Current sectionIsrael NewsHaaretz TodayHaaretz Today ABC asked Mamdani if he supports 'Israel as a Jewish state in the way it is now.' But the more important question is not the abstract one of whether Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, but the practical one of how it should existShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeDavid Issacharoff 10:01 PM • June 29 2026 IDTIt is 2026, and the mayor of the world's most important city – also home to more Jews than anywhere else in the world – is asked in a mainstream interview: "Israel as a Jewish state in the way it is now, do you support that?"Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Haaretz Today NewsletterCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Live UpdatesIsrael-Lebanon DealIran AttackIsrael CrimeWest BankHezbollahHaQuizHaaretz PodcastMamdani's Answer on the Jewish State Matters Less Than the QuestionAmulets, Psychics and Miracle Rabbis: New York's Forgotten Jewish OccultNetanyahu Trolls Trump and Turkey: Why Israel Recognized the Armenian GenocideQatar and Turkey Could Be the Winners in Trump's Fractured Israel RelationshipNetanyahu Says Trial Is Political Persecution; Judges Back Dropping Bribe ChargeRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIAdvanced Israeli Systems Sold to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Documents and Images ShowAs the World Watched Gaza, Israeli Settlers Charged Ahead in the West Bank. A Clash Is ImminentIsrael 2026 Election Poll Tracker: The Latest ProjectionsA Collapsing Society: Israel Suffers National Mental Crisis Due to the WarFlagGate: How Israel Set Off a Storm by Hosting a Separatist Genocide DenierWhy Israelis Should Stop Being Afraid of Mamdani-backed Brad Lander