What are your thoughts on NYC’s primaries?
It makes me really sad. This is what the options are? I think it's a disaster and shows you what a sorry state the Democratic party is in right now. All the options are gross. I don't know why Cuomo's even allowed to be running. But Mamdani has defended the phrase "globalize the intifada" (and also spread misinformation and appropriated Holocaust history to do it) and claimed it's about liberation rather than something used by terrorist organizations (organizations with also oppress Palestinian people in Gaza by the way) to advocate for the destruction of Israel and the mass slaughter of Jews around the world. He could've condemned it at any time but he doubled down.
It's just so normalized now that it's not the big deal that it should be because the same violent words are heard from so many people these days. (Remember when the main goal of most people who cared about the Israel-Palestine conflict used to be to advocate for a peaceful two state solution rather than for genocide?)
If someone with a swastika tattoo defended the phrase "final solution" or tried to say "well lots of people use the word solution in many contexts" everyone would see right through it. But because it's coming from the Left rather than the Right people act like it's a lesser evil. It's not.
Given that Cuomo is such a disaster candidate and that antisemitism is not taken seriously on the left and is increasingly popular among young people - and really among most demographics - and is also fueled by online misinformation I think there's a good chance he will win. And that will probably lead to the further normalization and mainstreaming of antisemitism, especially on the Left, and of toxic "activism" by Westerners who seek to inflame rather than actually solve Middle East crises so they can feel like the main character.
I just hope eventually enough people - especially Gen Z and Millenials - stand up to this. Jews are 0.2% of the world population and 2% of the U.S. population. In 1930s Germany people voted to put the Nazis in power because they liked what they had to say. If antisemitism continues to become normalized in the U.S. and continues it's trend of increasing virulence and violence (we've already progressed from violent words to numerous instances of attempted and actual murder of Jewish diaspora who have nothing to do with the conflict in Israel - and wouldn't deserve to be murdered even if they WERE Israeli) then such a small population simply doesn't have the voting power to stop people electing violent antisemites.
Hopefully nothing as bad as the Holocaust ever comes to pass in the U.S., but remember that Germany was pretty liberal right before the Holocaust. If we keep normalizing people calling for the death of Jews then it will become more and more acceptable and words could someday turn into actions. This is not to say that Mamdani is going to start building concentration camps the second he gets into office. Rather, the reaction to him is representative of a larger issue. I mean, if a person in power did start trying to round up Jews how many people would care or try to stop them? If they can't even speak up against antisemitism when it is still relatively unaccepted, what will happen in the future.
I will certainly keep advocating against antisemitism because I believe in human rights and dignity for all and I believe bigotry is wrong. I just hope enough people join me. The future is up to us.
