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New York Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Antisemitism Isn't What People Think It Is
Last Wednesday, the New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani held a press conference in Harlem to announce that the civil rights activist Maya Wiley had endorsed him. As the event was wrapping up, the thing that always happens to Mamdani happened: Someone in the crowd wanted the candidate to prove that he was sufficiently opposed to antisemitism. 'It pains me to be called an antisemite,' Mamdani said, and then, as he went on to describe what it's been like, he choked up. He has plenty of reasons to be upset. He has been subjected to a relentless barrage of anti-Muslim slurs and threats. Someone messaged, 'The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.' He has had to hire security. Meanwhile, New Yorkers have been receiving mailers illustrated with photographs of Mamdani doctored to make his beard fuller, darker and longer. An anti-Mamdani TV ad includes a montage of him wearing a kurta — a long shirt in a style often worn in South and Central Asia (though on the campaign trail Mamdani usually wears a jacket and slacks). Billionaires who support the candidacy of the former governor Andrew Cuomo bankrolled glossy fliers that warn that 'Mamdani's radical plans would make New York less safe.' The message: He is a Muslim fundamentalist who poses an existential threat to this city and its Jewish residents. When I spoke to Mamdani on the phone a couple of days after that press conference, it became clear to me that there is another reason he chokes up: It's hard to keep defending yourself against a false accusation. It's logically impossible to prove an absence. And as anyone who has ever been falsely accused knows, it hurts. The mayoral campaign isn't the first time that Mamdani, who has spoken out in support of Palestinian rights, has faced accusations of antisemitism, but this time critics have focused on two events. In the June 4 Democratic debate, candidates were asked which foreign country they would visit first after becoming mayor. Cuomo named Israel. Mamdani said he would stay in the city and added, 'As mayor, I will be standing up for Jewish New Yorkers and will be meeting them wherever they are across the five boroughs, whether it's at their synagogues and temples or in their homes or at the subway platform.' A moderator then insisted that Mamdani declare whether he believes in Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. He answered that he believes 'that Israel has a right to exist as a state with equal rights.' Cuomo cut in to score a point: 'He said he won't visit Israel!' If there is such a thing as correct answers in politics, Mamdani had them. It ought to be uncontroversial for a mayor to focus on his city and for a politician to assert the value of equal rights. But the exchange fueled accusations of antisemitism. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Zohran Mamdani gets emotional while talking about being a Muslim running for NYC mayor
Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani got caught up in an emotional moment on the campaign trail Wednesday. The Queens assemblyman teared up as he talked about what it's like to be a Muslim running for mayor while in a dispute over his support for Palestinian nationalism. Read more: How and when to vote early in NYC mayoral primary election "I get threats on my life and on the people that I love" Mamdani walked down a Harlem street with former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley to announce her support for his campaign. However, the endorsement was quickly overshadowed by questions about comments Mamdani made on a podcast in which Jewish groups say he was equating the Holocaust with intifada. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the "intifada" as "uprising, rebellion," and, specifically, "an armed uprising of Palestinians against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip." It is derived from Arabic, where the dictionary says it means literally "the act of shaking off." In response to reporters' questions, Mamdani said being a Muslim seeking New York City's highest elected office has taken its toll on his private life. If he wins, he'd become the first person of that faith to hold the office. "I get messages that say things like the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. I get threats on my life and on the people that I love and I try not to talk about it," Mamdani said. On the podcast, Mamdani was asked if the terms "globalize intifada" and "from the river to the sea" made him uncomfortable. "The very word has been used by the Holocaust museum when translating the Warsaw ghetto uprising," Mamdani said. "What I hear in so many is a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights." Criticism of Mamdani quickly followed The U.S. Holocaust Museum reacted to Mamdani, saying, "Exploiting the museum and the Warsaw ghetto uprising to sanitize 'globalize the intifada' is outrageous." Rabbi Marc Schneier called it, "a direct insult to survivors and the hundreds of thousands of Jewish New Yorkers who are the relatives of loved ones lost in the Shoah." According to CBS News New York's political reporter Marcia Kramer, Jewish voters are concerned that Mamdani's refusal to support Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's team wants to exploit that. Read more: How NYC's ranked choice voting works for the mayoral primary election Most polls show Cuomo and Mamdani locked in what appears to be a two-way battle, with Cuomo as the frontrunner. So each candidate is trying to mobilize votes in any way they can. Cuomo said that at a time of rising antisemitism, "We know all too well that words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder." And with polls showing the race tightening, Mamdani insisted he is intent on bringing everyone in the city together. "Antisemitism is such a real issue in the city, and it has been hard to see it weaponized by candidates," Mamdani said. The primary uses ranked-choice voting, with voters choosing up to five candidates in order of preference. The most recent Marist poll shows Cuomo as being the first choice pick with 40% of Jewish Democratic primary voters, compared to Mamdani's 20%. Final push on to get as many votes as possible Mamdani is clearly proud of being endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Those endorsements may be helping to get younger voters to the polls. Voters under the age of 44 account for 45% of the people who have so far cast ballots during early voting, Kramer reported. Early voting is currently underway. Primary Day is set for Tuesday.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuomo maintains lead in Democratic primary, Mamdani facing controversy
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is still leading the Democratic Mayoral Primary, ahead of Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani by 11 points, according to a new poll from Marist. Released on Wednesday, the poll also shows that 11% of voters remain undecided. In a ranked-choice voting simulation from Marist, Cuomo would defeat Mamdani 55% to 45% once lower candidates are eliminated. More Local News However, the Marist poll, which many view as an important indicator in the tight race, was conducted before several key developments: the second mayoral debate, the cross-endorsement of Mamdani and Comptroller Brad Lander, key endorsements for Cuomo in the orthodox Jewish community, and Mamdani's recent endorsement from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Lander's recent detention by ICE on Tuesday, which garnered national attention, was also not a factor in the survey. On the Campaign trail Wednesday, Mamdani received the endorsement of former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley, who narrowly lost to Mayor Eric Adams four years ago. However, Mamdani's defense of the phrase 'globalize the intifada' on a podcast sparked fierce criticism from multiple groups, including the National Holocaust Museum. In a social media post, the museum condemned the language as inflammatory, saying Jewish people have been 'attacked and murdered under its banner.' Mamdani defended his position, stating that the term means different things to different people, and for many Palestinians and Muslims, it symbolizes the struggle for freedom and rights. More Local News Mamdani said he would combat antisemitism if elected mayor with both funding and police. He grew emotional as he described the personal threats he has received and how his rivals, especially Cuomo, have weaponized the issue of antisemitism against him. 'I have said at every opportunity there's no room for antisemitism in this city and in this country,' Mamdani said, visibly moved. 'I get messages that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. I get threats on my life and my loved ones. I try not to talk about it, because Toni Morrison said the function of racism is distinction.' Cuomo issued a statement condemning Mamdani's remarks, saying there are not two sides to the issue, and that the phrase fuels antisemitism. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
25-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
For Trump, Civil Rights Protections Should Help White Men
In his drive to purge diversity efforts in the federal government and beyond, President Trump has expressed outright hostility to civil rights protections. He ordered federal agencies to abandon some of the core tenets of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on the basis that they represented a 'pernicious' attempt to make decisions based on diversity rather than merit. But in recent weeks, Mr. Trump has turned to those same measures — not to help groups that have historically been discriminated against, but to remedy what he sees as the disenfranchisement of white men. The pattern fits into a broader trend in the administration, as Trump officials pick and choose which civil rights protections they want to enforce, and for whom. Across the government, agencies that have historically worked to fight discrimination against Black people, women and other groups have pivoted to investigating institutions accused of favoring them. 'The plain message that they are conveying is: If you even think about, talk about or claim to be in favor of diversity, of equity, of inclusion, of accessibility, you will be targeted,' said Maya Wiley, the president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. 'They're conveying that white men are the most discriminated against people in American society,' she added, 'and therefore entitled to affirmative action.' The White House has defended its actions as part of an effort to put merit ahead of diversity. 'The Trump administration is dedicated to advancing equality, combating discrimination and promoting merit-based decisions, upholding the rule of law as outlined in the U.S. Constitution,' said Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman. During his campaign for president, Mr. Trump expressed concern about what he called 'a definite anti-white feeling in this country.' Now in his second term, he has made quick work of addressing it. He has made a major push to root out programs that promote diversity, which he has suggested lead to the hiring of incompetent people. In recent weeks, agencies have launched investigations that signal the administration's shift in its civil rights enforcement. On Monday, the administration said it had opened a civil rights investigation into the city of Chicago to see if its mayor or others had engaged in a pattern of discrimination by hiring a number of Black people to senior positions. The investigation came after Chicago's mayor, Brandon Johnson, praised the number of Black people in top city jobs during remarks at a local church. Speaking to congregants, Mr. Johnson said some of his detractors had claimed he only ever talks about 'the hiring of Black people.' 'No,' he continued. 'What I'm saying is when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet.' The head of the civil rights division at the Justice Department, Harmeet K. Dhillon, said the comments justified investigating the city's hiring practices to see if they discriminated against people who are not Black. The Office for Civil Rights at the Education Department is investigating whether Chicago's public school system is violating the Civil Rights Act with its 'Black Students Success Plan,' alleging that it favors one group of academically underperforming students over others. And last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched an investigation at Harvard University, alleging that the school had engaged in discriminatory hiring because it showed a significant increase in the percentage of minority, female and nonbinary faculty earning tenure over the past decade while the rates for white men declined. In a letter sent to the university on April 25, the acting chairwoman of the E.E.O.C., Andrea R. Lucas, said she had started the investigation based on the university's expressed desire for 'demographic diversification of the faculty.' Ms. Lucas said she believed the university may have violated the Civil Rights Act by intentionally treating individuals of certain groups differently from another protected class. While she wrote that other groups could have been discriminated against, including Asians, men, or straight people who applied for jobs or student training programs, her justification was focused almost exclusively on the outcomes of white men. In her letter, Ms. Lucas cited now-deleted statistics retrieved from the university's archives that showed that the percentage of tenured white male faculty dropped from 64 percent in 2013 to 56 percent in 2023. She also noted that while white men made up 56 percent of tenured faculty, they represented only 32 percent of tenure-track faculty. The data, she wrote, gave her 'reason to believe that these trends and the underlying pattern or practice of discrimination based on race and sex have continued in 2024 and are ongoing.' The E.E.O.C. investigation, which was first reported by the conservative news site The Washington Free Beacon, is one of several the administration has launched in its battle to get the nation's oldest university to bend to the president's agenda. Both the E.E.O.C. and Harvard declined to comment for this article. Ms. Lucas's letter to Harvard was sent two days after Mr. Trump issued an executive order banning the use of 'disparate impact,' a legal theory that helps determine whether certain policies disadvantaged certain groups, even unintentionally. Conservatives have denounced disparate impact because it relies on outcome data to allege and prove discrimination — the basis on which Ms. Lucas lodged her charge against Harvard. Even those who have criticized the use of disparate impact in the past said the E.E.O.C. investigation smacked of hypocrisy and retribution. 'This is obviously hypocritical on its face,' said Michael J. Petrilli, the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank and a vocal critic of disparate impact analyses. 'Here the administration is using statistics to launch an investigation, and just two weeks ago, they said that they were going to ban this practice. So, which is it?' The E.E.O.C., the nation's primary litigator of workplace discrimination, has become a powerful tool for the Trump administration as it tries to pressure institutions that do not align with the president's agenda. Last month, it began questioning the hiring practices of 20 of the country's biggest law firms, claiming that their efforts to recruit Black and Hispanic lawyers and create a more diverse work force may have discriminated against white candidates. The E.E.O.C. investigation into Harvard was also unusual, former E.E.O.C. officials said. Using diversity statements and data as evidence is extremely rare, as was a charge of this nature being initiated by a commissioner rather than an individual claiming workplace discrimination. Jenny R. Yang, a former chairwoman of the commission, said that the basis for the investigation would not make for a strong case on either disparate impact or disparate treatment theory. 'Aspiring to promote diversity is not the same at all as considering race and gender in an individual hiring decision,' Ms. Yang said. 'They're essentially doing what they falsely disparaged disparate impact of doing.' In a statement, Mr. Fields, the White House spokesman, reiterated the administration's position on Mr. Trump's civil rights goals, and the president's grievances against Harvard. 'The Trump administration is committed to advancing equality, combating antisemitism, promoting merit-based decisions and enforcing the basic terms of government contracts,' Mr. Fields said. But civil rights experts said the administration's goals are clear. Catherine E. Lhamon, who previously served as the head of the Office for Civil Rights at the Education Department, said the investigations showed a pattern of 'performative misapplication of federal civil rights law.' 'The Trump administration's transparently vendetta-driven investigations categorically do not focus on fulfilling Congress's guarantee that federal nondiscrimination protections apply equally,' Ms. Lhamon said. 'Civil rights, properly understood, do not pit one group against another but protect all of us.'
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'More than embarrassment.': Trump slammed for turning Oval Office meeting into WWE-style stunt
For a second time, President Trump hijacked an Oval Office meeting with a foreign leader to turn it into a reality show. This time, Trump hurled false claims of "white genocide" at South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa. MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin, Catherine Rampell and Antonia Hylton break down Trump's chaotic, lie-filled ambush with Semafor Africa Editor Yinka Adegoke and civil rights attorney Maya Wiley.
