New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani viewed more favorably than Israeli prime minister among American Jews, national poll finds.By World Israel News StaffNew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is viewed more favorably by American Jews than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a new poll.The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 44% of Jewish adults held a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Mamdani, while 39% viewed him unfavorably, for net positive rating of five points.Seventeen percent said they did not know enough about him to express an opinion.Netanyahu received a favorable rating from 32% of Jewish respondents, while 59% viewed him unfavorably and 9% had no opinion.The contrast was even greater among respondents expressing strongly positive views: 21% viewed Mamdani very favorably, compared with 11% for Netanyahu.The poll did not ask respondents to choose directly between the two men. Each was rated separately as part of a broader series of questions, meaning the results measure independent favorability rather than a head-to-head preference.Mamdani welcomed the findings when asked about them by NY1.“It’s great,” he said, before playing down the comparison with Netanyahu.“My focus is on delivering for each and every New Yorker,” Mamdani said, adding that he was proud to lead the American city with the country’s largest Jewish population.The democratic socialist mayor said protecting Jewish residents from antisemitism was “critical and necessary,” but argued that City Hall should aspire to more than physical safety. Jewish New Yorkers, he said, should feel “cherished and celebrated by the city.”The finding is notable because Mamdani’s criticism of Israel became one of the most contentious issues of the 2025 New York mayoral campaign.Mamdani has falsely accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, opposed New York City investments in Israel Bonds and declined to recognize Israel specifically as a Jewish state, saying governments should guarantee equal rights regardless of religion or ethnicity.He also said he would seek to honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu if the Israeli leader visited New York, although state and legal officials questioned whether a mayor would have the authority to carry out such an arrest.Since taking office, Mamdani has continued to distance himself from official expressions of support for Israel. He declined to attend the annual Israel Day on Fifth parade in June, breaking with a longstanding mayoral tradition, while saying his absence reflected his opposition to the Israeli government and its policies in Gaza.Those positions drew intense criticism from pro-Israel organizations and some Jewish leaders, who accused him of applying standards to Israel that he did not apply to other countries. Mamdani has rejected allegations that his criticism of Israel is antisemitic and has pledged to confront anti-Jewish violence and harassment in New York.Exit polling from the 2025 mayoral election indicated that Mamdani won only about one-quarter to three-tenths of the Jewish vote in New York City.Netanyahu’s poor rating appears to reflect hostility toward the Israeli prime minister personally rather than rejection of Israel across the board.Fifty-eight percent of Jewish respondents said Israel was an extremely or very important issue to them personally, and another 28% described it as somewhat important. More than one-third said supporting Israel was a very important component of their Jewish identity.At the same time, 38% said the United States was too supportive of Israelis, compared with 28% who said Washington was not supportive enough and 32% who considered the current level of support appropriate.Forty-three percent said the United States was not doing enough to support Palestinians.The survey also found that 30% of Jewish adults believed Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Forty-nine percent rejected the allegation, while 21% said they did not know enough to answer.The same survey found that 73% of Jewish adults considered Israel’s immediate military response to October 7 justified. Support fell substantially when respondents were asked about Israel’s continuing operations nearly three years later, with only around four in 10 describing them as justified.Separate findings from the same survey showed a large divide between Jews who identify with Judaism as a religion and those who identify as Jewish primarily through culture, ethnicity or family background.Forty percent of religiously affiliated Jewish adults said they felt very or extremely emotionally attached to Israel, compared with 11% of secular Jews. Almost half of religious Jews described support for Israel as a central part of their Jewish identity, compared with 12% of secular respondents.The overall Jewish sample leaned strongly Democratic: 59% identified as Democrats or leaned toward the party, compared with 27% who identified as or leaned Republican. Forty-two percent described themselves as liberal, 41% as moderate and 16% as conservative.That political composition helps explain why Mamdani, a Democratic mayor associated with the party’s progressive wing, could receive stronger ratings than Netanyahu, who has built close ties with President Donald Trump and has repeatedly clashed with Democratic administrations.Trump fared even worse than Netanyahu among Jewish respondents. Twenty-nine percent viewed the president favorably, while 70% held an unfavorable opinion.The post Mamdani more popular among American Jews than Netanyahu – poll appeared first on World Israel News.