New York: Fight or Flight

By Joseph Catena

Avowed socialist Zohran Mamdani is officially the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York, and unless something dramatic happens, he will be the next mayor.

Now is the time for New Yorkers to escape or fight like hell.

Mamdani represents the worst the party has to offer. He also represents what the party is becoming before our eyes. The 33-year-old nepo baby and political neophyte has called for a “globalist intifada,” which can only be interpreted as a worldwide destruction of Jews. Yet, when he romped over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York’s convoluted ranked choice ballot, there was Chuck Schumer, a Jew, and New York’s senior senator, calling to congratulate him. And there was New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, also a Jew, also calling to congratulate him. Nadler even endorsed him. And there was N.Y. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, not a Jew, also calling to congratulate him. And lastly, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also not a Jew – just a full-fledged putz – could only give a benign rebuttal.

“Obviously, there’s areas of differences in our positions, but I also think we need to have those conversations,” she said. “But in the meantime, I truly am not focused on the politics.”

Get it? Thou shalt not speak ill of thy Zohran.

Nationwide, there was not one Democrat loudly voicing their condemnation against the ant-Semitic mayor to be. Sure, there were rumblings, like New York’s junior Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who asked Mamdani to denounce globalizing the intifada, which she correctly asserted was a call to “slaughter the Jews.” She later called to apologize to him for saying he had made “references to global jihad.”

Mamdani is not worthy of any apologies. His past and present have revealed his hatred of Jews, and when pressed by a Sunday morning legacy media outlet about his call for globalizing the intifada, the young democratic socialist weaseled his way out of the answer, gave some double talk, and somehow weaved in something about not prohibiting free speech.

This leaves New York Jews with a huge problem. They must galvanize against Mamdani or risk their own existence in a city where they were and are such an integral part of. They risk being unwelcome and ostracized in a metropolis that has homed three Jewish mayors, Abe Beame, Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg. Koch and Bloomberg both served three terms. Speaking of the diminutive Bloomberg, he has not let out a peep about the pending doom awaiting Gotham.

Koch certainly would have. He was arguably the most popular mayor in New York history and certainly the most acclaimed and prominent Jewish officeholder. In 1981, he received 75 percent of the vote in the general election, and in 1985, he received 78 percent. He was the consummate New Yorker, outspoken and brash, yet charming and witty, a self-proclaimed “liberal with sanity.”

How times have changed.

But the question in 2025 remains: Around whom do New York’s Jewish voters coalesce? Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and Republican-turned Democrat-turned Independent incumbent Eric Adams are likely to split votes. If the disgraced Cuomo stays on as an independent, he will add to the splintering. Furthermore, moderate independent attorney Jim Walden will only draw from the same pot as the aforementioned trio, and he won’t draw much. But he won’t draw anything from Mamdani.

The national party is no help. Vermont’s socialist grandfather, Sen. Bernie Sanders has campaigned hard for his New York City acolyte. Far left Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren gushed over Mamdani in a Facebook post that read, “Zohran’s inspiring campaign showed what grassroots movements can achieve when we fight for bold policies. His focus on government serving the people – not billionaires – will make life more affordable in NYC.”

Seriously?

For Democrat leaders nationwide, there needs to be someone to address the Mamdani epidemic. That person should be Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, an Israel supporting, bonafide Jew, as well as the closest thing to a moderate the Democrats have to offer. He also knows firsthand how dangerous anti-Semitism is. Earlier this year, Shapiro and his family were victims of arson when Cody A. Palmer, a pro-Palestinian maniac who disagreed with Shapiro over the war in Gaza, torched the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion hours after the Shapiros enjoyed the company of family and friends who attended a Passover dinner there.

Shapiro might have a moral obligation to speak up about Mamdani. If not him, then who? And who’s to say that the growing Democratic call for anti-Zionism won’t spread to Philadelphia or another major Pennsylvania city? The governor is seen as widely popular in the Keystone State, and he was also on the short list of 2024 VP candidates. There is no doubt his views on Israel prohibited him from being Kamala Harris’ second in command. He may be the final line of defense for a party that is gliding down the slippery slope to the political netherworld.

Sadly, even if Shapiro does assume the role of protector and voice of reason, it might be too late. The Democrats prove with each passing day they are a party bereft of a moral compass, leadership, or a soul.

And Ed Koch’s once-thriving Big Apple is about to be infested by a malignant worm.