Jewish New Yorkers aren't laughing.
Earlier this month, a pro-Hamas mob forced the cancellation of Israeli comedian Guy Hochman's performance at a Broadway comedy club.
With the group of violent demonstrators blocking the entrance to the venue, the New York Police Department (NYPD) ultimately determined that proceeding with the show posed a public safety risk and decided to put the brakes on the planned event.
The breaking news was celebrated that same evening by The Palestinian Youth Movement, which stated in an online post replete with spelling errors that "New Yorkers are making it clear, genociders (sic) are not welcome in our city!"
It's no surprise that Jihadi sympathizers are feeling spirited since the Socialist Mayor took office on New Year’s Day.
The anti-Zionist pathology at the core of the young Mayor’s agenda is casting a dangerous chill over the city's Jewish community.
Fueled by anti-American organizations like Pal-Awda and Within Our Lifetime (WOL), antisemitic rioters have been at the forefront of stoking record levels of Jew-hatred while meticulously organizing their gatherings in Jewish neighborhoods and around synagogue entrances to induce maximum fear among innocent residents.
Mamdani has always been transparent about his hatred for Israel, and the new leader is blessed with an attorney general who operates as a willing accomplice in promoting the radical politician's plans of turning New York City into the American epicenter of anti-Zionist activity.
New York Attorney General Letitia James cares little about blunting the influence of keffiyeh-wearing rioters sowing chaos across the streets of New York, and has instead focused her ire on the small pro-Israel group called Betar, which describes itself as a "bold Zionist movement dedicated to defending the legitimacy of Israel and strengthening the Jewish connection to the land of Israel."
Her investigation into the social media habits of Betar resulted in the pro-Israel organization recently deciding to disband its New York operations after James announced on January 13 that a settlement was reached with the group, ending, in her words, Betar's "campaign of violence, harassment, and intimidation against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish New Yorkers."
Some of Betar's counter-protesting behavior at pro-Hamas demonstrations, which included handing out mock beepers in reference to Israel's 2024 successful operation against Hezbollah, proved too unsavory for James' pro-Palestinian sympathies.
Yet as Hamas-aligned organizations are granted a pass for openly rallying in support of the murder of Jews, James's moves against Betar fit neatly into Mamdani's plan to transform the city into a center that's rendered increasingly uncomfortable for American Jewry.
The criminalization of Betar is merely a test run for what lies ahead for New York's Jewish institutions.
Mayor Mamdani has long set his sights on punishing pro-Israel charities.
While serving in the New York State Assembly, the rising lawmaker introduced a bill to strip pro-Israel charities of their tax-exempt status.
The "Not on Our Dime!: Ending New York Funding for Israeli Settler Violence Act" aimed to ban non-profit groups from "engaging in unauthorized support for Israeli military activity."
The measure also granted the attorney general unprecedented power "to dissolve" and impose millions of dollars in penalties against groups deemed "in violation of the bill."
It is hard to imagine a scenario under which Mamdani, together with James, cease scrutinizing Jewish institutions that fail to adhere to their lefty framework.
Virtue-signaling their way into the Mayor's good graces, it's likely true that United Jewish Appeal (UJA) considered then-candidate Mamdani's gains in the polls last August when it publicly announced that it was allocating $1 million to IsrAID in support of humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
If Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's admission about being asked by former Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris's vetting team if he was an "Israeli agent" reveals anything about the path forward for liberal-leaning diaspora Jewry, it's that disassociating from one's Zionist beliefs does nothing to placate the anti-Israel sensibilities embedded within Democratic Party spaces.
Having once called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "the worst leader of all time" while remaining a stalwart advocate of a "two-state solution" between Israel and the Palestinians, Shapiro's efforts to shield himself from the shameful auditing by anti-Israel leftists failed miserably.
Storied Jewish institutions would be wise to remember the lesson carved from Shapiro's story.
Caving to the dangerous whims of the left and remaining silent as their co-religionists are targeted as extremists will do nothing to quiet the wrath of radicals, whose problem with Israel lies with its existence, not its government.
Like Betar, they too will eventually be unable to escape the antisemitic toxicity sanctioned by the state's Democrats.
The silencing of Jewish New Yorkers is a malleable and deliberate endeavour, with both James and Mamdani behaving as complicit actors who stand ready to use their political levers and slowly unravel the rights of Jewish New Yorkers.
Irit Tratt is a writer and former co-chair of the Trump47 National Women’s Leadership Coalition. Read more Irit Tratt Insider articles — Click Here Now.
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