The Mamdani Mask Is Off

By: Chaskel Bennett

We always knew who Zohran Mamdani was.

But for those who held out hope that the activist might somehow change once entrusted with governing New York City, his stunning video attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should end any doubt.

Mamdani campaigned on the ridiculous promise that he would arrest Netanyahu if he came to New York, a pledge he never had the legal authority to fulfill. When reality finally caught up with his rhetoric, he could have acknowledged the obvious and moved on.

Instead, seemingly embarrassed by the limits of his own hubris, the “TikTok Mayor” did what he does best: he recorded a video.

And what followed was extraordinary.

Using the platform and prestige of the Mayor of New York City, Mamdani delivered an inflammatory, one-sided indictment of Israel. He repeated grave accusations as settled fact, cited Gaza casualty figures without distinguishing civilians from Hamas terrorists and other combatants, and invoked allegations of starvation without acknowledging disputed claims, Hamas’s role, or the enormous complexities of delivering aid in a war zone.

There was no meaningful context. No balance. No recognition that the mayor of New York has responsibilities very different from those of a street activist.

Just more demonization—for the umpteenth time.

For anyone who still believed the responsibilities of office might temper the anti-Israel flamethrower, those two minutes answered the question: the Mamdani Mask is off.

Then he crossed an even more dangerous line.

Asked what those angry about Netanyahu should do when he arrives in New York, Mamdani answered: “I think one of the bedrocks of our city is protest.” He went on to invoke the Constitution and the First Amendment.

Who is he fooling?

Mamdani knows exactly what these demonstrations have become since October 7. In the wake of the brutal assault, New Yorkers have watched anti-Israel protests descend into venomous antisemitic rhetoric, harassment, and disorder. Jewish students have been bullied and blocked from parts of their own campuses. Synagogues, Jewish institutions, and neighborhoods have been targeted and terrorized. Masked pro-Palestinian protesters have screamed “globalize the intifada” while bringing their rage directly into Jewish communities.

This is not some movement Mamdani has observed from a distance.

He knows it intimately. He has identified with it, marched alongside it, and championed its cause. Now he occupies City Hall, commands one of the most powerful political megaphones in America, and is using the legitimacy of his office to embolden the antisemitic protestors to take to the streets.

That is not leadership. It is shockingly reckless.

And it potentially carries legal consequences. If a Jewish New Yorker is assaulted—or worse, chas v’shalom—or Jewish property is damaged from the protests, the mayor publicly urged people to join despite knowing their propensity for violence and disorder, lawyers can undoubtedly examine whether City Hall bears responsibility.

The First Amendment protects peaceful protest, just as it protects Mamdani’s right to express his own views, however objectionable we may find them. But constitutional freedom does not erase accountability. A mayor who knows the danger, raises the temperature anyway, and rallies people into the streets must also answer for how he uses the extraordinary power and influence of his office.

Because Mamdani is no longer merely a rabble rouser with a bullhorn.

He is the mayor.

And with that title comes the obligation to understand that his words carry consequences far beyond the applause of the political movement that brought him to power.

On Thursday, that climate of fear became even more palpable. In broad daylight on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a Jewish man and an Asian man were stabbed in separate attacks now being investigated as possible hate crimes. According to the NYPD, the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” during both assaults.

At a moment when Jewish New Yorkers are already confronting profound anxiety and alarming antisemitism, their mayor should understand the enormous responsibility of his words. This is precisely the moment to lower the temperature, demonstrate restraint, and reassure a frightened community.

Instead, Mamdani is adding to its fear.

Mamdani promised to be the mayor of every New Yorker and to protect them regardless of their differences. After this video, that pledge rings as hollow as the campaign promise he was forced to abandon.

Another promise made. Another promise broken.

This time, however, the consequences are not merely political.

New York’s Jewish community has every reason to fear for its safety. 

Chaskel Bennett is a Jewish communal leader, writer, and advocate who serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. He can be contacted at [email protected]