For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

In Texas, the Republican primary voters overwhelmingly voted for Ken Paxton over the current longtime Senator John Cornyn to be the party’s candidate for senator in the November 2026 election. By the time this column is published, Democratic primary voters will choose Graham Platner over the sitting Governor Janet Mills to be the Democratic Party’s candidate for senator. I can spend a good portion of the article mentioning the slimy and possibly illegal things that both Paxton and Platner have done. As a Jew, I find Platner having a Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo, which he claims he did not know the symbolism of, especially hard to take. Now Platner has gone from extreme right-wing to extreme progressive.

I expect that my fellow columnists will dissect the Nakba Day video, a propaganda piece put out by Zohran Mamdani right before Shabbos, using taxpayer funds. I could also join in showing the falsities and distortions, but I want to address other issues. I would hope that this finally puts to rest the belief of Jews who voted for Mamdani that he would be more moderate once he became mayor. They were not the first, and unfortunately, may not be the last Jews to believe that those whose hatred of Jews is spelled out before they obtain power will change once they obtain power. Kudos to the many Jewish organizations, including UJA and JCRC, for not attending the annual Jewish Heritage event at Gracie Mansion in response to Mamdani’s video.

This past Shabbos, when I decided to mention the parade at the end of davening although it was not listed on the announcements, I said that the choice was standing with Mamdani (by not going) or with Israel (by going). Some people were taken aback by my comment. I was happy to note that many people looked at it the way I framed it and showed up. The antisemitism and the anti-Zionism in this country, not to mention globally, plus Mamdani not showing up, spurred people to come out. It was reported that this may have been the largest crowd ever. I do not have any firsthand knowledge about that, but I noticed many more people watching the parade than in many previous years. The crowd stood even a few blocks past where the parade was to end.

It was not too long ago that CUNY Law School was the outlier when it came to anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric by its students. Unfortunately, it is becoming mainstream.

One way you can tell that those involved know what they are doing is wrong is to observe the circumstances surrounding the conduct. Two examples are the Orwellian (in this columnist’s opinion) $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, and giving Trump, his businesses, and his family immunity from any possible tax law violations or any penalties for tax years up to the present date.

This past Sunday was the Five Boro Bike Tour. I was nervous about whether I would be able to ride after I finished my volunteer work for the event, due to my lack of riding this spring and gaining weight this past year. It was a little cold and windy, especially on the Queensboro and the Verrazzano Bridges.