Assemblymember and candidate for New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a mayoral candidates discussion board.
Picture by Gabriele Holtermann
New York wants a mayor for all 8 million residents, no matter who they’re. If a New Yorker can not converse and act in protection of all New Yorkers, they aren’t match to steer this metropolis.
Such is the case with Queens Meeting Member Zohran Mamdani, who has demonstrated by way of deeds, not phrases, an unwillingness to face with 1.3 million Jewish New Yorkers in a metropolis with the biggest Jewish inhabitants outdoors of Israel.
When he had the chance to signal on to an Meeting decision honoring Israel on the 77th anniversary of her founding as a state, Mamdani refused to place his identify to it. This isn’t stunning, on condition that he has beforehand supported the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) motion in opposition to Israel and has been an outspoken opponent of Israel’s conflict in opposition to Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
However when he had the chance to signal on to a separate Meeting decision condemning the Holocaust — the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews and 6 million different individuals of different backgrounds by Nazi Germany — Mamdani additionally refused to place his identify to it.
Simply 5 members of the 150-person Meeting didn’t signal at the least one of many two resolutions honoring Israel’s anniversary and condemning the Holocaust. Mamdani refused to signal each. That speaks volumes, in our view, as to the place he stands.
He can say what he professes to imagine into any microphone he desires, however his actions (or inactions, on this case) converse a lot louder.
Jewish New Yorkers voting on this yr’s Democratic main have confronted a wave of antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023. They rightly wonder if the candidates on the poll will help them on this hour of want, and reassure their proper to exist in peace on this metropolis and around the globe.
In refusing to signal both decision this yr, Mamdani despatched a damning message to Jewish New Yorkers on this election yr: He doesn’t have their again.
If an elected official can not supply the only but most essential gestures to help Israel’s proper to exist and denounce the horrors of the Holocaust in writing and with a vote on the ground, then they aren’t certified to steer the Metropolis of New York and function our consultant to the world.
