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- New York is a reliably blue state, but in the Long Island suburb of Great Neck, it leans distinctly conservative. This is driven in part by the thriving Iranian-Jewish community where the Iran war and support for Israel are top issues ahead of the midterms. I'm Michelle Hackman, and I've been covering policy for the Wall Street Journal in Washington for a decade. But to me, Great Neck New York is home. Across the country, the war in Iran is the unexpected issue defining this year's midterm elections. - We're now in the throes of having an even greater victory against Iran and stopping them from ever having a nuclear weapon.
- The ongoing conflict is deeply unpopular with nearly two thirds of Americans opposing it. And public opinion over the US's ally in the war, Israel, has fractured political parties and reshaped the partisan landscape as Israel enters its fourth year in its war with Hamas. Jewish Americans hold diverse views on the war in Israel, and a majority of them oppose the conflict in Iran. But the Iranian Jews of Great Neck are some of Israel's fiercest defenders and some of the most supportive of Trump's decision to go to war. - My dream my whole life has been this war. The dream is for the people of Iran to be free from the regime that they are under.
- In this episode of "Rooted In," I'm going home for the Jewish holidays. I talk to family, community members, and local officials about the foreign policy debates driving some of the most divisive politics in America today and how it's shaping their choices at the ballot box. Before heading to Great Neck, I'm starting in Manhattan's Diamond District. I'm meeting my dad for lunch. - Congratulations on your wedding.
- Oh my gosh. Thank you. Yes. - We're like celebrities. - This is where Great Neck's Persian Jewish community carved out a niche in the jewelry business nearly half a century ago. Basically since I was really little, I'd always come here and we got to go to the big city with my dad. Do you remember? - Yeah. Then we bring some stones for you to look at, right? And see how you like it, how would you like to come in this business?
- Did I ever seem interested? - Not really. - My dad came to the US from Tehran in 1978 when he sensed unrest rocking the city. Both of my parents' families were entrenched in Iran's Jewish community that thrived in the 20th century under the Shah's rule. My dad left months before the Shah's Western back to government was overthrown by a strict Islamist regime that was unfriendly to religious minorities.
- When the Shah was removed from office, the Jews were afraid because we didn't know what's gonna happen. When I left, I said, "God, am I gonna see my family again?" - Now, the US is at war with my dad's home country. In February, the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Trump has framed the campaign as a necessary attack on Iran's nuclear capabilities. But with no clear end in sight, most Americans object to the US's involvement in Iran.
The majority of Iranian Americans also oppose the war, but there is a strong contingent, particularly in Great Neck who support it. Many here even feel that Trump hasn't gone far enough to force regime change. You remember that morning we woke up and that we got this news alert, they're bombing Iran? - Yeah. - And I called you and do you remember what you said? - I said one day I hope I can go back and visit my childhood city.
Our presidents, everybody says Iranian government is dangerous, they wanna make nuclear bomb, but none of them did anything. - Since the initial US-Israeli offensive, the war has settled into an uneasy standoff, with Trump weighing an escalation of strikes after the midterm elections. It's September and in Great Neck, the war hangs over preparations for the Jewish high holidays. I visited my cousin, Jamie, as she was preparing Seder plates for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
- Hey. - Hi. How are you? - How are you. Enter at your own risk, okay? Kitchen is chaotic. We're just getting the Seder prep ready. So we have the apple, we have the honey, we have the pomegranate, we have the date. - Only Persian Jews do a Seder for Rosh Hashanah. - It's fascinating to me because I think that's all we've been exposed to and I though that's what everyone does. I am grateful that I'm surrounded by community that embraces the Jewish community. - Since Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel and Israel's ensuing military actions in Gaza, the conflict has created a new fissure in American politics.
In the US, support for Israel's military actions in Gaza has deteriorated, especially among Democrats and people under 50. - I think pre-October 7th and post-October 7th, I think I woke up and I realized that all the antisemitism I had learned about was a reality. - A debate has erupted over whether criticism of Israel equates to antisemitism and has highlighted a deep divide in the American public, with about one third of US adults viewing Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide. That's a charge
that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied. - I don't have to give anybody here an education or a lesson in how important these elections are and what's at stake. You all read the papers, you watch the news. - As the chair of both the Nassau County and New York State Democratic Parties, Jay Jacobs has had to navigate his party's growing split over foreign policy.
- Us Democrats, we're very different. - I joined Jacobs as he rallied voters at a canvassing event ahead of the midterms. - I think this year is gonna be a big year for us. We just got to keep tight and just keep building. - In recent years, policy and rhetoric around Israel has divided the Democratic Party, creating rifts between establishment Democrats and newer voices that are further to the left. How deeply are you feeling some of these splits in your own party? You represent the whole state.
I mean, that must be a really broad swath. - Yeah, I have angry people on both sides. I have Jewish Democrats who tell me they'll never vote Democratic again. They believe that we're soft on antisemitism. Somebody says something which sounds to you that they're criticizing Israel, all of a sudden they're anti-Semitic. Well, they're not anti-Semitic. They may be anti people getting killed. I hear from my friends from the far left of the party, if you can't say that Israel's committing genocide, then they write you off.
- Far left candidates have gained traction nationwide recently, and especially here in New York. Many of them, as well as New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, have been critical of Israel. - The Israeli government used and continues to use that day, those war crimes as a justification for an ongoing genocide against Palestinians. - I noticed you were one of the most senior Democrats in the state not to endorse Zohran Mamdani. How did you make that choice?
- That was based on some of Zohran Mamdani's specific comments as they related to the existence of the state of Israel, and to the actions of the state of Israel, and I don't choose to endorse a socialist. - We're here trying to learn a little bit more about how politics in the Middle East are affecting people's voting. Is that something that you've been thinking about a lot this election? - I think the local issues are particularly affordability are much higher on my list. - Cost of living is a top issue for voters across the country, and the war has only made it worse.
The price of oil shot up after blockades along the Strait of Hormuz triggered a global economic crisis. The vast majority of Americans say they are either extremely or very concerned about higher gas and fuel prices from the Iran war, about 73%, close to the percentage who are extremely concerned about American troops being killed or wounded. - Affordability is tough, understanding what's happening in the Middle East are affecting us back home, right? It's so far away, yet it has such a big impact. - What has that meant for you? - I mean, gas prices. - I'm just so curious.
I mean, what is your experience like as a Persian Democrat living in Great Neck? - So it didn't used to really matter years ago. I think when Trump ran that first year it became very divided. The community's very conservative. And also then it was about Israel. They're one issue voter really at the heart of it. - I met up with Meran Hakimian, a leader in the Iranian-Jewish community for lunch at a Persian restaurant in Great Neck.
He prides himself on bringing the needs of the Persian Jewish community to the attention of politicians and hosts fundraisers for local and national candidates who support Israel. What has happened over time with your trust in the Democrats? - I can see when I have my private conversations with them that they are very much scared. It seems like they don't have the backbone to fight this wave that's coming at them. - America is divided. Everybody's fighting with each other.
- In 2024, Great Neck's congressional district was one of 13 districts in the country to vote for Trump, but elect a Democrat to Congress. This Democrat was Tom Suozzi, and he's up for reelection this November. - This institutional pressure and this toxicity from social media, cable news, our foreign adversaries, and the need to win a primary is pulling us apart. - Currently, Republicans control both the US House and Senate. Congress has voted on multiple resolutions that aim to stop the war in Iran.
None of these have successfully stopped the White House from continuing the conflict, but Suozzi's choice to align himself with the rest of his party and push for an end to the war alienated some of his constituents. I know you've supported Suozzi in the past, - Right. I done fundraiser for him. I've supported him. - You think Tom Suozzi believes in this war? - I don't know what his party's intentions are at this point. If his opponent is coming out and saying that this war is important and they have to finish the job, how can I take a chance?
- Hakimian now says he'll vote Republican in the upcoming election. Suozzi declined an interview and didn't respond to the journal's request for comment. While the war is a powerful motivator in Great Neck, Nassau County Republicans aiming for higher office face a very different political reality across the rest of the state. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who's the Republican candidate for New York governor, has Donald Trump's endorsement. Yet in this deep blue state, he's trailing 11 points behind incumbent governor Kathy Hochul. He stopped by the Wall Street Journal office while out campaigning in Manhattan.
How do you feel the war is actually going as it is? - I trust President Trump and what he's done so far. I think that people who criticize President Trump on both sides, those who say he's done too much and those who say he's not done enough, I don't think they understand the realities of the situation. - And you think even with the associated costs, it is worth continuing to fight that war sort of as long as it takes? - There can be no backpedaling on the fact that we have to make sure, 100% sure, that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.
- We blow 'em up, make a deal, but the time is coming. It's gonna end very soon one way or the other. - Before I headed back to DC, I visited my parents' house to see the sukkah they'd constructed for Sukkot, the Jewish Harvest Festival. - All the declarations that the kid put on there. - They did a lot of- - They put their pictures. - Their pictures, they did.
- For the people I spoke with in Great Neck, the intersecting conflicts in the Middle East are personal. Many are strong supporters of Israel and want regime change in Iran, their homeland. After months of war, they're hoping the US will stay the course. - We were born there, so we have a feeling for those people. - At the beginning, they got all so happy. We though it's gonna be the end of this- - Murderous regime, you know? - Regime, but you know, I don't think it's that easy. It's not that easy.
