The Vilification of Zohran Mamdani–and Why He's Right About Israel's Genocide
Bloviating about Mamdani's alleged antisemitism for criticism of Israel has garnered more attention than a shocking report that Israeli soldiers are ordered to shoot at civilians waiting for aid in Gaza.
New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D-36) speaks during a news conference outside the White House to announce a hunger strike to demand that President Joe Biden "call for a permanent cease-fire and no military aid to Israel", on Monday, November 27, 2023.
(Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Chuck Idelson
Jun 30, 2025
Common Dreams
It says a lot about how corrupted U.S. politics have become that so many elected leaders, Republicans and Democrats, are more enraged about the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City's opposition to the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza than they are about Israeli policy itself. And U.S. complicity with it.
That contradiction became especially apparent in recent days when the bloviating about Zohan Mamdani's alleged antisemitism for criticism of Israel has garnered more attention than a shocking report in an Israeli publication, Haaretz, that Israeli soldiers are "ordered to shoot deliberately at unarmed Gazans waiting for humanitarian aid."
The backdrop is an environment in which leaders of both parties for nearly two years have exploited campus protests against Israeli war crimes by weaponizing antisemitism to blunt widespread criticism of U.S. arms sales and other support for Israel's war.
At the same time, many Jews, especially younger ones, strongly supported Mamdani, for both his progressive program to address an affordability crisis in New York City as well as breaking ranks with Israeli apologists.
Hoping to scoring national electoral talking points against all Democrats, GOP politicians predictably rushed to label Mamdani as a "raging antisemite Communist" in the words of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). Far-right Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) even called for him to be "subject to denaturalization proceedings" and deported.
Some Democrats also jumped on the fear mongering Islamophobia bandwagon, with several notable leaders failing to endorse the nominee of their own party. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand falsely claimed Mamdani was condoning "global jihad."
What has Mamdani actually said that prompts such panic? He responded to the outbreak of the Gaza war by rightly noting "a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid" and called for equal rights for all religious and ethnic groups in Israel. Mamdani's most vociferous critics fail to note he has repeatedly and emphatically also condemned antisemitism and branded Hamas' October 7 attacks as "horrific war crimes."
At the same time, many Jews, especially younger ones, strongly supported Mamdani, for both his progressive program to address an affordability crisis in New York City as well as breaking ranks with Israeli apologists like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. As Christi Olson noted on Twitter "Mamdani swept the most Jewish neighborhoods on Earth outside of Israel."
Mamdani's apt depiction of Israel's policy in Gaza as a "genocide"—that has infuriated those unwilling to accept that term—which has been increasingly apparent in recent days. While official death counts of Palestinians in Gaza are at an alarming 56,500 and counting, it has been reported that since the start of the war the population of Gaza has plummeted from 2.2 million to 1.8 million, reinforcing the likelihood that the official death count is a massive undercount.
Israeli Troops "Ordered to Shoot"
Following the collapse of a temporary cease-fire in February, Israel imposed a blockade of food that led to a famine—with the cost of civilian lives, including children. Israel was finally forced by international pressure to begin to allow dribs of aid into Gaza.
But that has been followed by repeated incidents of Israeli troops killing starving people walking long distances to get food at a small handful of aid sites. These are the stations operated by private security contractors (the untested, so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF) working for a U.S. contractor with the oversight of Israeli soldiers that Israel and the U.S. accepted after banning far more experienced United Nations aid relief workers.
At least 410 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military, the U.N. human rights office has reported.
If American readers doubted that Israel was deliberately shooting starving, desperate people, Haaretz lifted the veil.
The death toll is more easily understood with the Haaretz bombshell expose June 27. It opens with a chilling revelation. "Israeli soldiers in Gaza told Haaretz that the army has deliberately fired at Palestinians near aid distribution sites over the past month."
That's quite a contrast with most of the U.S. media silence. When The New York Times finally provided front page coverage June 26, they carefully avoided blaming Israel. The headline read: "The Lethal Risk of Seeking Food in Gaza," as if the hundreds were dying of heat stroke or food poisoning, merely noting the "life-risking endeavor for Palestinians." It took eight paragraphs to get to Israeli troops "opened fire on the approaches to the new aid hubs" which they described merely as "warning shots."
Only farther down did the Times add that "France on Tuesday condemned what it said was Israeli gunfire at civilians gathered around an aid distribution point in Gaza, saying it had left dozens of dead and wounded."
If American readers doubted that Israel was deliberately shooting starving, desperate people, Haaretz lifted the veil.
"Conversations with officers and soldiers reveal that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat," Haaretz reported.
That was just the opening:
"It's a killing field," one soldier said. "Where I was stationed, between 1 and 5 people were killed every day. They're treated like a hostile force—no crowd-control measures, no tear gas—just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars."
"We open fire early in the morning if someone tries to get in line from a few hundred meters away, and sometimes we just charge at them from close range. But there's no danger to the forces." According to him, "I'm not aware of a single instance of return fire. There's no enemy, no weapons." He also said the activity in his area of service is referred to as Operation Salted Fish—the name of the Israeli version of the children's game "Red light, green light."
Haaretz is a left of center publication that is repeatedly threatened by the Netanyahu government. But it has not been daunted and continues to report what most Americans never read in major U.S. media. And the recent Netanyahu and Trump attacks on Iran have only further hidden the daily death toll.
"IDF officers told Haaretz that the army does not allow the public in Israel or abroad to see footage of what takes place around the food distribution sites. According to them, the army is satisfied that the GHF's operations have prevented a total collapse of international legitimacy for continuing the war. They believe the IDF has managed to turn Gaza into a "backyard," especially since the war with Iran began."
"Gaza doesn't interest anyone anymore," a reservist told Haaretz. "It's become a place with its own set of rules. The loss of human life means nothing."
It means something to Zohran Mamdani, and to far too few other U.S. politicians who have the courage to say it out loud. And it should mean something to the rest of us too, especially as this genocide would not be possible without the weapons, diplomatic cover, and collusion of our own government.
It says a lot about how corrupted U.S. politics have become that so many elected leaders, Republicans and Democrats, are more enraged about the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City's opposition to the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza than they are about Israeli policy itself. And U.S. complicity with it.
That contradiction became especially apparent in recent days when the bloviating about Zohan Mamdani's alleged antisemitism for criticism of Israel has garnered more attention than a shocking report in an Israeli publication, Haaretz, that Israeli soldiers are "ordered to shoot deliberately at unarmed Gazans waiting for humanitarian aid."
The backdrop is an environment in which leaders of both parties for nearly two years have exploited campus protests against Israeli war crimes by weaponizing antisemitism to blunt widespread criticism of U.S. arms sales and other support for Israel's war.
At the same time, many Jews, especially younger ones, strongly supported Mamdani, for both his progressive program to address an affordability crisis in New York City as well as breaking ranks with Israeli apologists.
Hoping to scoring national electoral talking points against all Democrats, GOP politicians predictably rushed to label Mamdani as a "raging antisemite Communist" in the words of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). Far-right Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) even called for him to be "subject to denaturalization proceedings" and deported.
Some Democrats also jumped on the fear mongering Islamophobia bandwagon, with several notable leaders failing to endorse the nominee of their own party. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand falsely claimed Mamdani was condoning "global jihad."
What has Mamdani actually said that prompts such panic? He responded to the outbreak of the Gaza war by rightly noting "a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid" and called for equal rights for all religious and ethnic groups in Israel. Mamdani's most vociferous critics fail to note he has repeatedly and emphatically also condemned antisemitism and branded Hamas' October 7 attacks as "horrific war crimes."
At the same time, many Jews, especially younger ones, strongly supported Mamdani, for both his progressive program to address an affordability crisis in New York City as well as breaking ranks with Israeli apologists like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. As Christi Olson noted on Twitter "Mamdani swept the most Jewish neighborhoods on Earth outside of Israel."
Mamdani's apt depiction of Israel's policy in Gaza as a "genocide"—that has infuriated those unwilling to accept that term—which has been increasingly apparent in recent days. While official death counts of Palestinians in Gaza are at an alarming 56,500 and counting, it has been reported that since the start of the war the population of Gaza has plummeted from 2.2 million to 1.8 million, reinforcing the likelihood that the official death count is a massive undercount.
Israeli Troops "Ordered to Shoot"
Following the collapse of a temporary cease-fire in February, Israel imposed a blockade of food that led to a famine—with the cost of civilian lives, including children. Israel was finally forced by international pressure to begin to allow dribs of aid into Gaza.
But that has been followed by repeated incidents of Israeli troops killing starving people walking long distances to get food at a small handful of aid sites. These are the stations operated by private security contractors (the untested, so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF) working for a U.S. contractor with the oversight of Israeli soldiers that Israel and the U.S. accepted after banning far more experienced United Nations aid relief workers.
At least 410 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military, the U.N. human rights office has reported.
If American readers doubted that Israel was deliberately shooting starving, desperate people, Haaretz lifted the veil.
The death toll is more easily understood with the Haaretz bombshell expose June 27. It opens with a chilling revelation. "Israeli soldiers in Gaza told Haaretz that the army has deliberately fired at Palestinians near aid distribution sites over the past month."
That's quite a contrast with most of the U.S. media silence. When The New York Times finally provided front page coverage June 26, they carefully avoided blaming Israel. The headline read: "The Lethal Risk of Seeking Food in Gaza," as if the hundreds were dying of heat stroke or food poisoning, merely noting the "life-risking endeavor for Palestinians." It took eight paragraphs to get to Israeli troops "opened fire on the approaches to the new aid hubs" which they described merely as "warning shots."
Only farther down did the Times add that "France on Tuesday condemned what it said was Israeli gunfire at civilians gathered around an aid distribution point in Gaza, saying it had left dozens of dead and wounded."
If American readers doubted that Israel was deliberately shooting starving, desperate people, Haaretz lifted the veil.
"Conversations with officers and soldiers reveal that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat," Haaretz reported.
That was just the opening:
"It's a killing field," one soldier said. "Where I was stationed, between 1 and 5 people were killed every day. They're treated like a hostile force—no crowd-control measures, no tear gas—just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars."
"We open fire early in the morning if someone tries to get in line from a few hundred meters away, and sometimes we just charge at them from close range. But there's no danger to the forces." According to him, "I'm not aware of a single instance of return fire. There's no enemy, no weapons." He also said the activity in his area of service is referred to as Operation Salted Fish—the name of the Israeli version of the children's game "Red light, green light."
Haaretz is a left of center publication that is repeatedly threatened by the Netanyahu government. But it has not been daunted and continues to report what most Americans never read in major U.S. media. And the recent Netanyahu and Trump attacks on Iran have only further hidden the daily death toll.
"IDF officers told Haaretz that the army does not allow the public in Israel or abroad to see footage of what takes place around the food distribution sites. According to them, the army is satisfied that the GHF's operations have prevented a total collapse of international legitimacy for continuing the war. They believe the IDF has managed to turn Gaza into a "backyard," especially since the war with Iran began."
"Gaza doesn't interest anyone anymore," a reservist told Haaretz. "It's become a place with its own set of rules. The loss of human life means nothing."
It means something to Zohran Mamdani, and to far too few other U.S. politicians who have the courage to say it out loud. And it should mean something to the rest of us too, especially as this genocide would not be possible without the weapons, diplomatic cover, and collusion of our own government.
Who’s Afraid of Zohran Mamdani? Billionaires
Oligarchs are furious that the nation’s capital of capitalism is in danger of serving people instead of megaprofits.
Zohran Mamdani speaks enthusiastically into the microphone at a rally at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, New York on May 4, 2025.
(Photo: Madison Swart/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Norman Solomon
Jun 30, 2025
Oligarchs are furious that the nation’s capital of capitalism is in danger of serving people instead of megaprofits.
Zohran Mamdani speaks enthusiastically into the microphone at a rally at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, New York on May 4, 2025.
(Photo: Madison Swart/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Norman Solomon
Jun 30, 2025
Common Dreams
The Supreme Court’s first chief justice, John Jay, would have empathized with the billionaires who’ve been freaking out ever since Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York last Tuesday. “Those who own the country ought to govern it,” Jay insisted. But now, oligarchs accustomed to such governance are furious that the nation’s capital of capitalism is in danger of serving people instead of megaprofits.
Meanwhile, among progressives, euphoria is especially fitting because the Mamdani campaign’s win was truly a people-powered victory, thanks to active efforts of 40,000 volunteers. In a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 6-to-1, the Democratic nomination would ordinarily be a virtual guarantee of winning the general election. But the forces of oligarchy now mobilizing could disprove a claim that “Mamdani’s widespread appeal represents the total collapse of a Democratic Party establishment.”
Such a collapse is very far from certain.
Beneath all the froth and bombast, extremely wealthy individuals are busy gauging how to prevail against the threat of democracy and social justice.
On the surface, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to stay on the fall ballot as an “independent,” while incumbent Mayor Eric Adams does likewise, seems to foreshadow splitting the anti-Mamdani vote. But Cuomo still has a substantial electoral following. And the corrupt Adams—who cut a deal with President Donald Trump to viciously betray immigrants and got his criminal indictment thrown out by Trump’s Justice Department—has no better ethics than the disgraced former governor Cuomo. Bankrolled by wealthy donors, the pair might make some kind of pact, with one of them telling his followers to unify behind the other before voting begins this fall.
In any case, a key context of the upcoming election battle is that hell hath no fury like corporate power scorned.
A social-media screed by hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman (net worth: upward of $9 billion) was damn near apoplectic that activists and voters had so terribly transgressed. Ackman described himself as “a supporter of President Trump” while expressing a fervent desire “to save the Democratic Party from itself.” Mamdani’s policies, Ackman wrote late Wednesday night, “would be disastrous for NYC. Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country.”
But Ackman held out hope that those owning the city of New York could continue to govern it: “Importantly, there are hundreds of million of dollars of capital available to back a competitor to Mamdani that can be put together overnight... so that a great alternative candidate won’t spend any time raising funds. So, if the right candidate would raise his or her hand tomorrow, the funds will pour in. I am sure that Mike Bloomberg will share his how-to-win-the-mayoralty IP [intellectual property] and deliver his entire election apparatus and system to the aspiring candidate so that the candidate can focus all of his or her energy on the campaign.”
Another aggrieved hedge-fund multibillionaire, Daniel Loeb, opted to be concise: “It’s officially hot commie summer.” Many other moguls have also sounded alarms. But beneath all the froth and bombast, extremely wealthy individuals are busy gauging how to prevail against the threat of democracy and social justice.
In the Empire State, there are many ways for the empire to strike back. The constellation of forces now regrouping with a vengeance includes titans of Wall Street, enormous real estate interests, pro-Israel groups, corporate media, the anti-progressive rich, and assorted smear artists.
In recent weeks, the completely false charge of antisemitism has escalated against Mamdani. He has taken a principled and consistent stand on behalf of human rights for all—in the process, denouncing Israel’s war on Palestinian civilians in Gaza—while at the same time opposing rapacious corporate power. So, it’s no surprise that New York’s most powerful Democrat, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, has been dodging the question of whether he’ll endorse Mamdani in the general election.
For decades, Schumer’s campaign coffers have bulged while he has been hugely compensated by Wall Street. He has also remained a staunch supporter of Israel, despite its systematic ethnic cleaning and genocide against Palestinian people. A few months ago, Schumer declared: “My job is to keep the left pro-Israel.”
What happened in the state’s second-largest city in 2021 is important to understand. Democratic socialist India Walton was the candidate of a grassroots campaign that stunned the party establishment in the Democratic primary when she defeated Buffalo’s corporate mayor, four-term incumbent Byron Brown. As the Democratic nominee, she seemed set to win the general election in the blue city. But a coalition of furious Democratic power brokers and deep-pocketed Republicans, including racists and vehement haters of the left, aided by much of the city’s mass media, teamed up to smear her and ending up getting Brown elected as a write-in candidate.
Last weekend, I asked India (now a colleague at RootsAction, where she is senior strategist) how she saw the Mamdani campaign. “Watching the New York City mayoral primary from Buffalo last Tuesday gave me a familiar feeling,” she said. “As I watched the results come in, I felt a flutter in my gut and a sense of pensiveness. A feeling of overwhelming joy and a fear that it would be snatched away despite my attempts to cling to it. I imagine that as Zohran watched, he also felt a sense of familiarity. In 2021, Zohran Mamdani supported my run for Buffalo mayor; I was a first-time unknown candidate challenging a 16-year incumbent, and conventional wisdom said it was an impossible race to win. Now, in 2025, Zohran has once again toppled the establishment. I’m starting to think that populist policies that focus on working people are a winning strategy.”
That strategy is now striking fear into the hard hearts of insatiably greedy billionaires.
The Supreme Court’s first chief justice, John Jay, would have empathized with the billionaires who’ve been freaking out ever since Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York last Tuesday. “Those who own the country ought to govern it,” Jay insisted. But now, oligarchs accustomed to such governance are furious that the nation’s capital of capitalism is in danger of serving people instead of megaprofits.
Meanwhile, among progressives, euphoria is especially fitting because the Mamdani campaign’s win was truly a people-powered victory, thanks to active efforts of 40,000 volunteers. In a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 6-to-1, the Democratic nomination would ordinarily be a virtual guarantee of winning the general election. But the forces of oligarchy now mobilizing could disprove a claim that “Mamdani’s widespread appeal represents the total collapse of a Democratic Party establishment.”
Such a collapse is very far from certain.
Beneath all the froth and bombast, extremely wealthy individuals are busy gauging how to prevail against the threat of democracy and social justice.
On the surface, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to stay on the fall ballot as an “independent,” while incumbent Mayor Eric Adams does likewise, seems to foreshadow splitting the anti-Mamdani vote. But Cuomo still has a substantial electoral following. And the corrupt Adams—who cut a deal with President Donald Trump to viciously betray immigrants and got his criminal indictment thrown out by Trump’s Justice Department—has no better ethics than the disgraced former governor Cuomo. Bankrolled by wealthy donors, the pair might make some kind of pact, with one of them telling his followers to unify behind the other before voting begins this fall.
In any case, a key context of the upcoming election battle is that hell hath no fury like corporate power scorned.
A social-media screed by hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman (net worth: upward of $9 billion) was damn near apoplectic that activists and voters had so terribly transgressed. Ackman described himself as “a supporter of President Trump” while expressing a fervent desire “to save the Democratic Party from itself.” Mamdani’s policies, Ackman wrote late Wednesday night, “would be disastrous for NYC. Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country.”
But Ackman held out hope that those owning the city of New York could continue to govern it: “Importantly, there are hundreds of million of dollars of capital available to back a competitor to Mamdani that can be put together overnight... so that a great alternative candidate won’t spend any time raising funds. So, if the right candidate would raise his or her hand tomorrow, the funds will pour in. I am sure that Mike Bloomberg will share his how-to-win-the-mayoralty IP [intellectual property] and deliver his entire election apparatus and system to the aspiring candidate so that the candidate can focus all of his or her energy on the campaign.”
Another aggrieved hedge-fund multibillionaire, Daniel Loeb, opted to be concise: “It’s officially hot commie summer.” Many other moguls have also sounded alarms. But beneath all the froth and bombast, extremely wealthy individuals are busy gauging how to prevail against the threat of democracy and social justice.
In the Empire State, there are many ways for the empire to strike back. The constellation of forces now regrouping with a vengeance includes titans of Wall Street, enormous real estate interests, pro-Israel groups, corporate media, the anti-progressive rich, and assorted smear artists.
In recent weeks, the completely false charge of antisemitism has escalated against Mamdani. He has taken a principled and consistent stand on behalf of human rights for all—in the process, denouncing Israel’s war on Palestinian civilians in Gaza—while at the same time opposing rapacious corporate power. So, it’s no surprise that New York’s most powerful Democrat, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, has been dodging the question of whether he’ll endorse Mamdani in the general election.
For decades, Schumer’s campaign coffers have bulged while he has been hugely compensated by Wall Street. He has also remained a staunch supporter of Israel, despite its systematic ethnic cleaning and genocide against Palestinian people. A few months ago, Schumer declared: “My job is to keep the left pro-Israel.”
What happened in the state’s second-largest city in 2021 is important to understand. Democratic socialist India Walton was the candidate of a grassroots campaign that stunned the party establishment in the Democratic primary when she defeated Buffalo’s corporate mayor, four-term incumbent Byron Brown. As the Democratic nominee, she seemed set to win the general election in the blue city. But a coalition of furious Democratic power brokers and deep-pocketed Republicans, including racists and vehement haters of the left, aided by much of the city’s mass media, teamed up to smear her and ending up getting Brown elected as a write-in candidate.
Last weekend, I asked India (now a colleague at RootsAction, where she is senior strategist) how she saw the Mamdani campaign. “Watching the New York City mayoral primary from Buffalo last Tuesday gave me a familiar feeling,” she said. “As I watched the results come in, I felt a flutter in my gut and a sense of pensiveness. A feeling of overwhelming joy and a fear that it would be snatched away despite my attempts to cling to it. I imagine that as Zohran watched, he also felt a sense of familiarity. In 2021, Zohran Mamdani supported my run for Buffalo mayor; I was a first-time unknown candidate challenging a 16-year incumbent, and conventional wisdom said it was an impossible race to win. Now, in 2025, Zohran has once again toppled the establishment. I’m starting to think that populist policies that focus on working people are a winning strategy.”
That strategy is now striking fear into the hard hearts of insatiably greedy billionaires.
Published June 30, 2025
DAWN
NEW YORK: Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and Attorney General Letitia James take part in the 2025 Pride March.—AFP
WASHINGTON: New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani defended his democratic socialism and argued that his focus on economic issues should serve as a model for the party, even though some top Democrats have been reluctant to embrace him.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump branded him a “pure communist” in remarks that aired on Sunday, an epithet the progressive candidate dismissed as political theatrics.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mamdani said his agenda of raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and on corporations to pay for ambitious policies such as free buses, a $30 minimum hourly wage and a rent freeze was not only realistic but tailored to meet the needs of the city’s working residents.
“It’s the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and yet one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, and the rest are seemingly trapped in a state of anxiety,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker.
Mamdani’s stunning victory over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s primary election has some party figures worried that his democratic socialism could feed Republican attacks on Democrats as too far left ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Business leaders have also expressed concern about his policies.
Democrats have struggled to find a coherent message after their resounding loss in the November elections that saw President Donald Trump return to the White House and his Republicans win control of both chambers of Congress. A Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month showed that a majority of American Democrats believed their party needs new leadership and to be more focused on economic issues.
Earlier on Sunday, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents part of the city, told ABC’s “This Week” that he wasn’t ready to endorse Mamdani yet, saying that he needed to hear more about Mamdani’s vision.
Other prominent New York Democrats, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have also thus far declined to endorse Mamdani.
Trump, himself a native New Yorker, told Fox News that if Mamdani wins the mayoral race, “he’d better do the right thing” or the White House would withhold federal funds from the city.
“He’s a communist. I think it’s very bad for New York,” Trump said. Asked about Trump’s claim that he is a communist, Mamdani told NBC it was not true and accused the president of attempting to distract from the fact that “I’m fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed.”
He also voiced no concern that Jeffries and other Democrats have not yet endorsed his candidacy.
Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025
WASHINGTON: New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani defended his democratic socialism and argued that his focus on economic issues should serve as a model for the party, even though some top Democrats have been reluctant to embrace him.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump branded him a “pure communist” in remarks that aired on Sunday, an epithet the progressive candidate dismissed as political theatrics.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mamdani said his agenda of raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and on corporations to pay for ambitious policies such as free buses, a $30 minimum hourly wage and a rent freeze was not only realistic but tailored to meet the needs of the city’s working residents.
“It’s the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and yet one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, and the rest are seemingly trapped in a state of anxiety,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker.
Mamdani’s stunning victory over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s primary election has some party figures worried that his democratic socialism could feed Republican attacks on Democrats as too far left ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Business leaders have also expressed concern about his policies.
Democrats have struggled to find a coherent message after their resounding loss in the November elections that saw President Donald Trump return to the White House and his Republicans win control of both chambers of Congress. A Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month showed that a majority of American Democrats believed their party needs new leadership and to be more focused on economic issues.
Earlier on Sunday, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents part of the city, told ABC’s “This Week” that he wasn’t ready to endorse Mamdani yet, saying that he needed to hear more about Mamdani’s vision.
Other prominent New York Democrats, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have also thus far declined to endorse Mamdani.
Trump, himself a native New Yorker, told Fox News that if Mamdani wins the mayoral race, “he’d better do the right thing” or the White House would withhold federal funds from the city.
“He’s a communist. I think it’s very bad for New York,” Trump said. Asked about Trump’s claim that he is a communist, Mamdani told NBC it was not true and accused the president of attempting to distract from the fact that “I’m fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed.”
He also voiced no concern that Jeffries and other Democrats have not yet endorsed his candidacy.
Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025
New York City speaks
Published June 28, 2025
DAWN
The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy
FOR an entire generation, the most enduring image of New York City (NYC) has been the sight of the Twin Towers being hit by planes on Sept 11, 2001.
The spectre of that disaster has haunted the city in all kinds of palpable and impalpable ways. One of the latter has undoubtedly been the undercurrent of Islamophobia that has cast a pall over the skyscrapers and streets of New York. Muslims have been suspected, profiled on the streets, attacked on subways, vilified and pilloried. So have the causes related to Muslims. A prime example has been how students protesting against the genocide in Gaza have been hunted down and prosecuted.
On Tuesday, however, the city appeared to finally turn the page. Following a ranked-choice election, a 33-year-old Muslim immigrant, the son of a professor and a filmmaker, became the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor of NYC. The win is historic in many ways, Zohran Mamdani is set to be the youngest mayor, the first Muslim American mayor, the first immigrant mayor, and the first mayor who has won on a Democratic-socialist platform.
Unlike the rest of the Democratic Party, which has stayed quiet on Gaza, Mamdani has openly and repeatedly condemned the genocide. More importantly, Mamdani has an openly socialist agenda that pledges to help the city’s middle class — crushed by the affordability crisis — by promoting city-owned grocery stores, free childcare and freezing rents for those struggling to live in the city
The chances that he will go from mayoral candidate to mayor in the election in November are high. New York is a Democratic city and the candidate who wins the Democratic primary usually goes on to win the city-wide race in the mayoral election. In the run-up to the election, most polls predicted that Mamdani’s opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo, would win the primary.
This did not happen, and around midnight on the day of the election Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, whose vote counts were ahead by eight points. Mamdani’s other opponent, current NYC mayor, Eric Adams, has faced challenges of his own. Even though he has vowed to run as an independent, his indictment on corruption charges and the fact that he was pardoned by President Donald Trump would have consequences even if he were to run against Mamdani as an independent.
This does not, of course, mean that the road ahead is easy or entirely clear. Mamdani’s support among the younger voters, South Asian and East Asian immigrants, as well as in middle-class neighbourhoods of the city allowed him to raise the maximum $8 million that candidates are permitted in an election. However, his opponents can spend large amounts to attack him.
This was evident in the run-up to the voting, when former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg funded the main attack advertisements against Mamdani. These ads focused on painting Mamdani as an extremist, mostly owing to his open and unapologetic support for Muslim and Palestinian causes. For his part, Mamdani’s ads were positive and colourful and sought to mobilise the diverse population of America’s largest city to finally vote for definitive change.
Another reason why Mamdani’s win has been shocking is that NYC is also home to the largest population of American Jews in the country and one of the largest outside the state of Israel. Mamdani’s openly anti-Zionist stance has irked many in this community. His win has shocked the many rich, pro-Zionist political donors and groups in the city. It is very likely that they will use their money to try and bring down Mamdani’s candidacy to thwart the history-making moment that otherwise would have seen a Muslim immigrant as mayor of America’s largest city in terms of population.
One of the main reasons why Mamdani’s win has been shocking is that NYC is home to the largest population of American Jews in the country.
So far, Mamdani’s campaign has been able to absorb all of these attacks. One reason for this is that his win is rooted in the strong foundation of grassroots organisation among the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Arab communities that make up a solid vote bank in Queens, where Mamdani is from.
These communities now have decades of experience in organising and dealing with Islamophobic attacks that paint their leaders as terrorists — in fact, anything even remotely linked with Islam — as inherently extremist. Mamdani’s win suggests that even the general population of NYC is fed up of these attacks and of being saturated with the same old Islamophobic propaganda that has been flung around to taint each and every Muslim American candidate for just about anything.
As important as this is the courage that Mamdani has so far shown in espousing a Democratic-socialist agenda. Average rents for a two-bedroom apartment in NYC are often upwards of $5,000, creating a crisis in which the city’s middle class find themselves facing crushing inflationary costs. Crime has risen in the city and the subways have become unsafe and prone to attacks by the mentally ill and homeless, who have no place to go. Women especially feel unsafe in the city’s public transport system, which was once NYC’s pride.
Mainstream Democrats have shied away from proposing solutions to these problems, just as they have turned their back on rising Islamophobia and the increasing harassment of migrants and undocumented people. Mamdani’s win suggests that Democratic voters are eager to move farther left instead of centre, which has been the party’s preference at the national level.
At the same time, while a win for Mamdani is probable, it is not a given. Many months lie between now and November, and Mamdani’s enemies are formidable. However, in having come this far and proving so many people wrong, Zohran Mamdani has shown that change is possible even in a city, that has for quite long now treated Muslims as suspects.
rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2025
FOR an entire generation, the most enduring image of New York City (NYC) has been the sight of the Twin Towers being hit by planes on Sept 11, 2001.
The spectre of that disaster has haunted the city in all kinds of palpable and impalpable ways. One of the latter has undoubtedly been the undercurrent of Islamophobia that has cast a pall over the skyscrapers and streets of New York. Muslims have been suspected, profiled on the streets, attacked on subways, vilified and pilloried. So have the causes related to Muslims. A prime example has been how students protesting against the genocide in Gaza have been hunted down and prosecuted.
On Tuesday, however, the city appeared to finally turn the page. Following a ranked-choice election, a 33-year-old Muslim immigrant, the son of a professor and a filmmaker, became the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor of NYC. The win is historic in many ways, Zohran Mamdani is set to be the youngest mayor, the first Muslim American mayor, the first immigrant mayor, and the first mayor who has won on a Democratic-socialist platform.
Unlike the rest of the Democratic Party, which has stayed quiet on Gaza, Mamdani has openly and repeatedly condemned the genocide. More importantly, Mamdani has an openly socialist agenda that pledges to help the city’s middle class — crushed by the affordability crisis — by promoting city-owned grocery stores, free childcare and freezing rents for those struggling to live in the city
The chances that he will go from mayoral candidate to mayor in the election in November are high. New York is a Democratic city and the candidate who wins the Democratic primary usually goes on to win the city-wide race in the mayoral election. In the run-up to the election, most polls predicted that Mamdani’s opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo, would win the primary.
This did not happen, and around midnight on the day of the election Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, whose vote counts were ahead by eight points. Mamdani’s other opponent, current NYC mayor, Eric Adams, has faced challenges of his own. Even though he has vowed to run as an independent, his indictment on corruption charges and the fact that he was pardoned by President Donald Trump would have consequences even if he were to run against Mamdani as an independent.
This does not, of course, mean that the road ahead is easy or entirely clear. Mamdani’s support among the younger voters, South Asian and East Asian immigrants, as well as in middle-class neighbourhoods of the city allowed him to raise the maximum $8 million that candidates are permitted in an election. However, his opponents can spend large amounts to attack him.
This was evident in the run-up to the voting, when former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg funded the main attack advertisements against Mamdani. These ads focused on painting Mamdani as an extremist, mostly owing to his open and unapologetic support for Muslim and Palestinian causes. For his part, Mamdani’s ads were positive and colourful and sought to mobilise the diverse population of America’s largest city to finally vote for definitive change.
Another reason why Mamdani’s win has been shocking is that NYC is also home to the largest population of American Jews in the country and one of the largest outside the state of Israel. Mamdani’s openly anti-Zionist stance has irked many in this community. His win has shocked the many rich, pro-Zionist political donors and groups in the city. It is very likely that they will use their money to try and bring down Mamdani’s candidacy to thwart the history-making moment that otherwise would have seen a Muslim immigrant as mayor of America’s largest city in terms of population.
One of the main reasons why Mamdani’s win has been shocking is that NYC is home to the largest population of American Jews in the country.
So far, Mamdani’s campaign has been able to absorb all of these attacks. One reason for this is that his win is rooted in the strong foundation of grassroots organisation among the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Arab communities that make up a solid vote bank in Queens, where Mamdani is from.
These communities now have decades of experience in organising and dealing with Islamophobic attacks that paint their leaders as terrorists — in fact, anything even remotely linked with Islam — as inherently extremist. Mamdani’s win suggests that even the general population of NYC is fed up of these attacks and of being saturated with the same old Islamophobic propaganda that has been flung around to taint each and every Muslim American candidate for just about anything.
As important as this is the courage that Mamdani has so far shown in espousing a Democratic-socialist agenda. Average rents for a two-bedroom apartment in NYC are often upwards of $5,000, creating a crisis in which the city’s middle class find themselves facing crushing inflationary costs. Crime has risen in the city and the subways have become unsafe and prone to attacks by the mentally ill and homeless, who have no place to go. Women especially feel unsafe in the city’s public transport system, which was once NYC’s pride.
Mainstream Democrats have shied away from proposing solutions to these problems, just as they have turned their back on rising Islamophobia and the increasing harassment of migrants and undocumented people. Mamdani’s win suggests that Democratic voters are eager to move farther left instead of centre, which has been the party’s preference at the national level.
At the same time, while a win for Mamdani is probable, it is not a given. Many months lie between now and November, and Mamdani’s enemies are formidable. However, in having come this far and proving so many people wrong, Zohran Mamdani has shown that change is possible even in a city, that has for quite long now treated Muslims as suspects.
rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2025
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