Zohran Mamdani Takes New York: NYC Elects A Muslim Mayor Not Afraid To Call Out Israel’s Policies

In a city that is home to the world’s largest Jewish population outside Israel, the election of Mamdani as New York’s mayor marks a striking political moment. His victory comes despite, or perhaps because of, his outspoken criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Gaza. In the US, criticism of Netanyahu and Israel’s savage war on Gaza, following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, is regarded  as tantamount to anti-Semitism.

Mamdani has been attacked not just by the Republicans for his progressive policies and his anti-Israel stance. President Donald Trump sees him as a dangerous Communist and endorsed the disgraced  former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, now running as an independent, just ahead of Tuesday’s elections. Cuomo was one of Trump’s favourite opposition targets during the pandemic. Yet, Trump asked Republicans and his supporters in New York to vote for Cuomo. Mamdani is a self-styled ‘Democratic Socialist’ and belongs to the progressive wing of the party. Bernie Sanders, the former Democratic and current independent Senator from Vermont. The Democratic Party establishment is wary of Mamdani and uncomfortable with his public stand against Israel. Mamdani had time and again said that the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Netanyahu should be taken seriously, and went on to say  that Netanyahu should be arrested if he enters New York. 

American politics has long been driven by staunch support for Israel across the party divide. The AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is one of the several Jewish lobbies that work across the US, funding both Democrats and Republicans. The AIPAC began as early as 1954 to work for US support for Israel. Many Jews living in the US have strong connections with Israel, and several have families back there. Israeli politicians from the early days figured out that unless the country was backed by the US, it would find it difficult to survive in a hostile environment. American Jews are also extremely wealthy and powerful, and ensure that the US remains lockstep with Israel. The legacy media, too, is largely influenced by the Jewish lobby. 

Considering the enormous influence that the Jewish lobby holds in the US, politicians and public figures avoid direct criticism of Israeli leadership, wary of backlash from influential groups and voters who are traditionally aligned with pro-Israel positions. America was almost shell-shocked after the Hamas attack, and former President Joe Biden flew to Israel as a show of support. He declared in Tel Aviv that he had been a “lifelong Zionist” and provided Israel with weapons, funds, political and diplomatic support through his term.

What Changed

But the war in Gaza,  the unprecedented stream of images and testimonies emerging from the conflict, finally changed the narrative. The IDF gave a go by to international convention, killing civilians, women and children, attacking hospitals, schools, and using starvation as a weapon of war. Though the international media was not allowed in Gaza, local journalists and ordinary people, including doctors and aid workers, sent out clips and videos that captured the brutality of the war.

The widespread circulation of the videos brought out the true picture of what was happening. The images were so powerful that they moved people. It started with the young across the world and in the US. Young voters, progressive Jewish groups and Ivy League universities in the US began campaigning against Israeli atrocities and demanded a halt to the fighting. This was not just in the US, but across the world. But the crackdown by the US administration was also far-reaching and led to the resignation of several heads of these elite institutions.

NYC’s  Mandate For Mamdani

Mamdani’s win shows that a large section of New Yorkers no longer accepts the traditional framing of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. People, not so many governments, across the world are seeing the conflict in the context of ‘might is right’, where Israel can impose its will because of the support it gets from the US.  Mamdani’s win signals a shift in New York’s politics, but whether it reflects a larger change is unclear at present. However, he did not win the election because of his anti-Israel views, but rather because of his overall economic message, which included affordable housing, better public transportation for poorer New Yorkers, and a promise to provide free daycare. Whether he will succeed remains to be seen. Yet, for the moment, his anti-establishment stance and focus on diversity have won the hearts of New Yorkers.