Zohran Mamdani, a candidate for mayor of New York City, has ambitious plans. He wants to start city-owned grocery stores, purchase more homes, subsidize bus travel, and freeze rents for tenants who are already receiving subsidies.
However, his opponents and the media appeared more concerned about his views on the Israeli-Palestine conflict ahead of the Democratic primary on Tuesday. He is a pro-priet of Palestinian rights, denounces Israeli violations, and supports the claims made by human rights organizations that Israel’s occupation of Gaza is a genocide.
Mamdani held his ground against former governor Andrew Cuomo, who had greater institutional support and record spending.
Mamdani’s supporters claim that his victory could represent a turning point in American politics for support for Palestinian rights and left-wing policies.
The progressive group Justice Democrats’ spokesperson, Usamah Andrabi, called it “monumental.”
True progressives can’t compromise on issues as big as a genocide because they are willing to unite the working class against billionaires and corporate super PACs.
With almost all of the votes counted, all but securing the nomination, Mamdani leads Cuomo by more than seven percentage points.
With the city’s ranked-choice voting system’s subsequent rounds of counting, his lead is anticipated to increase.
Cuomo has conceded defeat, and Mamdani has won, putting him in position to become the next mayor of the nation’s largest city.
Given that New York’s electorate is overwhelmingly Democratic, he has a chance of winning the November general election comfortably. His election results, which were only available at 1% in February, seemed impossible.
He “refused to turn down.”
Mamdani, a 33-year-old state legislator, started growing his following through viral videos and grassroots campaigning on the streets of New York. He was adept with digital media, charismatic, and approachable.
Mamdani spoke with Donald Trump’s supporters and non-voters who were upset with the status quo in the months leading up to the election, which took place in November of last year. He then gave them a platform of his own. Some of the people he interviewed on video said they would support him for mayor.
Mamdani’s supporters claim he also excelled at generating thousands of volunteers who knocked on doors to let people know about his campaign.
Many young people grew up with Mamdani and joined his campaign because of his opposition to Israeli policies, according to Heba Gowayed, a sociology professor at the City University of New York (CUNY).
Gowayed told Al Jazeera, “It is incredible that he refused to step down from his position on Palestine.” It was a movement that, in a situation where we were told that holding that position was politically disqualifying, insisted on it and was in some ways predicated on it.
She continued, noting that Mamdani would have lost the support and enthusiasm that had helped him cross the finish line if he had flipped to appease critics. However, Mamdani’s support for Palestinian “probably bolstered his campaign,” she claimed.
In his campaign for the Democratic nomination, Mamdani faced seemingly unimaginable odds. He also had a difficult time getting funding because of his low reputation. In contrast to the candidate he was running against, former governor of a political dynasty in New York, Cuomo, few voters seemed to know who he was.
In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s race, Cuomo’s father, who also served as governor, received endorsements from prominent Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton and lawmaker Jim Clyburn.
Meanwhile, Mamdani received support from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) regional branch.
For his supporters, Mamdani’s victory is stunning because of this. It appeared to be a battle between the old guard and the new, David and Goliath.
A young, pro-Palestinian brown Muslim child who had a one-percent name recognition in February beat the “old guard personified,” Gowayed claimed. It is “absolutely phenomenal and remarkable.”
Mamdani, a native of Uganda, has served in the state assembly since 2021.
Many people thought the Democratic Party’s years-long battle between progressives and centrists was reflected in the face-off between Cuomo and Mamdani. A central component of the conflict has been the debate over Palestinian rights and the US’s unquestioning support for Israel.
Cuomo’s emphasis on Israel
Mamdani, a state legislator, had spoken out against Israel’s military operation in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 56 Palestinians. In November of that year, he even organized a hunger strike outside the White House to demand that the war be fought.
However, his main focus was on local issues as he campaigned for mayor.
Cuomo tried to make Mamdani’s position on Israel and Palestine a central focus of the campaign, but he resigned as governor in 2021 over allegations of sexual harassment.
The former governor made the suggestion earlier this month that criticizing Israeli abuses causes attacks on Jewish Americans. Mamdani appeared to be the subject of his message.
Hate causes hatred. The anti-Israeli jargon about “genocide,” “war criminals,” and “murderers” must end. After a fire attack at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado left 15 people injured, Cuomo claimed in a social media post that it is spreading like a cancer.
The former governor represents Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a weapon of war.
The former governor referred to Israel when Mamdani and some of his fellow candidates, including City Comptroller Brad Lander, campaigned against Cuomo in parallel.
How does a Brad Lander back Zohran Mamdani, support his views on Israel, and back his statements about Israel? Cuomo asserted.
Lander, a Jew, then crossed-endorsed Mamdani, and the two candidates urged their supporters to put them both high on their ballots.
A super PAC, a pro-Cuomo election organization, has also addressed Mamdani’s views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The super PAC, known as Fix the City, was funded by billionaire Bill Ackman, a Trump supporter, and received $500,000. Another ardent supporter of Israel, former mayor of New York, contributed an incredible $8 million to the organization.
Mamdani’s opinion of Israel was also subject to scrutiny from the media. He was repeatedly questioned about foreign policy, including whether he would visit Israel as mayor and whether Israel has a Jewish state.
A turning point, in my opinion.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action’s political director, Beth Miller, claimed Cuomo made the election about Mamdani’s views on the Middle East conflict.
In light of the atrocities in Gaza, the Democratic Party has been shifting its support for Israel more and more. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in April, 69 percent of Democratic respondents had negative views of Israel.
Miller told Al Jazeera, “Cuomo is part of an old dinosaur way of thinking about politics.”
Mamdani’s campaign was initially supported by JVP Action. Miller claimed that while his campaign primarily focused on making New York affordable, his progressive policies emphasize the humanity of all people, including Palestinians.
What last night demonstrated was that Zohran’s support for Palestinian rights was untrue, according to Miller, who was counting on Cuomo to believe that he would be held accountable for it.
“And in fact, what I saw and witnessed was that his campaign was benefiting from his support for Palestinian rights. Young voters were sparked by it. Many, many more progressive Jewish voters, Muslims, and other people were mobilized by it.
In recent years, pro-Israel organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) have invested significant sums of money in Democratic primary campaigns to defeat progressives.
Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, two members of the Democratic Congress who were critical of Israel, were aided in the most recent election cycle by them.
Progressive supporters say they hope Mamdani’s victory will help them turn things around.
