In fact, I wish the so-called progressives who support
Mamdani felt the same way. But the truth is more likely that much of their
anti-Zionism is deeply rooted in antisemitism. Certainly, many Palestinians
among them seem to feel that way, as one often hears them slip up and say “the
Jews” instead of “the Zionists” in their many condemnations. Whether
anti-Zionist Jewish progressives feel that way about their co-religionist
Israelis is less clear.
What is clear is that their identity as Jews is, at most,
nominal. In most cases, they have little understanding of what Judaism is
really about. Their Jewish identity appears to be about as meaningful to them
as the gender they were born with. But I digress.
Mamdani’s obsession with Rikers Island is a function of his
extremist progressive values, which include the belief that prisons like Rikers
ought to be shut down, and that most prisoners there are either unjustly
convicted or, if guilty, would be better served by rehabilitation and job
opportunities rather than the cruelty they experience—cruelty which, in many
cases, turns them into hardened criminals.
While there may be some truth to that line of thinking, the
idea of closing down a prison that houses violent criminals is among the most
misguided proposals a leader could make. It runs counter to the primary duty of
a mayor, which is to protect the city’s residents from violent crime.
But let us examine his actual comments...
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