Mamdani has a selective outrage towards Israel
Human rights lose their moral authority when outrage is selective. Public officials who invoke the language of justice should apply the same standard to every victim of violence, regardless of nationality, religion, or politics.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently declared that he wants to “defend the humanity and dignity of all people.” If that is truly his guiding principle, why is his outrage directed almost exclusively at Israel—the world’s only Jewish state and the homeland of the Jewish people?
By repeatedly singling out Israel, Mayor Mamdani’s rhetoric leaves many Jews feeling that the Jewish state—and, by extension, many members of the Jewish community—are being uniquely scrutinized, demonized, and morally condemned. A mayor of one of the world’s most diverse cities should strive to unite its communities, not deepen their divisions.
Whether individual Jews support or oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is beside the point. Israel is a democracy, and its citizens—not elected officials in New York—will determine their country’s leadership through democratic elections. No nation should be held to a different standard than every other democracy.
If Mayor Mamdani is genuinely committed to defending human dignity, why not speak with equal urgency about Sudan, where civil war has claimed countless civilian lives, displaced millions, and subjected women to horrific sexual violence? Why not call attention to those victims with the same determination shown toward Israel? In Sudan, Muslims are slaughtering fellow Muslims on a staggering scale.
Iranian Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani is Iran’s Ambassador to the U.N. He lives in New York. If Mamdani believes international criminal law should be applied consistently, why not focus his call for accountability on the Iranian Ambassador? In only a few days, over 40,000 innocent Iranian civilians have been murdered by the Iranian regime and yet Mayor Mamdani ignores these grave human rights abuses.
How come Mayor Mamdani doesn’t confront the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Amir Saeid Iravani?
Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel left approximately 1,200 people dead, included widespread acts of brutality and sexual violence, and resulted in the kidnapping of men, women, and children. Reports have also documented Hamas’s abuses against Palestinians who oppose its rule. If human rights are universal, those atrocities deserve the same moral condemnation.
Does Mayor Mamdani plan to call for the prosecution of Hamas leaders and the perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan or the Iranian Regime?
New Yorkers elected Mayor Mamdani to confront the pressing challenges facing their city: public safety, housing affordability, schools, transportation, and quality of life. They did not elect him to turn City Hall into a forum for deciding which foreign leaders should face international prosecution.
Public officials have every right to express their views on world affairs. But those who claim to champion universal human rights must do so consistently. Many New York Jews—including those who voted for Mayor Mamdani—are now asking whether his rhetoric has made them safer or instead made them much more vulnerable in an era of rising antisemitism.
If human rights are to mean anything, they must apply equally to every victim, not only to those whose suffering advances a political narrative. Leadership is measured not by the causes one chooses, but by the consistency with which one defends human dignity.
If Mayor Mamdani truly believes in the humanity and dignity of all people, then he must demonstrate that principle by defending Jews with the same moral clarity he demands for everyone else.
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Respectfully,
Gina Waldman
