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| Cuomo, Mamdani, and Sliwa (Newsday) |
What makes me even more depressed is that Jews may be one of
the key factors in getting him elected. I never realized there were more than
just a few Jews whose politics reflected strong socialist values. I had always thought
these extremist progressive Jews were on the fringes of the Jewish body
politic. I believed that most Jews were indeed liberal and voted Democratic,
but were nevertheless very supportive of Israel. I think that is still true even
though that support has waned somewhat, for reasons beyond the scope of this
post.
What I didn’t realize is that there are enough Jews that are so progressive that they can swing an election in favor of someone who believes that Israel is an apartheid state that oppresses
indigenous Palestinians with a brutal occupation, and that it should be
boycotted if not dismantled entirely as a Jewish state. Although they are
still in the minority, they are growing in number and are increasingly found
among younger Jews whose connection to Judaism is, at best, tenuous.
These progressive young Jews have joined their non-Jewish progressive
counterparts in supporting a candidate who shares their values. A candidate enthusiastically endorsed
by perhaps the most famous Jewish socialist in the US, Bernie Sanders.
What these people are voting for are Mamdani’s socialist promises of
better economic times once his progressive policies are implemented. After all,
who doesn’t like total rent control, free transportation, and
government-subsidized grocery stores? All of which promise to save voters tons
of money in their everyday lives. It’s therefore not surprising that even some
mainstream Democrats might vote for someone making promises like that.
Honestly, it’s hard to argue with Mamdani’s promises. Why
vote for a status quo that has failed you? Give someone with fresh ideas a
chance to show he can change things for the better – as promised.
This is what’s going to get Mamdani elected. His being so
anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian is not really on the radar of the typical New
York voter — unless they are Jewish or Muslim.
I’m not going to go into why this type of thinking is a big mistake — other than to say there is no such thing as a free lunch! And that socialism has failed every time it has been tried.
Aside from Mamdani’s policies being doomed to failure, the biggest concern for
mainstream New York Jewish voters is his anti-Israel stance and rhetoric.
Although his policies will not directly affect Israel - other than perhaps
divesting any municipal funds currently invested in the Jewish state - the very
idea of arresting the Prime Minister of Israel is an image I never thought I’d
see in a city with the largest Jewish population in the world. Calling Israel’s
war against Hamas genocide - and blaming him entirely for all Palestinian deaths
in Gaza without the slightest reference to Hamas’s part in that is yet another
thing I never thought I would see from the mayor of New York.
His anti-Israel rhetoric will surely increase anti-Zionist activism. Which he will surely support if not join personally. Resultant antisemitic violence that might ensue might be opposed by Mamdani and he will not tolerate it. But it will surely be his own rhetoric that will be responsible for inflaming it in the first place.
This is why so many rabbinic leaders across denominations
have urged their members to vote against Mamdani in the upcoming election. As
of the last count, over 1,000 heterodox rabbis as well as virtually all
mainstream Orthodox rabbis and organizations have signed on to that message.
Some might say it’s a waste of time when the polls show what
seems like an insurmountable lead for Mamdani. But as I’ve said, that does not
free the Jewish voter in New York from doing their civic duty. Besides, polls have been wrong
before. Even lopsided ones like his. You never know.
As it turns out, Mamdani’s ‘insurmountable’ lead is
shrinking. Although he still leads Cuomo by a substantial margin, Mamdani is
not projected to get a majority of the vote. That’s because of a third
candidate — Republican Curtis Sliwa will get a small percentage of the vote. Which
might otherwise go to Cuomo. If Sliwa were to drop out of the race, it might
become competitive.
I believe the entire mainstream Jewish establishment — from
Orthodox to Reform — would agree that Cuomo is far from ideal. Under normal
circumstances, he would be getting very little, if any, support from any of these
organizations or rabbis. But I think they all agree that Cuomo is by far the
lesser of two evils. A city government led by a centrist Democrat would fare
far better than one led by a socialist.
And perhaps most importantly for the mainstream Jewish
community, Cuomo is not anti-Israel. He is a longtime supporter of the Jewish
state. We will not be hearing talk about Israel as an apartheid state or
accusations of genocide in Gaza. Nor would anyone be talking about arresting
the Prime Minister of Israel.
It is late in the game. Early voting has already begun. The
media is reporting the highest early voting turnout in New York history. The
stakes are high. Many New Yorkers know that and are responding by voting early.
The only question is: how are they voting? Is it a progressive surge or an
anti-progressive backlash – a surge driven by fear a New York governed by
socialism? It’s hard to know.
One thing seems clear: Sliwa is not backing out, even though
he has no chance of winning. It’s also clear that people that will vote for
Sliwa would never vote for Mamdani. If Sliwa were out, they would likely switch
their vote to Cuomo.
I strongly urge people who do not want to see a Mamdani
mayoralty in New York not to help elect him by voting for Sliwa. Because every
vote for Sliwa is, in effect, a vote for Mamdani. I urge every Sliwa supporter
to switch their vote to Cuomo. If enough Sliwa voters do that; and if my hunch
is right that most New Yorkers don’t want to see their city turn socialist;
then the polls may be wrong and Cuomo might win.
If he does, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. If Mamdani wins, Jews may find themselves in a very precarious situation, as pro-Palestinian rallies will surely increase - rallies that will be heartily supported by the new mayor. And that is surely something not to look forward to.
Comments to this post can be made at Emes Ve-Emunah II where it is cross-posted
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