While I support Mamdani's political and economic proposals for the future of NYC, there are at least two things that he has done that have deeply disturbed me. Neither of them are very relevant to his governance of the city - but nonetheless, they have made me lose a lot of respect for him - and I'm wondering how you have "processed" them.
The first was the short video he posted about the Nakba. Of course I sympathized with the woman who was featured in the video along with countless other Palestinians who suffered as a a result of the events of 1947-9. But to entirely leave out the other side of that tragic period of history...namely that as a result of the Arab world's rejection of the UN's Partition plan and its attempt to destroy Israel - which then resulted in the deaths of thousand of Jews - to totally ignore all of that was ourageous!
The second things that has caused me to lose a lot of respect for Mamdani is his strong support for Darializa Chevalier. I saw a video of her explaining why she went to that rally on Oct 8, 2023. And thought she was lying through her teeth! To me, her attendance at the rally should render her beyond the pale politcally. I find it hard to believe that Mamdani really and truly bought her version of why she went that rally- and if I am right about that, that tells me something about Mamdani that - as I said at the outset - I find deeply disturbing.
Leo, thank you for your valuable critique. As you know, I did not sign on with those of you who resigned from DSA in fall 2023. I had also earlier in fall 2021 raised criticisms within DSA of how to properly work for peace with justice in the Middle East earlier and published them in a piece on the North Star blog (https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/anti-occupation-forces-for-peace-and-solidarity-in-the-middle-east).
In fall 2023, I wrote the NPC individually resigning, but later returned as an at-large member, concerned about chapter practices--including the use of the corporate SLACK product for internal chapter discussions--and other practices of the kind which Nathan Newman's article outlines.
At first, I didn't know much about Mamdani and thought that Lander would be a better candidate but soon realized what a unique and outstanding individual Mamdani was and shifted my support to him well before the primary. I would like to share this July 4 speech as one good example: https://portside.org/2026-07-04/zohran-mamdani-promise-america
But the fact that a DSA-endorsed candidate is pro-BDS isn't enough to deny them my support and I have put that into action. This doesn't mean the candidate should be immune from criticism when deserved--for instance Mamdani's unfortunate rhetoric about AIPAC as monsters.
The larger questions you raise about the nature of democratic socialism are important. We need to continue to theorize and explain democratic socialism--both for those who are Democratic Socialists with a capital D and S and those who have chosen not to be members.
Leo
While I support Mamdani's political and economic proposals for the future of NYC, there are at least two things that he has done that have deeply disturbed me. Neither of them are very relevant to his governance of the city - but nonetheless, they have made me lose a lot of respect for him - and I'm wondering how you have "processed" them.
The first was the short video he posted about the Nakba. Of course I sympathized with the woman who was featured in the video along with countless other Palestinians who suffered as a a result of the events of 1947-9. But to entirely leave out the other side of that tragic period of history...namely that as a result of the Arab world's rejection of the UN's Partition plan and its attempt to destroy Israel - which then resulted in the deaths of thousand of Jews - to totally ignore all of that was ourageous!
The second things that has caused me to lose a lot of respect for Mamdani is his strong support for Darializa Chevalier. I saw a video of her explaining why she went to that rally on Oct 8, 2023. And thought she was lying through her teeth! To me, her attendance at the rally should render her beyond the pale politcally. I find it hard to believe that Mamdani really and truly bought her version of why she went that rally- and if I am right about that, that tells me something about Mamdani that - as I said at the outset - I find deeply disturbing.
Love your principled sanity and clarity.
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.” -- Louis D. Brandeis
Leo, thank you for your valuable critique. As you know, I did not sign on with those of you who resigned from DSA in fall 2023. I had also earlier in fall 2021 raised criticisms within DSA of how to properly work for peace with justice in the Middle East earlier and published them in a piece on the North Star blog (https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/anti-occupation-forces-for-peace-and-solidarity-in-the-middle-east).
In fall 2023, I wrote the NPC individually resigning, but later returned as an at-large member, concerned about chapter practices--including the use of the corporate SLACK product for internal chapter discussions--and other practices of the kind which Nathan Newman's article outlines.
At first, I didn't know much about Mamdani and thought that Lander would be a better candidate but soon realized what a unique and outstanding individual Mamdani was and shifted my support to him well before the primary. I would like to share this July 4 speech as one good example: https://portside.org/2026-07-04/zohran-mamdani-promise-america
For over 20 years, I have sought to explain that the BDS boycott is not the best way to work for Middle East Peace with Justice. And your recent set of four posts about BDS are invaluable: https://leoecasey.substack.com/p/bds-and-the-pitfalls-of-a-narrow-44bBut officially BDS does not take a position on a two-state solution. I am in agreement with noted academic and trade unionist Cary Nelson's two books and his point of view here: https://academicengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Cary-Nelson-pamphlet.pdf
But the fact that a DSA-endorsed candidate is pro-BDS isn't enough to deny them my support and I have put that into action. This doesn't mean the candidate should be immune from criticism when deserved--for instance Mamdani's unfortunate rhetoric about AIPAC as monsters.
The larger questions you raise about the nature of democratic socialism are important. We need to continue to theorize and explain democratic socialism--both for those who are Democratic Socialists with a capital D and S and those who have chosen not to be members.