Dear Mayor Mamdani

I have a suggestion

Dear Mayor Mamdani

Congratulations on your first week and a bit as mayor of New York. May you be graced with wisdom in your new and important role.

I have a suggestion for one of your first acts in office. Something that will likely disappoint some of those who backed your candidacy. But you’re in office now. And being a responsible leader requires choosing principle over politics.

You and I have fundamental differences when it comes to Israel. You oppose her existence as a Jewish state, even though you haven’t criticized, or noted in any way, the fact that are 23 countries (24, if Somaliland is counted) where Islam is the official state religion. And you characterize Israel’s determination to destroy Hamas, which is solemnly pledged to her destruction, as genocide.

So be it. We differ. But my suggestion isn’t that you change your mind about any of that, which, commendable as it would be, isn’t likely. Even though I believe your opinions are deeply misguided, I respect your right to them.

And it was nice to hear, during your inauguration speech, your reference to Russian Jewish immigrants, and your paean to New York, where “a Muslim kid like me [could] grow up eating bagels and lox every Sunday.” More importantly, I appreciated your repeated pledges to care about and protect Jewish New Yorkers. Likewise, your condemnation of the horrific Hanukkah attack in Australia as a “vile act of antisemitic terror.”

And it’s precisely that recent tragedy and your appropriate reaction to it that bring me to my suggestion.

In the summer, during the mayoral campaign, you were asked about the phrase “globalize the Intifada” and, while you said you don’t choose to use it yourself, you would not condemn its use by others.

There’s something, though, Mr. Mayor, that you now need to confront. Namely, that what you rightly characterized as a “vile act of antisemitic terror” in Australia was nothing other than “Globalize the Intifada” in action. As were the innumerable acts of vandalism of Jewish synagogues and institutions – and of violence against Jews – around the world, including in the city you now serve as mayor.

Because “Intifada,” Mr. Mandani, has a meaning, a history. The first uprising (1987-1993) that called itself that involved the throwing of rocks at Israeli soldiers. The second Intifada (2000-2005) is infamous for its suicide bombings that killed or injured over 1000 Israeli civilians, young and old. Buses, restaurants and hotels were targeted. There were shootings and rocket attacks as well.

And so, “globalizing” the Intifada, in plainest English, means carrying out violence against Jews and Jewish institutions. The massacre in Australia was only one concretization of the slogan’s sentiment among many over recent years and months.

Important questions follow in the wake of that fact:

Do you still maintain that the goal of “globalizing the Intifada” is defensible?

Do you deny that such “globalization” and protecting Jews are mutually exclusive things?

Do you believe that the safety of Jews is an expendable obstacle to a geopolitical vision?

If not, and I hope not, you need to offer a full-throated condemnation of the malignant “globalization” slogan. It would accomplish two things.

Firstly, it would help alleviate the concerns of apprehensive Jewish New Yorkers, especially in light of your revocation of executive orders that adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, that restricted city engagement with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement against Israel and that provided guidance to the NYPD on handling protests near houses of worship.

And second, it would show that, despite your antipathy to Israel as a Jewish state, and despite your characterization of her strategy in Gaza, you truly, sincerely and unequivocally reject violence against Jews. In other words, that you have a moral compass.

Do you?

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My most recent Ami Magazine column, about some of the vice president’s comments, can be read at:

https://amimagazine.org/2025/12/30/vance-stance/

And a thought on parshas Shemos is at:

https://www.rabbiavishafran.com/shemos-pathetic-persecutors/

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THANKS

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