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Progressive Rabbis Support Mamdani — Where’s the Push Back?
Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
A recent piece by a number of rabbis was published in The Times of Israel, where they explain their “proud” support for Zohran Mamdani.
Their article exposes one of the most dangerous fractures within the Jewish community today: a growing number of Jews who, in the name of “justice,” find themselves purposefully aligned with those who refuse to condemn statements like “Globalize the Intifada,” have a documented history of antagonism towards the world’s only Jewish State, and even mocked and ridiculed the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Rabbi Goldberg uses charming Yiddishisms like “kvell” to describe her support for “progressive” candidates and causes. But where is the kvell when those same candidates stand with people chanting “globalize the Intifada”?
For context, the Second Intifada (2000–2003) was not a political protest. It was a campaign of terror — bombings, shootings, and mass murder of civilians in restaurants, buses, and nightclubs. Innocent people were targeted during ordinary moments of daily life. That is what “intifada” means. And calling to “globalize” it is not a metaphor — it is a call for terror to spread.
Mamdani also refuses to recognize Israel as the legitimate and sovereign nation-state of the Jewish people. He demands that Jews surrender their homeland and live in a state stripped of their national identity — something he does not ask of any Muslim or Christian-majority country. He supports a radical socialist agenda and aligns with movements that see Jewish people and Zionism as obstacles to their vision of global revolution.
But this isn’t just about one person or one election. It’s about a broader pattern. We are witnessing the normalization of antisemitism, extremism, and dangerous political ideologies — in our own city.
If Mamdani’s kind of rhetoric and worldview is what wins elections in New York City, it sets a chilling precedent for the rest of the country.
It is deeply disturbing when Jewish leaders proudly support a candidate who still refuses to condemn “globalize the Intifada” or recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Is that truly what Jewish values demand? Many progressive Jews strongly disagree.
Here is how Goldberg defends that comment:
We also reject the bad-faith attacks on Mamdani over the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a phrase he has never used himself. When asked about it, after stating that it is not language he himself uses, he added that it means different things to different people, the same explanation Jewish writers have made in The Forward. While the phrase conjures up fear and concerns of violence for many Jews, for many Palestinians, it literally refers to a shaking off of occupation.
Many people find this summary of facts highly skewed, including prominent Democrats who have refused to accept Mamdani’s ridiculous explanation. Goldberg does not defend any of his other views in the article, including refusing to say Israel should be a Jewish state.
She says, “We believe that Jewish safety will not be secured by demanding unconditional support for Israel.” But how is acknowledging Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish country “unconditional support”? That should be the bare minimum.
Rabbi Goldberg does not speak for me — because I remember the Intifada not as a slogan but as a funeral procession. She does not speak for people like me, who want to see a Jewish future that is both moral and safe. And she certainly does not speak for Israelis who lived through the trauma that so many outside voices now casually invoke for political effect.
She is, of course, entitled to share her opinion. But she is not entitled to do so without any pushback. If Rabbi Goldberg wants to fight for justice in the world — there’s no shortage of worthy causes. But when it comes to the Jewish State and the Jewish people’s right to live in security, dignity, and sovereignty — the least she could do is not fight against us.
Daniel Rosen is the Co-founder of a Non-profit Technology company called Emissary4all which is an app to organize people on social media by ideology not geography . He is the Co-host of the podcast “Recalibration.” You can reach him at drosen@emissary4all.org
The post Progressive Rabbis Support Mamdani — Where’s the Push Back? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.