Felice Friedson: Stop Mamdani Before He Wrecks the Big Apple
Felice Friedson’s column comes out swinging: Zohran Mamdani’s bid for New York City mayor, she argues, would turn the nation’s marquee metropolis into a test case for permissive policing, rising antisemitism, and hard-left culture war. Drawing on Mamdani’s public statements and interviews, Friedson contends the candidate centers his platform on confrontations with Israel and American Jews, from calling Israel’s Gaza campaign “genocide” to backing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign. She spotlights his vow to pull city benefits from the Technion-Cornell partnership over ties to the Israel Defense Forces, casting that pledge as a strike against a world-class research engine built under former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
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Friedson threads a narrative of rhetoric and consequences: Mamdani’s refusal—then reversal—on telling Hamas to disarm; comments tying New York Police Department training to the IDF; praise for the “Holy Land Five” in an old rap track; and polls suggesting voters expect crime and antisemitism to rise if he wins. She widens the lens to family associations—his father’s advisory role with the Gaza Tribunal—and warns of a broader climate shift that could drive Jews and others out of the city. The piece frames the race as a crunch-time referendum, citing surveys that place Mamdani ahead of Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa while urging undecided voters to weigh public order, city finances, and communal trust before Election Day.
Love it or hate it, the argument is clear: This is a cautionary op-ed about governance, not just foreign policy symbolism. Read Friedson’s full piece for her argument in full—and her closing plea to keep New York “America’s symbol of life and liberty for all.”
