Rabbi Calls for Broader Zionism While Pushing Back on Anti-Zionist Positions
NYC Jewish Leader Reexamines Zionism Amid Mamdani’s Victory and Community Divisions
Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove Advocates for “Inclusive” Zionism While Maintaining Firm Opposition to Anti-Zionist Politics
Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue delivered a significant address this week at the Biennial National Assembly of the American Zionist Movement, reflecting on the New York mayoral election outcome and broader questions about Jewish identity and political engagement. Cosgrove emerged earlier as one of the most outspoken rabbinic critics of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, an anti-Zionist activist whose policy positions diverge substantially from mainstream Jewish organizational stances on Israel-related matters. In his address to approximately 250 Zionist leaders gathered in New York’s East Village, Cosgrove offered a nuanced analysis of how Mamdani’s election, which drew roughly 33 percent of Jewish voter support, reflected fractures within American Jewish political consensus around Israel-related questions. “For a liberal Zionist disillusioned by the Israeli government, Mamdani’s anti-Zionism is a difference of degree, not of kind,” Cosgrove told the assembly, according to reporting from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The rabbi’s statement acknowledged that segments of the Jewish communityparticularly younger, progressive Jewshave experienced alienation from Israel due to concerns about Israeli government policies, particularly regarding Palestinian rights and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Cosgrove’s remarks came during a period of heightened tension within American Jewish communities following the October 7 attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza. Jewish organizations have grappled with internal divisions between those offering unconditional support for Israel and its military operations, and those expressing criticism of Israeli government policies while maintaining commitments to Jewish continuity and security. Cosgrove positioned himself within this contested terrain, advocating for what he termed a “new chapter of American Zionism” that could accommodate diverse perspectives while maintaining clarity about fundamental values. The rabbi explicitly called for the Zionist movement to avoid what he described as “reductive and destructive” approaches to ideological disagreement. He urged Jewish leaders to refrain from dismissing those who offer political criticism as “self-hating Jews” or condemning pro-Palestinian advocates as inherently “colonialist aggressors.” “By making unconditional support for the Israeli government a litmus test for Jewish identity,” Cosgrove said, “we ourselves have inflicted harm on the Jewish future.” The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that Cosgrove’s position reflected his belief that Jewish continuity depends on maintaining space for internal debate rather than enforcing ideological conformity. The rabbi criticized aspects of Israeli government policy, noting that the country’s refusal to recognize the Conservative and Reform movements in Israel, combined with what he characterized as inadequate recognition of Palestinian self-determination, created alienation among American Jews. “The fact that the same government that fails to recognize American Jews also fails to recognize the Palestinian right to self determination only serves to increase American Jews’ sense of estrangement,” he said. Cosgrove’s remarks also addressed the specific case of Mamdani, whom the rabbi had opposed during the mayoral campaign. When confronted with questions about his previous opposition to the mayor-elect, Cosgrove clarified that his concern centered on anti-Zionist politics rather than on Jews who offer criticism of Israeli government policies. “For such a time as this, when Israel is surrounded by enemies, Jewish critics of Israel need to be judicious in how they voice their dissent,” he stated, drawing a distinction between legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and anti-Zionist positions that question the legitimacy of Jewish statehood itself. His remarks included implicit critique of Jewish activists who have participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, particularly those alongside “encampments next to someone calling for global intifada.” At the same time, he argued that within the broad Zionist tent, all perspectives deserved serious engagement. “The future dream of American Zionism depends not on my vision or yours, not on the right or the left, religious or the secular. It’s a dream that depends on all of us together, an American Zionism for such a time as this, bold enough to embrace the voices, complexities, paradoxes and even contradictions of our age,” Cosgrove said. The address’s conclusion drew mixed reactions from the assembly. Dozens of attendees rose to applaud, though a few voices offered “boos” from scattered locations in the room. During the question-and-answer session that followed, Marc Jacob, representing a Haredi Orthodox slate called Eretz HaKodesh, challenged Cosgrove’s framing. Jacob stated he felt “ostracized” by the rabbi for “wanting to open the door to those who are sitting in camps that are against the Jewish state.” Cosgrove responded by clarifying that he aimed to maintain firm convictions while remaining open to those offering left-wing perspectives on Israel. “I was not speaking about those outside of the camp who seek the ill will and destruction of the Jewish people,” he explained. “I was speaking about the ability of those within the tent to find an opportunity, a platform to support Israel in a way that need not be aligned with every policy of this or that Israeli government.” Cosgrove’s address reflects broader Jewish community conversations occurring as American Jewish leaders contemplate their political engagement in the Mamdani era. His call for inclusive Zionism, coupled with clear opposition to anti-Zionist politics, suggests an effort to chart a middle path between enforced ideological conformity and capitulation to positions fundamentally opposed to Jewish statehood. The rabbi’s remarks at the American Zionist Movement assembly indicate that questions of Jewish political identity, Israel policy, and internal community disagreement will likely feature prominently in New York civic discourse under Mamdani’s administration.
