Hate pays: Anti-Israel NYC mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani has raised
$641K in three months

His hate for Israel is paying off.

Socialist Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — who was notoriously
arrested at a pro-Palestine protest outside US Sen. Chuck Schumer’s
house — has raised $641,816 since beginning his mayoral campaign three
months ago, the most of any candidate during this stretch in the heavily contested race.

The Ugandan-born, card-carrying Democratic Socialist of America member’s staggering haul includes a jaw-dropping 1,426 donations totaling $97,254
from jobless supporters who declared themselves “unemployed” or “not employed,” a Post review of NYC campaign filings found.

Assembly Zohran K. Mamdani, in a suit and tie, at the Arch of Justice
mayoral forum in Bronx, NY

Socialist Zohran Mamdani has raised $641,816 since beginning his NYC
mayoral campaign in October — and critics say it’s in part due to his anti-Israel agenda.


He landed another 289 donations totaling nearly $30,000 from professors
and other employees of Columbia University, New York University and the
City University of New York – all targets of hate-filled pro-Palestine
campus protests since Hamas’ invasion of Israel.


Mamdani, the 33-year-old son of a Columbia University professor of
government and an award-winning Indian filmmaker, raked in another
$20,839 from over 200 donors who classify themselves as writers,
journalists, reporters and editors at dozens of media outlets.

Another $1,050 came from “Sex And The City” actress and ex-gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, while $500 was gifted by “Harold and Kumar”
actor and ex-Obama administration staffer Kal Penn.


Mamdani — endorsed by the DSA — also scored a deluge of campaign funds
from lefty unions and elected officials as well as their employees.

This includes seven campaign staffers for fellow socialist Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who gave a combined $645.

Julian Gerson, a senior speechwriter for Gov. Hochul, donated $100.

“There’s no question now that Zohran is the standard bearer of the far-left” in the race to unseat centrist Democratic Mayor Adams,
longtime Democratic strategist Chris Coffey told The Post.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators holding a banner and marching through the Columbia University campus to commemorate the one-year anniversary of
the war between Hamas and Israel, taken on October 7, 2024.

Critics say Zohran Mamdani’s financial support is fueled by his extreme anti-Israel positions.
AFP via Getty Images
Mamdani’s windfall in part has been fueled by his extremist anti-Israel positions, critics said.

He was arrested in October 2023 for participating in a protest outside
Senate Majority Leader Schumer’s Brooklyn residence, demanding a
cease-fire after Israel struck Gaza in response to Hamas’ brutal terror attack a week earlier.

He also introduced the “Not on Our Dime!: Ending New York Funding of
Israeli Settler Violence Act” — legislation aimed at barring New
York-based charitable groups from engaging in “unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.”


“It seems like Zohran is trying to fan the flames of hatred and
antisemitism solely to propel fundraising in his campaign,” said David Greenfield, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and a
former Brooklyn councilman.

An overwhelming majority of Mamdani’s donations are $250 or below, so he stands to eventually make a killing through the city’s public
matching-funds program that awards $8 for each buck contributed on small donations.

Mamdani took a victory lap on social media last week showing he took in
the most individual donors in 101 ZIP codes across the city and racked
up 6,518 unique contributions — by far exceeding all other mayoral candidates since Oct. 8.

Cynthia Nixon and Zohran Mamdani at a news conference outside the White
House advocating for a permanent ceasefire and no military aid to Israel
4
Despite his fundraising chops, Mamdani stands far below Andrew Cuomo in
the polls.

The radical pol has branded himself as the champion for “working-class
New Yorkers” since entering the increasingly crowded field, promising
faster, free buses; a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments; and
universal childcare.

His pie-in-the-sky policies and slick campaign videos bemoaning $10
halal plates have positioned him to overtake city Comptroller and fellow socialist Brad Lander as the far-left’s hope and outdo other far lefties
in the race, including Sens. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) and Jessica
Ramos (D-Queens), Coffey added.

“He’s out-raised all the other progressive candidates [since entering
the race]; he’s out-campaigned all the progressive candidates, and he’s
run a good race,” Coffey said.

Besides Adams, other high-profile Democratic candidates lean to the
center, including former Comptroller Scott Stringer and potentially
ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.


Including public matching funds, Lander’s campaign has raised $4.1
million and had $3.2 million in hand as of last week — the most of any candidate and slightly surpassing Adams’ war chest of $3.1 million,
which was denied millions of dollars more in matching funds because of
the criminal indictment against Adams.

A pair of recent polls showed nearly a third of potential voters would
back Cuomo for mayor, despite him yet to officially declare his candidacy.


195
What do you think? Post a comment.

Mamdani’s spokesman Andrew Epstein said their campaign is “proud” of its “vision for a more affordable New York City. Ours is a universal, humane vision for all New Yorkers.”

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)