes,” said TJ Katz of Columbia University. “I think more than anything else, the mayor of New York City serves as a role model and a figurehead. He has the ability to put X, Y, or Z policies in place, but I unequivocally believe the most impact that Mamdani will have is how he influences others to act.”

For Katz and others, Mamdani’s ascent represents more than a political shift—it symbolizes a normalization of ideas once considered extreme. His victory, they argue, emboldens those who conflate criticism of Israel with hostility toward Jews.

As Fox News Digital reported, even students who are not politically active have begun to feel the ripple effects. Jewish fraternities and student groups have increased security. Hillel centers have received threats. And some students have removed mezuzahs from dormitory doors to avoid being identified.

The anxieties voiced by these students mirror a broader reckoning within the city’s Jewish community about its place in an increasingly polarized political landscape. New York, once seen as a refuge for Jewish identity and intellectual life, is now witnessing the erosion of that legacy amid ideological battles over race, colonialism, and identity politics.

The Fox News Digital report noted that Mamdani’s election—coming at a time of heightened global tension following two years of war between Israel and Hamas—has forced many Jewish New Yorkers to reconsider their political affiliations. Longtime Democratic voters, in particular, are questioning whether the city’s progressive institutions still represent their values or safety.

“There’s this sense that the guardrails are gone,” said a Jewish graduate student at NYU. “When antisemitism comes from the right, people recognize it immediately. When it comes from the left, it’s dressed up as morality. That’s what makes it so dangerous.”

The student’s observation echoes a growing consensus among communal leaders: that the most insidious forms of antisemitism today are those that masquerade as humanitarianism, weaponizing empathy to erase Jewish identity.

Zohran Mamdani is scheduled to be sworn in on January 1, 2026, officially assuming leadership of the nation’s largest city. His supporters hail him as a visionary reformer; his critics warn that his rhetoric and affiliations could embolden extremist sentiment in a city already grappling with deep divisions.

As the Fox News Digital report emphasized, Jewish students are watching closely. For them, Mamdani’s first months in office will be a test of both his integrity and his understanding of leadership. Will he distance himself from the anti-Zionist movements that helped propel him to prominence—or will he double down, framing Jewish concerns as political resistance?

Until then, many Jewish students remain in a state of anxious vigilance. “I want to believe in New York,” Skobolo told Fox News Digital softly. “I want to believe that this city can still protect all of us, no matter our faith. But right now, I’m not sure it can.”

As the Fox News Digital report noted, the mood among Jewish students in New York today is not one of hope, but of heightened uncertainty—a sense that the very city built on pluralism and tolerance is drifting toward something more volatile, more ideological, and far less safe for those who have always considered it home.

For young Jewish New Yorkers, Mamdani’s victory is not just political. It is existential—a measure of whether the city that once symbolized Jewish endurance can still stand as a sanctuary for Jewish life.