Mamdani’s Socialism of the Fools
Zohran Mamdani’s potential rise to the office of New York City Mayor should be a wake-up call to anyone concerned about the growth of anti-Zionism and antisemitism masquerading as progressive politics. Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, bases much of his political identity on post-colonial theory and the work of his father, Professor Mahmood Mamdani—a post-colonial scholar from Columbia University. While such post-colonial ideas often frame themselves as intellectual critiques of power and empire, in practice, they risk recycling old scapegoats, thus blaming once again the local Jewish community, which in this case is New York’s Jewish community.
It is no accident that history warns us about the thin line between populist socialism and antisemitism – Karl Lueger, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin – all “Socialists” blaming Jews. The 19th-century German Social Democrat August Bebel used the phrase “antisemitism is the socialism of fools” (originally, the term was coined by Austrian Ferdinand Kronawetter). This insight remains relevant. When economic hardship and social dislocation intensify (i.e., New York’s prices for rent, transportation, groceries, etc.), populist leaders often seek convenient scapegoats. Too often, that scapegoat has been the Jew, portrayed as a symbol of wealth, power, and conspiratorial control. Mamdani’s ideological allies routinely revive these tropes under the guise of “anti-Zionism,” often blaming vague terms like “them” and “dark money.”
In 2020, Mamdani won his Assembly seat with backing from the DSA and progressive groups who proudly adopt slogans like “Globalize the Intifada”. This slogan is not just about Palestinian resistance; it has morphed into a call to legitimize violence against Jews worldwide, wherever they are perceived as “Zionist” proxies. Mamdani has refused to moderate his radical stances even as his profile grows, he refused to condemn the slogan. In fact, he doubled down after his shocking primary upset, declaring:
There are millions of New Yorkers who have strong feelings about what happens overseas. I am one of them, and I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments grounded in a demand for equality.
These “overseas issues” are not benign. They include support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a global campaign that singles out Israel for economic and cultural isolation. BDS has repeatedly crossed the line from legitimate criticism to blatant antisemitism by seeking to delegitimize the only Jewish state while ignoring or excusing authoritarian abuses elsewhere. This obsession with Israel creates fertile ground for conspiracy theories about Jewish global influence. It reinforces the idea that Jews, or the “Zionist lobby,” are the secret hand pulling the levers of power—an idea that has historically been used to justify discrimination and violence. Mamdani’s political supporters, like former Rep. Cori Bush, have often blamed AIPAC and “dark money” for political troubles.
Mamdani’s posture is more than pseudo-intellectual. His rhetoric echoes in his policy positions and alliances. He has shown hostility toward mainstream Jewish organizations and leaders who dare to defend Zionism as intrinsic to Jewish identity. His alignment with slogans that legitimize intifada and his endorsements from groups with a history of antisemitic statements reveal a troubling pattern. Furthermore, in 2017 Mamdani praised the “Holy Land Five” – a group of five convicted terrorist supporters who funneled over $12 million to Hamas.
Mamdani’s broader economic populism, promising to solve everything by blaming others, provides the ideal breeding ground for these ideas. His open hostility toward billionaires, while seemingly targeted at the ultra-wealthy, risks sliding into dangerous territory when juxtaposed with conspiracy theories about Jewish financial control. In periods of economic anxiety, socialists of the “fools” too easily find the “root cause” of all suffering in the supposed hidden hand of the imagined Jewish money or power. Such rhetoric does not occur in a vacuum—it echoes centuries of scapegoating, pogroms, and blood libels.
Mamdani did not invent it, but he is trying to pull a Karl Lueger in New York.
Some will argue that Mamdani is merely a fierce critic of Israeli policy and U.S. foreign entanglements. But this is too generous. His ideological framework erases the difference between Zionists and Jews, between the policies of a sovereign state and the lived identities of New York’s Jewish community. This conflation leaves ordinary Jews vulnerable to harassment and violence, as has already happened in the wake of pro-Intifada and pro-Hamas rallies and anti-Israel protests in the city.
Mamdani’s rise should remind us that anti-Zionism, when institutionalized in mainstream politics, can quickly become a tool against Jews in the diaspora. It signals a future where Jews may be forced to pass loyalty tests to prove they are sufficiently critical of Israel to participate in civic life. This would mean that Zionism—a core part of modern Jewish identity—becomes a pretext for exclusion and delegitimization.
The threat is not hypothetical. The “From the River to the Sea” chants, the “Globalize the Intifada” banners, and Mamdani’s unrepentant support for such rhetoric all point toward a vision where anti-Israel fervor becomes a litmus test for “true” progressivism. In the 1930’s Germany, one wasn’t “progressive” enough if one did not justify the pseudo-scientific racism of the Nazis, in todays New York, once must hate, discriminate, blame Jews to prove his “progressiveness.”
Jews who refuse to renounce Israel become the new bourgeoisie: suspect, privileged, and deserving of censure.
Zohran Mamdani’s brand of anti-Zionist populism is not merely an overseas issue; it is an existential issue for the Jewish community at home. If elected mayor, Mamdani would wield the bully pulpit of the nation’s largest city, normalizing ideas that put Jews at risk.
As history has shown, scapegoating Jews is not an accidental byproduct of populist movements—it is often the point! The “socialism of fools” still thrives when economic frustration needs a target. If New York forgets this lesson, it may soon remember it in the worst possible way.
