McCAUGHEY: New York City facing threat of an antisemitic mayor
The surest way to trigger the collapse of New York City is to elect an antisemitic mayor. Throughout history, rising antisemitism has been a bellwether of societal ruin. When attacks on Jews are tolerated or encouraged, the dissolution of everyone’s rights and the abandonment of basic freedoms follow. See the Spanish Inquisition, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for examples. It could happen here. Electing a mayor who turns a blind eye to antisemitic crime will drive out huge numbers of city residents — including some of its wealthiest — while eroding the real estate market, hollowing out cultural institutions and leading to moral implosion. Everyone who can leave, Jews and non-Jews alike, will flee. Being Jewish in NYC is already getting uncomfortable. We see swastikas scrawled on walls and desks in some public schools, students elsewhere casually referring to high performers in math as “the Jew table,” a Queens community garden posting a ban on Zionists and a 13-year-old Jewish boy slapped in the face while riding his bike through his neighbourhood. Such incidents are no longer shocking. Since the beginning of the year, 60% of the confirmed hate crimes in Gotham have been anti-Jewish, although Jews make up just 10% of the city’s population. All the top contenders for mayor claim to deplore antisemitism. Don’t believe it. We need to scrutinize the candidates’ records. The most dangerous wolf in sheep’s clothing is Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman currently polling second in the Democratic primary, behind former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani is making the rounds at Jewish events. In the last month, he’s attended at least seven public and private meetings and meals with Jewish leaders. On Friday, he posted an official campaign video proclaiming himself a defender of the Jewish people, promising an “800% increase” in city spending to “combat antisemitism.” “In this election, we’re seeing … the pain of Jewish New Yorkers being weaponized as a talking point,” he moaned. Don’t fall for his new guise. Mamdani has backed the odious Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, calls Israel’s actions against Gaza “genocide” and recently refused to co-sponsor two Assembly resolutions to condemn the Holocaust and recognize the state of Israel. His campaign claims are just not credible. “Mamdani has been fanning the flames of antisemitism and now he wants us to believe he’s the firefighter,” warns David Greenfield of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, a major Jewish charity. The New York Times calls Mamdani’s stance on Jews and Israel “nuanced.” Nonsense. Meanwhile, Cuomo is betting big on Jewish voters, relying on a track record of supporting Israel and promoting its business ties with New York, as well as signing an anti-BDS bill in 2016. But his outreach appears to be inch-deep. After leaving the governor’s office in shame, Cuomo launched the group Never Again NOW! at the tony Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton, promising a lecture series and a paid media campaign to combat anti-Jewish hate. But nothing followed — and not even the website has been updated. Was it merely a convenient way for a disgraced former governor to reconnect with the donor class? Probably. Maybe Mayor Eric Adams’ newly announced Office to Combat Antisemitism will produce real results. Adams, who is not competing in the June 24 primary, hopes to appear on November’s general election ballot as an independent candidate on two lines — including one called “EndAntiSemitism.” It’s outright pandering, but there’s no question Adams has been a staunch ally of the Jewish community and a backer of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas. Even so, almost all New York City’s problems require a fix in Albany — antisemitism included — but the statewide Democratic Party has been AWOL. New York State saw more antisemitic incidents in 2024 than any other state, the Anti-Defamation League reported, in large part because attackers here face few criminal consequences. Yet last week, Democratic lawmakers in Albany defeated a bill that would have defunded campuses allowing terrorist activities. The “radical left is no longer willing to stand up to anti-Israel terrorists and antisemites,” lamented state Senate Minority Leader Rob G. Ortt. The Democratic majority also refused to ban public mask-wearing, keeping Jew-hating criminals from being identified and held accountable. At least in Gotham, the mayoral wannabes have recognized antisemitism as a major issue. Now it’s the voters’ job to parse the candidates’ promises and determine who’s for real and who’s the trombenik — that’s Yiddish for “faker.” Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State
