New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani walked into the “Downtown Seder” at City Winery in Manhattan ready to set a tone. He spoke first, leaned into unity, and tried to present himself as a mayor who moves easily across lines that divide the city.
Unfortunately for the mayor, the room didn’t follow his lead.
Zohran Mamdani is clearly aiming to convince the world that he isn’t anti-Semitic in the most lefty-coded theater-kid way possible. It didn’t quite go as he planned.
The New York mayor attended what The New York Times called a “hip” Passover Seder on Monday.
The event was also attended by former CNN host Don Lemon, who is in a bit of legal trouble at the moment, and a whole host of other characters, including a drag-queen rabbi who phoned in from Jerusalem and George Floyd’s brother, who spoke about “racism,” according to the Times.
Michael Dorf, founder of City Winery and longtime host of the event, has run the gathering for over 30 years. Mamdani took a seat alongside Don Lemon and Amichai Lau-Lavie.
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie will appear at the Seder by video from Israel. The rabbi and human rights activist is best known as the subject of the documentary film Sabbath Queen (2024), which followed Lau-Lavie’s “epic journey” as a “drag-queen rebel” who “challenge[s] patriarchy and supremacy.” It is not known if the rabbi will appear as himself or as his drag alter ego, Hadassah Gross. Other guests will include Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, and Matthew Broussard, the actor and comedian who played “Comic 2 at Stage Deli” in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Mamdani addressed antisemitism and told the audience he stands with Jewish New Yorkers, framing himself as a bridge builder, even while promoting a political agenda rooted in democratic socialism and expanded government authority.
That contrast didn’t sit well.
Hellbound and Down 