In case anyone had any doubts as to where Zohran Mamdani stood with the Jewish community, he quickly dispelled them on the night of his inauguration.
One of Mamdani’s first acts was to undo many of the executive orders of his mayoral predecessor. Included in those orders was the adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, the illegalizing of protest gatherings outside of a house of worship, plus a wide range of orders making it illegal to boycott trade and investment with the State of Israel.
Mamdani also displayed his true political leanings when he was one of the first to criticize Donald Trump for the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. There is nothing, apparently, that the United States can do to fight illegal drugs and their scourge among untold thousands of Americans, young and old alike. He said something mealy-mouthed, like he will stand up to protect all New Yorkers. I guess protecting New Yorkers from the real death threat of drugs is not a noble pursuit.
So, there you have it. Just a few days into his administration and Mamdani is showing his true colors.
The ADL, which has finally returned to defending Jews after years of Trump-bashing, is monitoring Mamdani’s appointments. So far, of the approximately 400 appointments Mamdani has made, approximately 20 percent are individuals who have practiced anti-Semitism or who have taken extremely negative views on Zionism.
What does this mean for us? It means troubling days are ahead – not only for Jews but for New Yorkers in general, as Mamdani seeks to turn the city into a socialist mecca. How he reconciles swearing on the Quran with his sweeping socialist agenda is beyond me. He made it clear that he favors the LGBTQ community above all else. He even hired an LGBTQ woman to serve as fire commissioner, despite her never having served in the Fire Department. Who knows how many lives that will cost?
The Quran and Muslims throughout the world make very clear their disdain for members of that community. What were Muslims thinking when they overwhelmingly voted for him? I guess the main things are affordability and anti-Zionism.
What’s left for us to do is to fight tooth and nail against any of his moves to ostracize the Jews. The ADL must continue to be vigilant, and watchdog groups must be on guard. Imagine had he held similar views against African Americans. Every pundit from left to right would be up in arms, making it impossible to fulfill his agenda. Or, had a candidate held such negative views on Muslims, the political drums would be beating day and night.
Yes, we Jews are different, but it should not prevent us from speaking up. I wonder how those 37 percent of Jews who voted for Mamdani feel now. Probably not much different. If they were demented enough to vote for Mamdani, then there is really no way that they would feel any regret now.
But as Donald Trump said when grazed by a bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania: “Fight, fight, fight!”
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.
