{"id":59408,"date":"2026-05-06T12:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T12:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/59408\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T12:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T12:39:16","slug":"editorial-the-messages-hate-sends-and-the-need-for-mamdani-to-do-more-than-just-speak-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/59408\/","title":{"rendered":"Editorial | The messages hate sends, and the need for Mamdani to do more than just speak out"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NYPD reported in April 50 hate crimes citywide, down 35% from the 77 hate crimes reported last April. However, of the 50 hate crimes that occurred last month, the NYPD says 30 of them \u2014 60% of all incidents \u2014 involved victims who are Jewish.<\/p>\n

And on the same day that the NYPD touted its crime reductions, residents and religious leaders in Forest Hills and Rego Park, Queens, woke up to find the most heinous vandalism imaginable<\/a> painted onto their Jewish community centers, synagogues, and homes.<\/p>\n

Swastikas, the ultimate symbol of Nazism, antisemitism, fascism and death, were scrawled in red and black paint onto the walls, apparently by a group of young hoodlums in the early morning hours while the area slept. They even marred a monument dedicated to the victims of Kristallnacht, the infamous Nazi Germany pogrom of 1938, in which hundreds of Jews were beaten, imprisoned, and even killed because of their faith.<\/p>\n

In their ignorance, the vandals knew what they were doing. They sought to shock, alarm and horrify residents in a corner of Queens that boasts one of the largest Jewish populations in the city, and beyond. They got the attention of elected officials, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who condemned the hatred.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To his credit, Mamdani offered a sharp rebuke of the hate crim<\/a>e and a message of support for the Jewish community: \u201cThere is no place for antisemitism in Queens or anywhere in our city. I stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors. Their safety, dignity, and belonging are non-negotiable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

We appreciate Mamdani\u2019s words, but we would appreciate Mamdani\u2019s actions to do more to protect Jewish New Yorkers even more.\n<\/p>\n

He must understand that support must go beyond photo ops and strongly-worded statements in times of crisis. As mayor, he has the executive power to do many things to combat hatred when it arises and protect Jewish New Yorkers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He must also consider the message sent when he chooses not to take advantage of his authority, such as rejecting the protest buffer zone bill for educational institutions<\/a> or throwing out the city\u2019s adoption of the universal definition of antisemitism.<\/p>\n

Regardless of how Mamdani may frame his opposition to such measures, those who hate Jewish New Yorkers see his own actions much differently. They feel emboldened to lash out against Jews whenever, wherever, and however they want.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani is not to blame for the spike in hate crimes in New York City \u2014 one which, we should note, predates his mayoralty. But as the mayor now, he must prioritize the responsibility of protecting Jewish New Yorkers from the sick hatred in our midst through deeds, not words.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, if he does not stand firmly with Jewish New Yorkers, then the dangerous hate we see today will only grow into something even worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NYPD reported in April 50 hate crimes citywide, down 35% from the 77 hate crimes reported last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[8072,35551,35552,27175,17597,35553,29976,560,3806,3807,5732,35554,35555,35556,24374,553],"class_list":{"0":"post-59408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-zohran-mamdani","8":"tag-antisemitism","9":"tag-crime-statistics","10":"tag-forest-hills","11":"tag-hate-crimes","12":"tag-jewish-community","13":"tag-kristallnacht","14":"tag-mayor-mamdani","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nypd","17":"tag-public-safety","18":"tag-queens","19":"tag-rego-park","20":"tag-religious-discrimination","21":"tag-swastikas","22":"tag-vandalism","23":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116527678393346062","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}