Good news from the USA at last
JVL Introduction
Zohran Mamdani will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for Mayor of New York; the city with the largest concentration of Jews outside of Israel – and guess what, tens of thousands of Jews voted for him and others, especially in the corners of the Jewish Establishment are furious and something else – this is not about us!
Mamdani is a progressive candidate who has clear plans for improving the lives of New Yorkers, above all by focusing on making the city affordable and with a clear plan for how to do it. As a bonus Trump is steaming with anger, calling him a ‘a 100% Communist Lunatic’ and panic may be setting in as we note this ridiculous but also terrifying headline Republicans Ask Donald Trump to Revoke Zohran Mamdani’s Citizenship!
The reality is that his policies on issues such as childcare, public transport and genuinely affordable rents resonate with people struggling to pay rent and other unavoidable costs. In addition, his clear stance on support for justice for Palestinians resonated with many New Yorkers just as that call resonates throughout the world. He has also made clear his opposition to Trump’s policies on many issues, including the actions of ICE taking migrants who, like many people in the USA, he refers to as “our neighbours”. Along with the heartening news of Mamdani’s win, we need to note the courageous actions in many cities with people blocking ICE offices, and doing all they can to protect those neighbours, some of whom have lived in the country for 30 or more years, paid taxes. even though they cannot, eg claim any benefits.
This article explores some of these issues. The magazine The Forward has published a number of excellent articles on Mamdani’s win that you can read here on his reference to ‘intifada’, here about his interview with Colbert, here on why claims of antisemitism didn’t stop him , here on the Islamophobic attacks directed at him and here on his clear commitment to protect the Hassidic community.
Mamdani won with a tiny percentage of the funding that his main opponent received that he raised from ordinary people and not from Corporate funders; another reason why his win is good news. There is some time before the election and as we in the UK know, all sorts of dirty tricks are likely to be used but it seems that, in the context of the genocide in Gaza. allegations of antisemitism for not “standing with Israel” may no longer carry the weight they once did.
LL
This article was originally published by The Forward on Wed 25 Jun 2025. Read the original here.
Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement
New Yorkers voted for affordability, not criticism of Israel. But American Jews can still learn from this election.
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why should Israel have a right to exist on land stolen from Palestinians. They are the last European settler-colonials and should be driven out by a resistance movement as the French were from Algeria and Vietnam.
Good news and, dare I hope, a new direction for young progressives from diverse backgrounds coming together and voting with their hearts.
progressives voting
Mamdani is a breath of fresh air.
I cannot help but see certain parallels between Mamdani’s situation and Jeremy Corbyn’s. I hope that Mamdani’s career doesn’t take a similar path.
I accidentally had the luck to hear a long report on Mamdani the night he won the nomination, on the World Service in the middle of the night here. It also talked about his mother the film maker Mira Nair and his joint heritage of Hindu and Muslim parentage, plus the interesting potential four way voting split ahead with Mamdani nonetheless the most likely to win… Worth listening if you can get it. I waited in vain for any mention next morning on the dreadful Today programme.
Great news, but the Zionist lobby will do their best to smear him, manufacture fake “news” and attempt to personally and politically destroy him. I sincerely hope this “Communist lunatic” [Trump’s quote], gets elected. It’s a sign of the times, especially from younger Jews and anti-Zionists, that the tide has irreversibly turned. We can all hope and pray.
If Ackman’s billions don’t remove him. Who will win the struggle between democracy and plutocracy?