Not Far From the Tree
The complex antisemitic grooming of Zohran Mamdani
By now, you've likely become somewhat familiar with the Democrat candidate for mayor of New York City. And, if you've heard anything about him, you're probably aware of the fact that he's not a big fan of Israel or, for that matter, Jews in general.
And, if you were wondering how, having grown up in Manhattan’s heavily Jewish Upper West Side, the mayoral hopeful developed his antipathy for all things Hebrew, look no further than Mama and Papa Mamdani.
The nominee has credited his parents for having provided him with a "privileged upbringing" that featured frequent talks about politics and global affairs.
In 2004, Mamdani's father, Mahmood, a tenured professor at Columbia University since 1999, published a book entitled Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror.
In it, he argues —if you can even believe it— that "We need to recognize the suicide bomber, first and foremost, as a category of soldier."
He continues, "Suicide bombing needs to be understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism."
As the book was written three years after 9/11, you have to wonder if this "category of soldier" includes the 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers who took the lives of 2,977 innocent victims that day.
How could we have been so insensitive, all these years, to stigmatize them as barbarians?
In the book, Professor Mamdani also argues, “Internationally, there is one state that stands in defiance of practically every U.N. resolution that affects it: Israel. In the international community, Israel stands for the exercise of power with impunity.”
So, you can probably imagine what the Mamdani family's discussions about global affairs were like.
Yeah, but he wrote that in 2004, and that was a long time ago, right?
Well, Mahmood currently serves on the 29-member advisory council of the Gaza Tribunal, having attended its founding launch in London just this past November.
The group seeks to influence public opinion by framing Israel’s actions in Gaza as constituting genocide (irrespective of the contradictory facts on the ground) and to pressure governments and international institutions to impose consequences on the Jewish state, including sanctions, arms embargoes, and diplomatic isolation.
Early this year, as in 2025, Zohran's mother, acclaimed Hollywood director Mira Nair, attempted to have Israeli actress Gal Gadot barred from presenting at the March 2 Academy Awards.
Nair, along with 20 other Academy members and over 75 filmmakers, signed an open letter urging the Academy not to allow the Snow White star to serve in "any official capacity" and to "reconsider the decision to have Gal Gadot present at the Oscars."
Why?
Well, because of the Evil Queen’s "public stance in support of a regime accused of war crimes and systematic oppression" and her "direct endorsement of violence against innocent civilians."
Given the fact that she’s Israeli both by birth and citizenship, is it unreasonable to expect that Gadot might feel compelled to speak out in support of the Jewish state?
Here are a few of the awful highlights of her “public stance”: