Suppose someone walked into Salt Lake City, stood in the middle of a crowd of people, and started making insensitive comments about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. To most, that person would seem either mindless, discriminatory or both. Regardless, that person is deserving of condemnation for disrespect for Mormon culture.
Now, suppose the same person was running for mayor in Salt Lake City, which is the metropolitan area where the largest concentration of Mormons live. Understandably, some would be scratching their heads, wondering, “How did we get here?” Others would be concerned because, regardless of whether this hypothetical mayor was ill-informed or simply disliked Mormons, the candidate demonstrated gross negligence towards the population they claim to protect.
It is clear that this candidate should not be elected as he endangers a large portion of the population. But as of Oct. 4, Salt Lake City is New York City, and the hypothetical mayor is mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani has taken a slew of alarming stances on Jewish issues, such as claiming that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, announcing that he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to New York City and supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Mamdani’s stances have led to condemnations by the Jewish community via an open letter signed by 1,183 Jewish spiritual leaders, a letter from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) worried about Mamdani’s plan to protect New York’s Jewish population and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expanding programs due to concerns that Mamdani has promoted antisemitism and demonstrated hostility toward the Jewish State of Israel.
While we are blessed to live in a country that values free speech, varied viewpoints and open dialogue, Mamdani’s words are different; his words represent the sentiment of the city with the largest population of Jews outside of Israel. His speeches have been rooted in insensitivity toward the Jewish community, especially after Oct. 7. But the real problem is that some of his comments have been factually incorrect, leading me to be suspicious and deeply concerned that the mayor-elect is not just delegitimizing the Jewish community, but doing so with a disregard for truth.
So what has he actually said?
Problem #1: At a United Jewish Appeal Federation town hall in May, 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.”
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement calls for the delegitimization of the Jewish state and the ostracization of Israeli organizations around the world. While this comment on its own is directly antithetical to many Jews, including our school’s values of loving and supporting Israel. Mamdani defended his backing of BDS as “consistent with the core of my politics, which is nonviolence.” While BDS hides under the guise of nonviolence, the reality is that many pro-BDS movements incite violence through slogans such as “globalize the intifada,” calling for violence against all Jewish people. Given Mamdani’s rationale to support BDS because he supports nonviolence, his comments are disturbing, as either he does not understand the full breadth of the BDS movement, or he is disregarding the truth as a defense for his support for BDS.
Problem #2: In June, Mamdani was asked whether or not he condemned the phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” with Intifada representing the call for violence against all Jewish people. He declined to condemn the phrase outright, saying, “I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech.”
While he is touching on the importance of free speech in America, there are explicit uses of speech that are not protected under the First Amendment, namely speech “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action,” according to Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The phrase “Globalize the Intifada” is a direct call for violence against Jews, making it absolutely the government’s responsibility to condemn and punish those who use that phrase. Mamdani’s misunderstanding that it is his role as mayor to punish those who use that phrase is alarming.
Problem #3: Mamdani told the New York Times in September that he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in accordance with the International Criminal Court’s ruling if Netanyahu came to New York City. While shortsighted in its own right, that Mamdani believes Netanyahu is a war criminal, his blatant false promises raise a bigger red flag. The United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court, thereby giving Mamdani zero grounds to arrest Netanyahu. Matthew C. Waxman, a professor at Columbia Law School, said that “this statement is more a political stunt than a serious law-enforcement policy.”
These problems are not just minor slipups. These are massive miscalculations, Mamdani continues to reaffirm time and time again. It is one thing to have a tactical politician who attacks Israel and makes factually accurate claims to support a stance. It is another to have a mayor-elect with an open agenda against a large population of his governance (Jewish citizens) with a willingness to bend or ignore truth to suit his own aims when it comes to the State of Israel and Judaism today, forms a dangerous combination.
Mamdani’s disdain for Israel, with disregard for fact when truth prevents him from furthering his agenda, creates a shocking reality for New Yorkers, Americans and all people who value truth, nonviolence and equal treatment under the law. I did not think that I would live to see someone with these qualities elected in our beloved country.
Jews around the world must realize that it is not just Mamdani’s political positions that are concerning: it is his unwillingness to engage with the truths of the War in Gaza, the true nature of the BDS movement and the limits of jurisdiction in his own city. Mamdani’s win is a reminder to Jews that we are not safe unless we galvanize support for truth. In fact, it is not just Jews who are threatened – all Americans are at risk.
History has proven that when truth is discarded for an agenda, only malice and chaos ensue. As we turn the page into a new chapter of New York City’s story, we must learn to utilize our beautiful democracy and elect candidates who understand how to subjugate their own beliefs in the service of the truth and the collective good.
