Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”
Zohran Kwame Mandami kicked off his term as New York City’s mayor on January 1, 2026 by declaring in his inaugural address: “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” As the 250th anniversary of our nation, which was built on individualism against the power of the state, gets underway, Mayor Mandami wasted little time before displaying his anti-Americanism.
The “warmth of collectivism” resulted in the cold-blooded killing of millions of innocent people under the rule of such Communist dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot.
“I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,” Mayor Mandami declared. He believes that he has a mandate to pursue such socialist priorities as “tax the rich” (who are already paying for much of the city’s budget), government-owned grocery stores, free bus transportation, and free public universal childcare.
Mayor Mandami also prioritized the cancellation of an executive order issued by his predecessor Eric Adams, which had barred city agencies from boycotting Israel. And he cancelled another Adams executive order that had adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. As the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in condemning Mayor Mandami’s action, “This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
Sadly, Mayor Mandami is not a one-off. The New York City DSA chapter plans to endorse as many as seven New York State Assembly candidates and two congressional candidates in this year’s midterm elections, according to City & State New York. One of the far-left candidates that the New York City DSA chapter is considering backing for a congressional seat is Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is challenging Representative Adriano Espaillat in a primary. Ms. Chevalier was one of the leaders of the infamous hate-Israel, pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University. “I’ve been organizing around issues of immigration, around Black liberation, around Palestinian liberation,” she said.
In addition to the candidates favored by the DSA’s New York City chapter, another far-left candidate to worry about is Raj Goyle, who is running in the Democratic primary for New York State comptroller this year. Mr. Goyle embraces much of Mayor Mandami’s radical agenda. “It’s time for Zohran,” he posted last October. Mr. Goyle campaigned for Mr. Mandami and attended his public inauguration ceremony.
Zohran Mandami and Raj Goyle see eye-to-eye on divesting from Israeli bonds. “I think that we should not have a fund that is invested in the violation of international law,” Mr. Mandami said last September. Raj Goyle has vowed to divest New York State’s pension fund of its nearly $340 million investment in Israel bonds if he is elected. “We will not send a blank check for Benjamin Netanyahu’s war crimes in Gaza,” Mr. Goyle declared.
The New York State Comptroller’s office runs the Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest public pension plans in the United States. The comptroller is the sole trustee responsible for the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Its mission is to “provide our beneficiaries with a secure pension through prudent asset management.”
In pursuit of attractive returns from stable investments, the state pension fund has purchased Israeli bonds since the 1990s. The bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the state of Israel. Israeli ten-year bonds currently offer an interest rate as high as 5.31 percent.
The spokesperson for the current New York State Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, explained how the decision to purchase Israeli bonds helps fulfill the Common Retirement Fund’s declared mission to “provide our beneficiaries with a secure pension through prudent asset management.” The spokesperson said that “Israel bonds have provided a safe and steady return for our funds. Israel bonds have offered the fund an attractive yield for the strong credit rating compared to their publicly issued sovereign counterparts.”
If Mr. Goyle becomes New York State’s next comptroller and divests the retirement fund under his control from Israeli bonds, he will be placing his personal animus against Israel over his fiduciary duty to New York’s pension beneficiaries.
Fueled by their zealous support for a “free Palestine” and their bias against Israel, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mandami and Raj Goyle are both in sync with the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Omar Barghouti, co-founder and leader of the BDS movement, stated, “We oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine.” He has defended Palestinian terrorism against Israelis as “armed resistance” while calling Israel’s self-defense measures “routine terrorism.”
Singling out the Jewish state of Israel and its citizens based on their nationality or religion with a discriminatory boycott and divestment policy is an act of brazen antisemitism.
Mayor Mandami won 33 percent of the Jewish vote in New York City, according to exit polling. Now the U.S.’s largest city is stuck with this antisemite for at least four more years. Hopefully, most of these same Jewish voters will not repeat their mistake by voting for other antisemitic candidates, especially Raj Goyle for New York State Comptroller who would control New York’s Common Retirement Fund investments and boycott Israel.
