Who Is Zohran Mamdani? And How Do You Know?
Those worried about him might be surprised by a closer look.
Over the past month, we all have heard the rising drumbeats of both delight and despair over the prospects of Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor of New York City. The two loudest howls from the Doomsayers: He’s a “socialist” who will be the end of New York as we know it; he’s a Muslim fundamentalist who is antisemitic and anti-Israel.
On the first point, I’d just say that those who consider him a socialist in the most nefarious interpretation of that concept are often people who either have lived charmed lives thanks to their own ample earnings or inheritance, or have been co-opted by MAGA culture.
How is it that we aren’t past tossing around that hoary term, socialist, as a shibboleth, evil and unAmerican, when we rely on its benefits — such as Social Security and Medicare — and admire “socialistic” European countries?
Mamdani’s simple and valid core point: Living in New York City is out of reach of the working and creative classes that historically made the city so dynamic.
Having lived there most of my adult life, I know how true that is. Were it not for things like “rent stabilization” — which, for a dwindling portion of the populace, limits how much a landlord can increase their rent — everyone who isn’t a child of wealth or earning big bucks would have long since decamped.
So his acknowledging that something must be done doesn’t sound radical to me. It’s common sense.
The infantile and often manufactured hysteria over Mamdani being a “radical Muslim” is as tired as the “socialist” epithet. The candidate is a very modern young fellow whose mother is a respected, non-Muslim, award-winning filmmaker. His father, a Muslim, is a distinguished scholar and author of notable books — such as Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror. We found no indication that anyone in Mamdani’s family is particularly religious.
Mamdani was raised in a modern and seemingly largely secular interfaith family. No one has even found out whether he prays, eats halal food or fasts.
In fact, all of the hullaballoo seems to be over his speaking out about Israeli aggression and oppressive policies — oh, and not traveling to Israel, though why a NYC mayor would need to is still a mystery. And who among us doesn’t know these are very real issues, notwithstanding the obvious right of Israel to defend itself?
The basic problem with this issue was epitomized by a pair of headlines I saw a few weeks ago. The first is from the working-class tabloid New York Daily News, whose readers include doctrinaire Jewish groups like the ultra-orthodox:
Hundreds of rabbis call NYC mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s Israel rhetoric “dangerous”
Among the “rhetoric” they considered most “dangerous” was Mamdani’s description of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as “genocide,” a term they believe fuels antisemitism and endangers Jews everywhere.
The other headline is from the liberal/leftist UK-based paper The Guardian:
Jewish figures across the globe call on UN and world leaders to sanction Israel
Exclusive: In an open letter, Israeli ex-officials, artists and intellectuals say ‘unconscionable’ actions in Gaza amount to genocide
Jews calling what’s happening in Gaza “genocide.”
So what is going on here? If you’re like my working-class, immigrant Jewish barber, you’re convinced Mamdani is a madman for his concern over the plight of Gaza and the Palestinians, because you’d equate this with wanting to destroy Israel.
But if you read The Guardian, you’re hearing that prominent Jews — including Israelis themselves — share Mamdani’s concern.
And, what’s more, as stated in the open letter reported by The Guardian, these Jews reject false accusations of antisemitism “that abusively deploy our collective history to tarnish those with whom we stand together in the pursuit of peace and justice against those advocating for peace and justice.”
Here at home, according to a Washington Post poll, 61 percent of US Jews say Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, and 39 percent say the country is committing genocide.
Are they, too, “dangerous”?
Or is it possible that one can be concerned about atrocities and human rights violations in Gaza and still be a reasonable person? And not be an antisemite, or an enemy to Israel?
The dissonance here seems to come down to agendized media coverage. What we read or listen to — that’s what the world looks like. And that’s maybe our biggest problem. This is especially true of those who depend on partisan news sources, whether right- or left-wing.
And many people believe that, if a newsworthy thing were true, they would already know about it, that its existence would have come to their attention. They don’t understand that that’s only true of the kind of news that’s in your face: hurricane warnings, football scores, gas prices…
For other kinds of news — the stuff with texture, nuance, and depth — you have to hunt for the facts, and you won’t do that unless you’re already interested in the subject, and worry that you may miss something that could affect you in the near future.
Especially when a subject is hot, controversial, and complex, the important facts critical to understanding and forming a position on it are often drowned out by less important but shinier and noisier distracting facts or false rumors.
Is this not at the root of why Mamdani is misunderstood and being portrayed as a figure of economic and political armageddon?
What Mamdani Is About, ICYMI
Depending on what you read and hear, Mamdani’s influence is feared by those understandably worried about the growth and consequences of antisemitism, while the wealthy and corporations are horrified by his plans for higher taxes, and the possible cost of his main focus — “making the city more affordable” via policies such as:
Rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments
Creation of 200,000 new affordable housing units (to be built over 10 years)
Fare-free buses
Free child care
City-owned grocery stores
Minimum wage of $30 an hour (by 2030)
Tuition-free local public higher education institutions
Mamdani also recognizes that, no matter how safe New York City may actually be — and it is surprisingly safe — much more can be done. His ideas include sending mental health responders instead of police to handle and defuse sensitive situations, in particular with those who are of mentally ill. Go here for a look at his detailed 17-page plan on safety.
Watch This!
In a revealing conversation between Jon Stewart and Mamdani, among other things, Mamdani assures the audience that he would raise millionaires’ taxes by only 2 percent, would not defund the police, and — hard as it may be to believe — would not force everyone to eat halal.
Zohran Mamdani - Reimagining NYC Through Safety and Affordability | The Daily Show
And witness this mic-drop moment when Mamdani demonstrates that he would engage the opposition in their own WWF WrestleMania style — but with facts instead of fabrications.
MAMDANI destroys CUOMO ! #mamdani #usa #trump #newyork #politics
Nice Russ. Good summary in one place of why we should look more closely at our young mayoral candidate, rather than recoil with fear.