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<\/a><\/p>\nHouse Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), arrives for his weekly news conference on Mar. 30, 2023. (Tom Williams\/CQ Roll Call\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Some local Jewish leaders are starting to push back. They have jumped to the defense of Jeffries, a moderate pro-Israel stalwart who represents the 8th Congressional District in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust hours after the election, they\u2019re publicly threatening the highest ranking black Democratic official in America,\u201d David Greenfield, CEO of the Met Council, a Jewish charity in New York, wrote on social media on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Responding to the \u201cYou\u2019re next!\u201d chants, Greenfield warned that the \u201cnext DSA move is not to make peace, but rather go to war with liberal Dems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, praised Jeffries on social media on Wednesday, defending him as \u201ca dedicated public servant defined by honesty, hard work, honor and an unwavering commitment to delivering for the people he represents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Treyger predicted Jeffries would outlast the wave of left-wing insurgents. \u201cPolitical winds come and go. Character endures,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
But the winds right now seem to be at the backs of the Democratic Socialists of America, the political organization that many candidates who espouse the left-wing ideology identify with.<\/p>\n
Nine of 10 candidates backed by New York City\u2019s DSA won their primaries Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Of all the DSA\u2019s triumphal moments, however, the most widely circulated clip from the party was not a speech, nor one of many moments of celebration, but the call to oust Jeffries.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re next! You\u2019re next!\u201d attendees chanted after Jeffries appeared on TVs at the 99 Scott Studio event space, where chants of \u201cDSA!\u201d and \u201cFree Palestine!\u201d also broke out.<\/p>\n
\u201cHakeem Jeffries is not going to sleep well tonight,\u201d wrote DSA member Asad Dandia, Brooklyn\u2019s borough historian, who was appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. \u201cGood. We\u2019re coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bull\u2019s eye on Jeffries\u2019 back exemplifies how the series of resounding victories is keeping the DSA\u2019s foot on the gas pedal, raising alarms for many in the Jewish community concerned by their stridently anti-Israel messaging and their desire to take aim at establishment pro-Israel heavyweights.<\/p>\n
There are two ways that Jeffries could theoretically be ousted as the Democrats\u2019 leader in Congress: Either House Democrats select another leader in a caucus vote, or 8th district constituents vote in a primary challenger in 2028. (Jeffries ran unopposed this election cycle.)<\/p>\n
Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist, said in an interview that Jeffries is \u201cprobably safe leadership-wise, especially if Democrats win the House\u201d in November. Democrats would need to agree on another leader, Coffey said, and would risk splitting their own vote and potentially allowing a Republican to become the House Speaker.<\/p>\n
But as the demographics shift in Jeffries\u2019 district, Coffey said the lawmaker needs \u201cto be mindful\u201d as the DSA eyes where it will launch its next round of primary challenges.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader and another powerful pro-Israel figure, could face a progressive challenger. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has long been rumored as a potential candidate, and the NYC-DSA is reportedly looking for a Mamdani-like unknown should she decide not to run.<\/p>\n
Jeffries has drawn the ire of progressives over the years as a moderate lawmaker with an endorsement from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbying group \u2014 support that is anathema for the DSA, which adheres to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. (The endorsement also earned him the nickname \u201cAIPAC Shakur,\u201d a play on the name of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur, from radio host Charlamagne tha God.)<\/p>\n
Coffey noted that Israel is a significant factor in the left-wing push against both Jeffries and Schumer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at a time right now when anti-incumbent, combined with anti-Israel, is rising through a lot of DSA and DSA-adjacent folks,\u201d Coffey said in an interview. \u201cAnd they\u2019re a growing bloc within the Democratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about a potential challenge against Jeffries in 2028, Coffey said the district\u2019s growing population of young constituents could chip away at his support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing is younger people, many white but not all white, are vibing for the far left,\u201d Coffey said. \u201cAnd if that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s going to be anxiety-ridden for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pro-Palestinian protests have been held outside Jeffries\u2019 office, including one NYC-DSA demonstration in November 2023 in which protesters demanded that he \u201cstop supporting genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the left-wing party saw both of its endorsees for Congress, Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, win the Democratic nomination in their respective districts with campaigns that emphasized opposing AIPAC and U.S. support for Israel.<\/p>\n
Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier have been noncommittal when asked whether they\u2019d support Jeffries as speaker of the House should Democrats take control in November. For his part, Brad Lander, who was endorsed by Mamdani and won on Tuesday in the 10th Congressional District, has said he \u201clooks forward\u201d to electing Jeffries as House speaker.<\/p>\n
The NYC-DSA had considered launching a primary challenge against Jeffries last year, though Mamdani reportedly intervened to dissuade progressive City Council and DSA member Chi Osse from doing so. The group\u2019s strong showing on Tuesday had at least one DSA official second-guessing what a primary would have looked like: \u201cChi would have won,\u201d wrote NYC-DSA\u2019s co-chair, Gustavo Gordillo.<\/p>\n
Still, the DSA is \u201csurrounding\u201d Jeffries with socialist politicians \u2014 including Osse \u2014 in his homebase of Bed-Stuy, NYC-DSA\u2019s co-chair Grace Mausser told journalist Ben Max in an interview last week. Mausser said that \u201cexerts pressure on him and moves him in a way to be more bold when he\u2019s fighting Trump and leading the Democratic Party in Congress.\u201d Mausser did not rule out the possibility of a DSA-backed primary challenge for Jeffries\u2019 seat in 2028 or 2030.<\/p>\n
Mamdani, who has emerged as a political kingmaker in New York City, told reporters on Wednesday that he is \u201clooking forward to working with Congressman Jeffries on delivering for the people of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
The relationship between the mayor and Jeffries has been put under the microscope, as Mamdani boosted two candidates who defeated incumbent Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both of whom Jeffries had endorsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mayor and I agree to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements,\u201d Jeffries told reporters, when asked if Mamdani was making enemies on Capitol Hill. \u201cAnd he\u2019s got work to do in terms of conversations that he\u2019s going to have with members of Congress moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, many have suggested that Ocasio-Cortez, one of the faces of NYC-DSA, could launch a challenge against Schumer in two years. She has declined to directly respond when asked about her intentions.<\/p>\n
Gordillo told Politico this week that the group could also back somebody who is currently a relative unknown against Schumer. \u201cWhen we first ran Zohran Mamdani\u2019s mayoral candidacy he was at 1 percent in the polls,\u201d Gordillo said. \u201cFew people knew who he was outside of his district and our organization. I don\u2019t see why we can\u2019t do that for a Senate race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schumer, the most senior Jewish elected official in U.S. history, has also run afoul of progressives, and only 39% of Democrats said they approve of the job he\u2019s doing, per a December Gallup poll. He\u2019s been criticized by many Democrats for not taking a strong enough approach against President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Various left-wing and anti-Zionist groups have demonstrated outside Schumer\u2019s office, calling on him to block weapons sales to Israel. Valdez and Avila Chevalier have both been arrested while participating in those protests. (Schumer was one of seven Senate Democrats who voted against the most recent resolution to block certain weapons sales.)<\/p>\n
The number of DSA members of Congress is set to jump from two \u2014 Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez \u2014 to at least five in January. Valdez, Avila Chevalier and Pennsylvania\u2019s Chris Rabb, who are set to join them, each take sharp stances against Israel that include ending all military aid and placing complete arms embargoes on the Jewish state.<\/p>\n
Jeffries dismissed the idea that Tuesday\u2019s results would have that kind of impact, telling reporters before polls closed that a few primaries \u201caren\u2019t going to reshape\u201d the House Democratic Caucus.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, as progressives celebrated their victories over Jeffries\u2019 endorsed candidates, some Republicans poked fun with the minority leader\u2019s losses.<\/p>\n
The National Republican Congressional Committee left flowers and a condolence card on the door to his office in Washington D.C., and provided Fox News with a statement explaining the delivery:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted so-called \u2018Leader\u2019 Jeffries to know our thoughts are with him, his candidates, and whatever remains of his influence in the Democrat Party.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffries and Schumer could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n