On Sunday, just as a nor’easter began to unleash on Brooklyn, a brunette leaped over a puddle to catch Zohran Mamdani walking into Congregation Beth Elohim.
“BOOOOOOOO!” she yelled before throwing up two middle fingers with nails adorned with chipped purple polish.
Behind a police barricade, about three dozen protesters sang “Oseh Shalom,” a Jewish prayer for peace, as the front-runner in New York City’s mayoral race hurried from a black Chevrolet Suburban into the synagogue’s social hall. The protesters were not anti-Israel demonstrators—a near-nightly scene over these past two years, as many Jewish spaces became targets for anti-Israel ire. Quite the opposite. At least half of the protesters were members of Beth Elohim, which had decided to host Mamdani for a town hall–style event before next month’s mayoral election…