The watchdog group StopAntisemitism says it has received more than 300 inquiries from New York City residents after it posted on X offering to connect people with realtors if Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani wins. The outreach comes as Mamdani leads in public polling and a separate survey reported by the New York Post found that about a quarter of city residents would consider leaving if he is elected.
StopAntisemitism promoted the offer on October 16 in posts on X, writing: “New Yorkers – looking to relocate if Mamdani wins the NYC mayoral race? We’d love to connect you to realtors in FL, TX, CT, etc. You deserve to live in a city not run by an antisemite,” and, in a follow‑up, “If Mamdani is elected, we will make it our mission to remove as much of his tax base as possible. Antisemites understand one thing – consequences.” According to the organization, both posts drew responses from prospective movers and real‑estate agents offering assistance.
In an interview published October 25, StopAntisemitism’s founder and executive director, Liora Rez, told The Daily Wire that more than 300 people had expressed interest since the posts went up and that realtors across the country had reached out to help. Rez said many Jewish New Yorkers are fearful of what a Mamdani administration would mean for their safety; she also drew parallels to rising antisemitism in the United Kingdom. These figures and characterizations were provided by Rez to The Daily Wire.
The relocation chatter is unfolding as Mamdani leads in independent polling. A Quinnipiac University survey of likely voters conducted October 3–7 found Mamdani at 46%, Andrew Cuomo (independent) at 33% and Curtis Sliwa (Republican) at 15%, a 13‑point advantage for Mamdani. Separately, a Victory Insights poll reported by the New York Post on October 24 found 26.5% of respondents would consider leaving the city if Mamdani wins; that survey also showed Mamdani significantly ahead in the three‑way race.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and state assemblyman from Queens, has faced sustained criticism over his handling of controversial protest rhetoric. In June interviews, he declined multiple opportunities to condemn the chant “globalize the intifada,” saying it is not language he uses and arguing he won’t “police speech,” while insisting he opposes antisemitism and supports universal human rights. Jewish organizations and political opponents say the slogan is widely understood as a call for violence against Jews, and they have urged him to disavow it.
Those concerns fed into a national rabbinic campaign this past week: at least 650 rabbis and cantors, including dozens in New York City, signed an open letter organized by the new advocacy group Jewish Majority warning that normalizing anti‑Zionist rhetoric—citing Mamdani’s statements among others—could encourage hostility toward Jews. By October 24, JTA reported the number of signatories had surpassed 1,000.
Mamdani’s political network has included the Muslim Democratic Club of New York (MDCNY), which was co‑founded in 2013 by activist Linda Sarsour and attorney Ali Najmi. Vanity Fair reported that Mamdani joined MDCNY in 2015. Social‑media posts from 2018 listed him among MDCNY’s board members; The Daily Wire characterizes Sarsour as having announced his board role that year. Sarsour, a prominent backer of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, left the Women’s March board in 2019 amid controversies that included accusations of antisemitism, which she has denied.
The mayoral race also drew new scrutiny after Mamdani posted a photo on October 17 from Masjid At‑Taqwa in Bedford‑Stuyvesant with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, whom he called “one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed‑Stuy community for nearly half a century.” Wahhaj was named by federal prosecutors in the mid‑1990s as an unindicted co‑conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing case and later testified as a character witness for Sheikh Omar Abdel‑Rahman. He has not been charged in connection with the attack. The image prompted sharp criticism from Mamdani’s rivals.
Asked about the ongoing backlash over his rhetoric and associations, Mamdani has said he denounces antisemitism, that he does not use the “globalize the intifada” phrase, and that he aims to be a mayor for all New Yorkers.
Methodology notes:
– StopAntisemitism’s inquiry count and realtor outreach are based on the group’s account in The Daily Wire and have not been independently audited.
– Quinnipiac’s October 9 release details a 1,015‑respondent likely‑voter poll (MOE ±3.9).
– The Victory Insights poll cited by the New York Post surveyed 500 likely voters October 22–24.