Despite winning an election in the most Jewish city in America, repeatedly speaking about the need to combat antisemitism during his campaign, and cross-endorsing Jewish candidate Brad Lander, pro-Israel politicians and pundits claim that Mamdaniās win makes Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe because he has refused to condemn the phrase āGlobalize the Intifadaā, a slogan that encourages international support for the Palestinian cause.
Mamdani has never actually used the phrase himself.
Responding to a slew of inaccurate statements from an anti-Palestinian caller on The Brian Lehrer Show, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said that New York Jews were āalarmedā by Mamdaniās positions, āparticularly references to global jihad.ā
Lehrer pushed back on Gillibrandās assertion, asking the Senator whether she had any proof that Mamdani supported violence. āAgain Brian, I donāt have all the data and information, and Iāve never sat down with Mr. Mamdani,ā she responded. āSo Iāve asked to have that meeting.ā
Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) baselessly claimed that Mamdani has called for violence against Jewish people in the past.
Current New York Mayor Eric Adams told CNNās Jake Tapper that Mamdani was antisemitic because he praised Hamas. When Tapper questioned the claim, Adams told him that he would be able to find proof by doing a ālittle research.ā
Not large enough to make a difference, if by ādisenfranchisedā you mean ādoesnāt vote for either major party.ā
Hereās the thing: In order for a third-party candidate to make any difference at all beyond acting as a spoiler, that candidate needs to WIN. Not just have a good showing. Not just have a great showing where they come in just barely behind. In a FPTP system, thereās only the winner⦠and everyone else.
Until we have a third-party candidate who can actually win, a vote for a third party is not quite the same as voting for the candidate youāre most ideologically opposed to, but itās not very different, either.
And donāt get me wrong, I fucking hate that thatās the situation weāre in. But it is. I wish I could argue against the mathematics of it, but theyāre unavoidable.