Mayor Mamdani and Me

It is the morning after Election Day here on the UWS and I am relieved the agony is over. In my bones, I’ve known that Zohran Mamdani was going to become my mayor, governing over this iconic metropolis that is home to the largest Jewish Diaspora. He is absolutely the liberal charismatic foil to Trump and tapped into the economic angst of a large portion of New Yorkers including way too many Jewish New Yorkers. Of course, it didn’t help matters that our choice was Cuomo, another Trump-like character with flawed morals. But the simple truth is that exactly 30 years to the day after Yitzhak Rabin, z”l, was murdered by a right-wing Jewish Israeli assassin because of his fierce pursuit for peace in the Holy Land, a disciple of Edward Said, the Columbia University-based academic who rewrote the history of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 after the British left Mandatory Palestine, has become the mayor of NYC.  Knowing that my mayor believes that my People are not entitled to a State of our own makes me sick to my stomach. Knowing that such a large portion of my Am, especially the younger segments of our community, don’t really care about that, makes me sick to my soul.

For my perch, it feels like Hamas has achieved a major political victory here in the United States of America with the normalization of anti-Zionism. This normalization has huge consequences for American Jewish life. Look at what has happened to American Jewish life since October 7. While the cease-fire continues to hold and Hamas is slowly returning the remaining hostages, the anti-Zionism unleashed by the war has become mainstream. The simple truth is that the facts on the ground of this horrific war are seen through a very harsh, anti-Zionist lens. And as we well know, antisemitism lurks in the heart of humanity. Those who draw a distinction between the two fail to see that the core component of Zionism is Judaism. In the same way the nation known as “Vatican City” would not be what it is without Catholicism, the State of Israel would not be what it is without Judaism, so to say that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism is simply bullshit.

So, how am I coping on this first morning of the Mamdani Era? I am blessed to be a part of a synagogue community here on the UWS, Ansche Chesed, which grounds me and provides me true comfort, sanctuary and a place to be the Conservative Jew I proudly am. I sing in three Jewish choirs which enables me to express myself while building meaningful visceral relationships with other people. I am fortunate to be a part of the UJA-Federation of New York community that plays such a major role in this City, representing the very best of our Core Values in all 5 boroughs. The insights available on a daily basis through the Times of Israel podcasts, the Shalom Hartman Institute resources and of course my Friends on Facebook keep me connected to the Israel that I love. I defend that Israel on the streets of NYC and on my travels throughout Europe. On my recent trip to Pompeii, I had an ugly encounter with my assigned guide because of her cellphone cover. The tri-colored map of Palestine with the keffiyah backdrop triggered my PTSD. Suffice to say I followed the other guide despite not having the earpiece and filed a report with the tour company upon return. As we all know, it is just too fraught right now for a Zionist to truly rest.

During another chapter of my life when I was a lay leader in Cleveland, I had the privilege of being mentored by some of the greatest social scientists the modern communal Jewish world has ever known, notably Dr. Art Naparstek, z”l. Working together in Beit Shean and the surrounding region, Art showed me how to use the power of convening people to share their social assets. While I chuckled at his unbridled enthusiasm coaching the Ethiopian women of Beit Shean and chortled at his interactions with the Sephardi mayors and the tough Kibbutznikim, I so respected how he embodied the core Israel ethos of Hope. And so, it is with that same sense of hope that I will look to Mayor Mamdani to be a convener of people of good will and good faith. But it will be very hard for this American Jewish Zionist to trust him, knowing that in his bones, he believes Israel is an illegitimate entity. That is what it means to be an anti-Zionist. And that is who my mayor is. May She Above help us all through this. And may the Israeli People establish a government that makes it easier for those of us who love Her to defend Her on the streets of Mamdani’s New York.