Uncategorized
A Tale of Two Cities: Vienna’s Historical Warning to New York on Mamdani
Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic New York City mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York, US. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS
The likely ascension of Zohran Mamdani to the New York City Mayorship brings uncertainty and unease to the city’s Jewish community, and for good reason.
Mamdani’s rhetoric is rabidly anti-Israel, both in its war in Gaza and in its existence as a Jewish State. How might this manifest itself should he become mayor? A historical analogy comes to mind in Vienna, Austria — more than a century ago — when another so-called populist reformer rose to power and paved the way to normalizing Jew hatred in central Europe.
Indeed, the Vienna of 1900 and New York City of 2025 share several similarities. Both Vienna’s population then and New York’s now is approximately 10% Jewish. In 1900, Jews had lived in Vienna for generations, just as they do in New York City today. In Vienna, Jews such as Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Gustav Mahler, Stefan Zweig, and Victor Adler had achieved significant roles in finance, culture, and politics. The same is true of countless titans of business, politics, fashion, and culture in modern-day New York.
However, one powerful mayor was instrumental in dramatically changing the lives of Jews in his city.
Karl Lueger was elected mayor of Vienna five times, serving from 1897 to 1910. His antisemitic views, which vilified Jews, blamed them for social and economic issues, and promoted boycotting Jewish businesses, were so extreme that initially, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph refused to support him. Ultimately, after Lueger’s fifth election, the Emperor conceded and offered his support.
With Lueger in power, it became socially acceptable — perhaps even trendy — to be an antisemite. Lueger’s influence on Vienna was tremendous. Lueger took latent antisemitism that existed and made it socially acceptable to express openly. He would give speeches, blaming the Jews for Vienna’s financial problems, rousing crowds with his antisemitic fervor.
He normalized antisemitism and successfully poisoned the minds of Vienna’s population against the Jews. Adolf Hitler himself credited Lueger as someone who helped shape his views on Jews, and he wrote in Mein Kampf that he became an antisemite in Vienna.
While Lueger himself was dead by 1910, the wicked flame that he helped light ultimately resulted in the eradication of Vienna’s Jews in the Holocaust, while the non-Jewish residents of the city largely watched or (in many cases) actively took part in their destruction.
Simon Wiesenthal lived in Vienna after World War II, and remarked later that, “Austria was about 8.5 percent of the population of greater Germany. Nazis from Austria, in positions of responsibility in the machine, were responsible for half the crimes of the Holocaust.”
Lueger deserves historical blame for much of the hatred he sowed. Lueger was not Hitler. But he created an environment in Vienna where violence against Jews was socially acceptable, giving rise to leaders who took his antisemitism to the next level.
Zohran Mamdani, in New York City today, is heading in the same direction.
Mamdani supports Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a New York-based organization that seeks to create support for Palestinian aspirations within New York. On their website, they recommend chants like “Occupation is a crime, From New York to Palestine!” Or “From New York to Gaza, Globalize the Intifada!” “Globalize the Intifada” can reasonably be interpreted as a call to violence against Jews in New York and beyond.
WOL protested at Columbia University, with some people yelling at Jewish students, “Never forget the 7th of October! That will happen … 10,000 more times!” WOL has posted maps online revealing locations of Jewish organizations, stating “they have blood on their hands.” This is not only outrageous, but also a direct threat. Yet, Mamdani stands alongside them.
During his college years, Mamdani co-founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). This organization has become infamous for fostering an atmosphere of intimidation towards Jewish students on campuses all over the country. SJP currently faces bans on multiple campuses. Yet Mamdani continues to support them staunchly.
Labeling Israel as a genocidal state, which Mamdani does, perpetuates harmful blood libels against Israel and pro-Israel Jews. This kind of rhetoric creates a toxic environment where intimidation against Jews and Jewish organizations becomes acceptable and legitimate. Mamdani’s threats to arrest Netanyahu are not merely illegal under Federal law; they invite further hostility and unrest for Jewish New Yorkers.
Although Mamdani claims to have Jewish supporters, in this he echoes Vienna’s Mayor Karl Lueger, who also had Jewish “friends.” When confronted about this contradiction to his antisemitic views, Lueger infamously declared, “I decide who is a Jew.” This attitude reflects Mamdani’s own selective acceptance: as long as one is not a pro-Israel Jew, they are welcome in his circle.
The position of Mayor of New York City does not include dictating international policy. Yet, Vienna’s Jewish history has shown us that antisemitic rhetoric can have a global impact.
Rabbi Menachem Levine is the CEO of JDBY-YTT, the largest Jewish school in the Midwest. He served as Rabbi of Congregation Am Echad in San Jose, CA, from 2007 to 2020. He is a popular speaker and writes for numerous publications. Rabbi Levine’s personal website is https://thinktorah.org
Uncategorized
Cuba Defiant After Trump Says Island to Receive No More Venezuelan Oil or Money
A view shows part of Havana as U.S.-Cuba tensions rise after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to stop Venezuelan oil and money from reaching Cuba and suggested the communist-run island to strike a deal with Washington, in Havana, Cuba, January 11, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the long-time US nemesis and provoking defiant words from the island’s leadership.
Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January amid a strict US oil blockade on the OPEC country, shipping data shows.
Meanwhile, Caracas and Washington are progressing on a $2 billion deal to supply up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US with proceeds to be deposited in US Treasury-supervised accounts, a major test of the emerging relationship between Trump and interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela,” Trump added.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump’s threat on social media, suggesting the US had no moral authority to force a deal on Cuba.
“Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel said on X. “Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.”
The US president did not elaborate on his suggested deal.
But Trump’s push on Cuba represents the latest escalation in his move to bring regional powers in line with the United States and underscores the seriousness of the administration’s ambition to dominate the Western Hemisphere.
Trump’s top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have made no secret of their expectation that the recent US intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba over the edge.
US officials have hardened their rhetoric against Cuba in recent weeks, though the two countries have been at odds since former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.
CUBA DEFENDS IMPORT RIGHTS
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in another post on X on Sunday that Cuba had the right to import fuel from any suppliers willing to export it. He also denied that Cuba had received financial or other “material” compensation in return for security services provided to any country.
Thirty-two members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence services were killed during the US raid on Venezuela. Cuba said those killed were responsible for “security and defense” but did not provide details on the arrangement between the two long-time allies.
Cuba relies on imported crude and fuel mainly provided by Venezuela, and Mexico in smaller volumes, purchased on the open market to keep its power generators and vehicles running.
As its operational refining capacity dwindled in recent years, Venezuela’s supply of crude and fuel to Cuba has fallen. But the South American country is still the largest provider with some 26,500 barrels per day exported last year, according to ship tracking data and internal documents of state-run PDVSA, which covered roughly 50 percent of Cuba’s oil deficit.
Havana produce vendor Alberto Jimenez, 45, said Cuba would not back down in the face of Trump’s threat.
“That doesn’t scare me. Not at all. The Cuban people are prepared for anything,” Jimenez said.
It’s hard for many Cubans to imagine a situation much worse. The island’s government has been struggling to keep the lights on. A majority live without electricity for much of the day, and even the capital Havana has seen its economy crippled by hours-long rolling blackouts.
Shortages of food, fuel and medicine have put Cubans on edge and have prompted a record-breaking exodus, primarily to the United States, in the past five years.
MEXICO BECOMES KEY SUPPLIER
Mexico has emerged in recent weeks as a critical alternative oil supplier to the island, but the supply remains small, according to the shipping data.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum last week said her country had not increased supply volumes, but given recent political events in Venezuela, Mexico had turned into an “important supplier” of crude to Cuba.
US intelligence has painted a grim picture of Cuba’s economic and political situation, but its assessments offer no clear support for Trump’s prediction that the island is “ready to fall,” Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the confidential assessments.
The CIA’s view is that key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely strained by frequent blackouts, trade sanctions and other problems. The potential loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela could make governing more difficult for Diaz-Canel.
Havana resident and parking attendant Maria Elena Sabina, a 58-year-old born shortly after Castro took power, said it was time for Cuba’s leaders to make changes amid so much suffering.
“There’s no electricity here, no gas, not even liquefied gas. There’s nothing here,” Sabina said. “So yes, a change is needed, a change is needed, and quickly.”
Uncategorized
NATO Should Launch Operation to Boost Security in Arctic, Belgian Minister says
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken speaks to journalists as he arrives to an informal meeting of European Union defence ministers in Copenhagen, Denmark, August 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Little
NATO should launch an operation in the Arctic to address US security concerns, Belgium’s defense minister told Reuters on Sunday, urging transatlantic unity amid growing European unease about US President Donald Trump’s push to take control of Greenland.
“We have to collaborate, work together and show strength and unity,” Theo Francken said in a phone interview, adding that there is a need for “a NATO operation in the high north.”
Trump said on Friday that the US needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future.
European officials have been discussing ways to ease US concerns about security around Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Francken suggested NATO’s Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry operations, which combine forces from different countries with drones, sensors and other technology to monitor land and sea, as possible models for an “Arctic Sentry.”
He acknowledged Greenland‘s strategic importance but said “I think that we need to sort this out like friends and allies, like we always do.”
A NATO spokesperson said on Friday that alliance chief Mark Rutte spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the importance of the Arctic for shared security and how NATO is working to enhance its capabilities in the high north.
Denmark and Greenland‘s leaders have said that the Arctic island could not be annexed and international security did not justify such a move.
The US already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement.
Uncategorized
IDF Strikes Hezbollah Weapons Sites in Lebanon After Army Denied Its Existence
Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure. Photo: Via i23, Photo from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law.
i24 News – The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes on a site in southern Lebanon that the Lebanese Army had previously declared free of Hezbollah activity, Israeli officials said on Sunday, citing fresh intelligence that contradicted Beirut’s assessment.
According to Israeli sources, the targeted location in the Kfar Hatta area contained significant Hezbollah weapons infrastructure, despite earlier inspections by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) that concluded no military installations were present.
Lebanese officials had conveyed those findings to international monitoring mechanisms, and similar claims were reported in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.
Israeli intelligence assessments, however, determined that Hezbollah continued to operate from the site.
During a second wave of strikes carried out Sunday, the IDF attacked and destroyed the location.
Video footage released afterward showed secondary explosions, which Israeli officials said were consistent with stored weapons or munitions at the site.
The IDF stated that the strike was conducted in response to what it described as Hezbollah’s ongoing violations of ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Military officials said the targeted structure included underground facilities used for weapons storage.
According to the IDF, the same site had been struck roughly a week earlier after Israel alerted the Lebanese Army to what it described as active terrorist infrastructure in the area. While the LAF conducted an inspection following the warning, Israeli officials said the weapons facilities were not fully dismantled, prompting Sunday’s follow-up strike.
The IDF said it took measures ahead of the attack to reduce the risk to civilians, including issuing advance warnings to residents in the surrounding area.
“Hezbollah’s activity at these sites constitutes a clear violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and poses a direct threat to the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement.
Israeli officials emphasized that operations against Hezbollah infrastructure would continue as long as such threats persist, underscoring that Israel retains the right to act independently based on its own intelligence assessments.