My plan was to be in Queens by the time this column appeared. The airport has been shut down, and all flights were canceled. I have spent the bulk of the last few nights in a secure room, awakened every few hours by air raid sirens. Within the past two weeks, my nephew has been wounded in Gaza, and a piece of shrapnel landed in front of the building where my cousin lives in a suburb of Haifa. Many shuls in my neighborhood are not having minyan because they don’t have bomb shelters.
I am not happy about any of these developments. But I understand that an Iran armed with nuclear weapons and 20,000 ballistic missiles would be an existential threat to me, my family, Israel, the Jewish people, and the world. Israel is doing what needs to be done to meet this challenge. I understand that we need to put other concerns aside to deal with Iran before it is too late.
New York, the city with the largest Jewish population in the world, faces an existential threat to the future of its Jewish community. We need to put other past grievances aside to deal with that threat.
There are differences of opinion in our community about Andrew Cuomo. Even his most ardent supporters would agree that he is not a perfect person. But he is our only hope for defeating Zohran Mamdani in the upcoming Democratic primary.
I have always warned against labeling every politician who disagrees with us as an anti-Semite. I am willing to acknowledge that those who make the wrong decisions may honestly believe that they are acting in the public interest.
Mamdani claims that he is anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic, and that he will address the needs of the Jewish community. Rather than contest that, I will present Mamdani’s own words, still posted on his X site, on October 8, 2023—one day after the Hamas massacre and before Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. You can decide for yourself whether the person who wrote those words is fit to be the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world.
STATEMENT: AM Zohran K. Mamdani on Ongoing Violence in Israel and Palestine
“I mourn the hundreds of people killed across Israel and Palestine in the last 36 hours.
Netanyahu’s declaration of war, the Israeli government’s decision to cut electricity to Gaza, and Knesset members calling for another Nakba will undoubtedly lead to more violence and suffering in the days and weeks to come.
The path toward a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.”
He mourns the loss of hundreds of people killed. The number of Israelis killed was well over 1,000. He makes no mention of the rapes or people taken hostage. In mourning the loss of “people killed,” he makes no distinction between the Israeli victims and the Hamas terrorists and fails to condemn or even mention the Hamas massacre.
By criticizing the Israeli government and noting “Netanyahu’s declaration of war,” while totally ignoring the Hamas massacre, he essentially blames Israel for the October 7 massacre.
His call for a “just and lasting peace” makes no mention of recognizing Israel or releasing hostages—only for “ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid,” code words for the destruction of Israel.
This is Mamdani in his own words, on the day after the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. This post on X is on par with Holocaust denial and blood libel—essentially saying the Israelis had it coming. Are these the words of a man fit to be mayor of New York?
Every election is important. This one may well be the most important of our lifetime. It is essentially a two-way race between a flawed former governor who has apologized for his mistakes and made supporting Israel and fighting anti-Semitism a centerpiece of his campaign, and a man who reacted to the greatest one-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust by blaming the Jews.
The choice is clear. Whatever we may think of Andrew Cuomo or the Democratic Party, all of us need to rank Andrew Cuomo as our #1 choice for mayor in the Democratic primary. Early voting has already started. Primary Day is Tuesday, June 24.
There are two frontlines in the fight for Jewish survival. One is in Israel. The other is in New York.
The purpose of my planned trip to New York was to join Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for the stretch drive. I will not be able to make that trip. I am counting on you.
Mobilize your family, friends, neighbors, work colleagues, and shul and organization members. The stakes have never been higher. We need to support Andrew Cuomo for mayor in the Democratic primary.
Manny Behar is the former Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council and a senior aide to New York City public officials. He now lives in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem and can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
