Jewish News Syndicate: Zohran Mamdani’s long war on Israel
From wannabe rapper to New York assemblyman, he has emerged as one of the frontrunners vying to be the Democratic Party's New York City mayoral candidate.
This article first appeared in Jewish News Syndicate.
The New York City mayoral primary race is coming to a close on June 24, and an unlikely candidate, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, has become its star. Yet Jews and all New Yorkers should be concerned about Mamdani’s antisemitic past and present.
Mamdani is one of several people vying to be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor. Among his opponents is former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has the support of the organized Orthodox Jewish community.
Mamdani’s Facebook profile features a video of him standing in front of the Israeli Consulate in New York with members of Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel group that routinely calls for abolishing Zionism, surrounded by signs with slogans including, “There is only one solution, Intifada Revolution.” The American Jewish Committee defines “intifada” refers to as “periods of intense Palestinian protest against Israel, mainly in the form of violent terrorism.” Mamdani is also seen chanting “BDS! BDS!” Mamdani’s support for terrorism and boycotting the world’s only Jewish state ought to make him persona non grata in America’s most Jewish city.
How is it that Mamdani, who, until recently, was an obscure state assemblyman, is so close to city hall in America’s most Jewish city?
The child of two successful immigrants, Mamdani has an unusual background, even by New York’s melting pot standards. Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and Cape Town, South Africa, his family moved to New York when he was 7. His parents have never been shy about opposing the existence of Israel.
His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a professor of anthropology at Columbia University who specializes in the study of “colonialism, anti-colonialism and decolonization.” During a 2014 speech, the elder Mamdani said, “Jews can have a homeland in historic Palestine, but not a state.” This language may be par for the course at Columbia, a once-respected Ivy League university now known for pro-Hamas encampments, but it meets the working definition of antisemitism as outlined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which includes “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination.”
Mamdani’s mother, Mira Nair, a respected Bollywood film director, is not much different. This year, Canary Mission reported that Nair “was one of 100 ‘film workers’ who signed an open letter calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to forbid Israeli actress Gal Gadot from attending the Oscars.” As far back as 2013, Nair was part of a cultural boycott against Israel and refused to travel to the country after being invited to headline a film festival in Haifa.
The big apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
As a student at Bowdoin College in the early 2010s, Mandami co-founded the college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. Mamdani also wrote a column in the student newspaper urging Bowdoin to shun Israeli academics in solidarity with the BDS campaign.
He had a short stint as a rapper under the name Mr. Cardamom, but his career went in a different direction as he became a housing counselor and an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). DSA blamed Israel for the Oct. 7 massacre without mentioning Hamas in its statement.
Thus far, the throughline in Mamdani’s career and activism is hating Israel.
As Black Lives Matter protests engulfed the country in flames and violence in 2020, Mamdani ran as a DSA candidate for the New York State Assembly for the 36th District and won, beating a Democratic incumbent in the primary.
The media alike couldn’t resist the feel-good story of the scrappy immigrant Mamdani, son of an Ivy League professor and famous film director, bootstrapping his way from Bowdoin College to the state assembly. Jacobin magazine, named after the violent insurrectionists behind France’s Reign of Terror, mentioned him in a story about “socialist insurgents” taking over New York. The New York Times quoted his tweet, “Socialism won,” about left-wing victories in the legislature.
In the current legislative session, Mamdani sponsored New York’s “Not on our dime!” bill, which aims to dissolve state-registered charities that fundraise in support of Israel’s military. The bill is in committee with no vote scheduled.
At a recent UJA-Federation of New York forum, Mamdani said, “My support for BDS is consistent with the core of my politics, which is nonviolence, and I think that it is a legitimate movement when you are seeking to find compliance with international law.” He may say the core of his politics is nonviolence, yet he supports organizations that condone Palestinian terrorism and condemn Israel.
Mamdani’s story is, indeed, unique. But amid his experiences, one theme is consistent: his anti-Israel sentiment. New Yorkers ought to question the motives of a candidate whose animating mission is to delegitimize the world’s only Jewish state.
This article first appeared in Jewish News Syndicate.
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New Yorkers are so foolish that they will likely have this unserious buffoon for their new Mayor. And he will waste no time in driving the city to bottom of New York Harbor.
It'll be David Dinkins 2.0
Huh, another (part?) Indian anti-semite. There seem to be a lot of them for some reason.