When New York City comes second: The problem with an Israel-first mayor

For a antheral elected to tally New York City, Zohran Mamdani spends a singular magnitude of clip reasoning astir Israel.

Before helium has solved the city’s affordability crisis, earlier New Yorkers consciousness safer connected the subway, earlier families spot cleaner streets, amended schools oregon a authorities that simply works, the socialist Mamdani has chosen to marque the Jewish authorities and its person a defining obsession — Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu.

He has publically declared that helium would question to person Israel’s premier curate arrested if Netanyahu came to New York. Whether oregon not specified a happening could ever hap is beside the point. A New York City politician has nary meaningful relation successful planetary transgression instrumentality oregon American overseas policy. Yet this became 1 of Mamdani’s earliest and astir high-profile priorities, and present helium admits helium doesn't person the ineligible authorization to bash so.

MAMDANI SAYS NYC IS EXPLORING WHETHER IT CAN ARREST NETANYAHU IF ISRAELI LEADER VISITS FOR UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks astatine a rally successful New York alongside 1199SEIU members and migration advocates aft the Supreme Court ruled the Trump medication tin revoke protections for Haitians and Syrians. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Think astir that. The politician of America’s largest metropolis looked crossed the water earlier looking crossed his ain boroughs. That tells you something. It tells you wherever his passionateness lives. It tells you what keeps him up astatine nighttime and it tells you that, for each the run rhetoric astir housing, transit and moving families, Israel occupies an bonzer spot successful his governmental imagination.

So, I’m calling him the archetypal MIGA Mayor: Make Israel Great Again. The signifier did not statesman there.

Among the earliest actions of his caller medication was revoking New York City’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s moving explanation of antisemitism. Supporters argued that the explanation could chill morganatic disapproval of Israel. Critics saw thing precise different: a metropolis stepping distant from 1 of the world’s astir wide utilized tools for recognizing modern antisemitism astatine a clip erstwhile antisemitic incidents proceed to rise.

That determination sent a message. Whether intended oregon not, galore Jewish New Yorkers heard it large and clear.

The medication besides rolled backmost an enforcement bid adopted nether Mayor Eric Adams that had sought to forestall metropolis agencies from discriminating against Israel, Israeli citizens and Israel-linked businesses done municipal contracting oregon procurement.

Again, supporters defended the change. Again, galore Jewish New Yorkers saw a acquainted pattern. One determination tin beryllium explained away. Two decisions go a trend. Three decisions go an agenda.

Then came reports that the administration’s planetary affairs bureau had planned a gathering with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations earlier the connection was abandoned. Mamdani aboriginal said helium had not approved the gathering and called it a mistake. Perhaps. But the opposition was intolerable to ignore.

THE US-ISRAEL STRATEGIC ALLIANCE – PARTNERSHIP, NOT CHARITY

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaking with inmates connected Rikers Island portion they ticker a World Cup semifinal shot lucifer connected Wednesday, July 15, 2026, successful New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

An medication consenting to research dialog with representatives of the Iranian authorities portion publically entertaining the apprehension of the elected person of Israel people raises questions astir its priorities.

None of this exists successful isolation. Mamdani proudly identifies with a governmental question successful which hostility toward Israel has go progressively central. For years we person watched the aforesaid progression.

Occupy Wall Street, field BDS campaigns, world boycotts, the Democratic Socialists of America, the Squad. Every question arrives promising economical justice.

Every question yet seems to observe that Israel has someway go 1 of its defining motivation causes. No state receives comparable scrutiny. No ideology is held to rather the aforesaid standard. No struggle consumes truthful overmuch attention.

I cognize these worlds well. While I present unrecorded successful Florida I grew up successful Brooklyn Democratic politics, wherever endorsements mattered, relationships mattered and vicinity concerns came first.

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A marcher carries a ample Israeli emblem portion wearing a bluish Yeshiva Derech HaTorah garment and walking up Fifth Avenue with chap marchers astatine the Israel Day connected Fifth parade successful New York. (SAL MEDIA)

Later, my nonrecreational beingness became devoted to warring antisemitism and introducing Americans to the Israel that headlines seldom capture: its innovation, diversity, culture, resilience and humanity. For decades those 2 worlds hardly intersected. Then New York elected Zohran Mamdani. Now they person collided.

Many radical were stunned to perceive that Jewish voters helped elite him. The world is much nuanced.

Available exit polling suggests that astir Jewish voters supported Andrew Cuomo, not Mamdani. Yet a meaningful minority, peculiarly younger and much progressive Jews, backed him. Every elector has his oregon her reasons. Some cared astir exclusively astir affordability, immoderate believed municipal authorities and Middle East authorities should stay abstracted and immoderate assumed run rhetoric would springiness mode to pragmatic governing.

The archetypal months of this medication suggest otherwise. Israel is not an occasional taxable for this mayor. It is simply a recurring theme. And that matters due to the fact that New York is location to the largest Jewish assemblage extracurricular Israel.

For millions of New Yorkers, Israel is not an abstract overseas argumentation debate.

It is family.

It is faith.

It is history.

It is identity.

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Anti-Israel activists clasp banners that include, "globalize the intifada" during a protestation commemorating Nakba Day connected May 15, 2025 successful the Brooklyn, New York. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

When elected officials repeatedly azygous retired the world’s lone Jewish authorities for exceptional condemnation, galore Jews bash not acquisition that arsenic mean governmental disagreement. It’s antisemitism.

They acquisition it arsenic portion of a clime that has made Jewish schools prosecute much security, synagogues instal much barriers and Jewish students wonderment whether expressing a transportation to Israel volition marque them targets.

New Yorkers elected a politician to obsess implicit New York, implicit crime, implicit housing, implicit sanitation, implicit schools. Over whether a household tin spend to enactment successful the city.

Instead, they person a politician who appears to reserve his top passionateness for litigating the legitimacy of a state astir six 1000 miles away. Every politician leaves a signature. Some physique parks, immoderate trim transgression and immoderate alteration neighborhoods.

Zohran Mamdani is penning a antithetic legacy. He is becoming the politician who cannot halt talking astir Israel portion New Yorkers hold for him to absorption connected New York.

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The Big Apple deserves a politician whose archetypal precedence is the radical who elected him. Instead, it has 1 who seems determined to combat battles acold beyond the 5 boroughs.