Split Emerges in Satmar Community Over Competing Endorsements in NYC Mayoral Race

A split emerged Sunday within New York City’s Satmar Hasidic community as both mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo announced endorsements from the same powerful Ahronim faction in Williamsburg.

Local media first reported that Rabbi Moishe Indig, a senior figure in the Satmar Ahronim community, was expected to endorse Mamdani, who has drawn criticism from Jewish groups over his repeated attacks on Israel. Indig confirmed his backing during a meeting Sunday, saying he supported Mamdani’s progressive platform.

Around the same time, three other leading figures in the same faction released a letter supporting Cuomo, the former New York governor running as a centrist. Their statement, published by the Cuomo campaign, warned that “the progressive movement’s crusading agenda is a threat to our ability to live as Torah Jews and educate our children with the same values.”

“The mayor and his office have tremendous influence on policy, direction, and geist,” the leaders wrote. “Each of us must do everything in our power to protect and preserve our values, communities, yeshivas, and way of life. Please out-vote the progressive agenda and vote for Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, Nov. 4.”

The letter was signed by Cheskel Berkowitz, Avrum Brach, and Shulem Yitzchok Jacobowitz, who described themselves as members of the Satmar Ahronim executive committee. The Cuomo campaign said their endorsement represents the official position of the faction’s leadership.

“I’m deeply honored to have the support of these respected community leaders,” Cuomo said in a press release. “Their voices carry tremendous weight in standing up for family, faith, and common sense. I share their belief that New York needs unity and balance—not ideological extremes.” Cuomo also posted his own message earlier that afternoon, writing, “Sincerely honored by the endorsement of my good friends in the Satmar community.”

But Mamdani claimed the same faction’s backing just hours later. “I was honored to receive the endorsement of Rabbi Moshe Indig and Ahronim leaders in Williamsburg today, where we were joined by my friend Lincoln Restler,” he wrote Sunday night on X. “Together, we will fight the scourge of antisemitism and build a city that works for every New Yorker.”

The reason for the apparent split within the Ahronim group was not immediately clear. While the faction had endorsed Cuomo during the Democratic primary earlier this year, some members have recently expressed sympathy for Mamdani’s outreach to Hasidic neighborhoods.

In an article published last week in the Satmar community newspaper Der Blatt, local leaders described Mamdani as “not an antisemite” and praised his openness with rabbis about “the war in Israel.” The letter, written in Yiddish and shared widely online, called him “a very liberal Muslim” who maintains respectful dialogue with the community.

Both Cuomo and Mamdani have met in recent days with Satmar leaders and with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who ended his reelection bid last month and endorsed Cuomo.

The Satmar Hasidim, one of the largest Hasidic sects in New York City, are centered in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Their approximately 80,000 Haredi voters are known for bloc voting according to rabbinic guidance, making their support a prized political asset.