More than three hundred people crowded into the Whitestone Republican Club in northeast Queens last week to hear Republican politicians endorse Curtis Sliwa for NYC mayor. I was one of them, curious to learn more about the Republican candidate in the most consequential election in the city’s history.

On its website, the first stated mission of the Whitestone Club affirms America to be the “the greatest country in the history of the world”. It is followed by a pledge to the “three pillars of our system: Individual Rights, Free-Markets and the Rule of Law.”

The threat to these values is exactly what drew the mostly older blue-collar crowd. They were predominantly white, with a handful of blacks and Asians, and even fewer Orthodox Jews. With the feel of an indoor Trump rally, they cheered NYC Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, Congressman Mike Lawler, and former Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who all enthusiastically endorsed the founder of the Guardian Angels for mayor.

However, beyond the feeling of cheerful camaraderie was a pervading sense of fear. These hardworking homeowners, who make up a solid middle class, are alarmed by the threat that Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani poses to their lives and livelihoods.

“NYC drives America,” Lawler said. “It is the financial capital of the world. Those buildings in Manhattan didn’t get built by socialism or communism. They got built by capitalism. You have an avowed socialist, a trust fund baby whose mommy made movies, whose daddy teaches communism at Columbia University, talking about ‘seizing the means of production’. He’s opposed to capitalism and wants to ban the billionaires. Guess what? You ban the billionaires and capitalism, no one is going to be here to pay for your free grocery stores or your free bus rides or freezing the rent.”

Hikind predicted a 25% drop in property values “the next day, if G-d forbid this guy wins.” But he was most impassioned when describing Mamdani’s blatant antisemitism and his support for “globalize the intifada”.

“When buses and pizza places in Israel were being blown up, and men, women and children were murdered; when a hotel in Netanya on Passover night was blown up and 30 people murdered, that was the intifada,” Hikind said.

All the speakers agreed that the threat is even greater, considering that one cannot deny the brilliance of Mamdani’s campaign. Or the slavish devotion of the volunteers who used social media to get out the vote and attract masses of young people who were otherwise not politically engaged.

Yes, Mamdani promises the world. And he is charismatic and charming. But so is the devil.

When the event was over, I turned to the black woman sitting next to me who had energetically applauded the speakers. I told her how I admired her enthusiasm and commented on how frightening the situation is. “Especially for you Jews,” she replied. “I’m scared for you. We will pray for you. We will fight for you.”

Nothing that was said the entire night hit me in the gut like those words did. The crystallization of the fear, which Jews have been wrestling with since Mamdani’s victory, by an outsider augmented that fear a hundredfold, despite her kind commiseration. Indeed, her very commiseration only served to amplify my anxiety, making the necessity for it all the more palpable.

It also drove home the urgency to defeat the danger.

A new poll from HarrisX finds the New York City mayoral race tightening up, with Mamdani statistically tied with former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa in a four-way race. Mayor Eric Adams is a distant fourth.

While Cuomo’s supporters quickly ditched him after his dismal primary loss and threw their support behind Adams, Cuomo announced that he is staying in the race as an independent. And he is asking Mamdani’s opponents to pledge to drop out of the race in mid-September if they are not leading.

Both Adams and Sliwa say nothing doing. Which leaves a fractured race still fractured, and vulnerable New Yorkers even more vulnerable.

It boils down to anyone but Mamdani. And that means we need to consider everyone but Mamdani.

During the primary, Jews had no choice but to look away from Cuomo’s prejudiced mistreatment of Jewish communities during Covid, among other slights. They buried that hatchet, held their nose, and voted for him. If any perceived or actual snubs by Mamdani’s remaining opponents exist, Jews need to do the same.

All components of NYC’s diverse Jewish community - Orthodox, Chassidic, Sephardic and others - need to join forces as soon as possible to strategize on how to most effectively unite behind one candidate to defeat their nemesis in the Democratic camp.

Anyone who remembers the Crown Heights riots remembers the inefficacy of an indifferent and inept mayor in Gracie Mansion. Imagine the damage that can be done by a mayor who may actually endorse such riots. Especially a mayor who vows to defund the police.

This is not fear mongering. It is facing reality.

The Jewish population in NYC numbers close to one million. Even without the considerable number of unaffiliated Jews, many of whom are also unaffiliated with the concept of self-preservation, Jews make up a sizeable voting bloc. If Jews were to get out the vote with the same vigor that the Muslim candidate did, their ranks could be crucial and formidable. But their votes will only prevail if they’re cast for the same candidate.

Amidst the alarming rise in antisemitic crime in NYC, Adams decries antisemitism and recently signed a historic executive order to recognize the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. But his polling numbers, as of now, are discouraging.

Sliwa, who has been a notable presence at every pro-Israel rally for decades, has repeatedly spoken out against antisemitism and anti-Zionism on air as a popular radio talk show host. During the Crown Heights riots, Orthodox Jews under attack asked the Guardian Angels to help them when Mayor Dinkins told the NYPD to stand down.

Is Sliwa the answer? Are one of the Independents the answer?

The only real answer is to unite behind one candidate with the best shot at winning. Jews cannot afford to play politics until mid-September when so much is at stake.

Sara Lehmann is an award-winning New York based columnist and interviewer. For more of her writings please visit saralehmann.com.

Sent to Arutz Sheva by the author. A version of this article first appeared in Hamodia.