I've been reading Roger L. Simon's work for many years. Mr. Simon is the co-founder and CEO emeritus of our sister site PJ Media, and I remember reading his work back in the days when that site was Pajamas Media. Mr. Simon is a thought-provoking writer, whether he is writing fiction or non-fiction, and is always worth reading. So, on Friday, when I saw a piece Mr. Simon had written at the New English Review's blog "The Iconoclast," in which he discussed the recent New York primary election and some of its likely outcomes, I was immediately hooked.
I wasn't disappointed. Mr. Simon makes some interesting - and troubling - points, most particularly having to do with New York City's considerable Jewish population and how they are liable to react to the primary victory, and the possible general election victory, of mayoral candidate Zohman Mamdani.
To put it bluntly: A lot of them are thinking about leaving. And we can scarcely blame them. He writes:
Most of my New York Jewish friends I spoke with today—I was born in NYC but no longer live there—are thinking about leaving. Some are already making plans to move to Miami or Tel Aviv. Some ask me about Nashville. One man wondered about Buenos Aires. Argentina’s libertarian president Milei is known to be welcoming to Jews.
Others are waiting to see if Zohran Mamdani—the 33-year old Muslim woke socialist who hates Israel as much as the Ayatollah, never did much of anything in his life and just won the Democratic mayoral primary in the city over the tired and corrupt Andrew Cuomo—actually wins the general in November.
Maybe there is hope the also corrupt current mayor Eric Adams can make it over the hump as an independent with Wall Street help or financial wizard Bill Ackman pulls an as yet unknown rabbit out of his silken hat. But right now it doesn’t look so good.
It would go well beyond the scope of one story or even ten to describe all the ways in which the election of the commie Mamdani would be bad for New York City. But given the rise of some pretty virulent antisemitism in that city, not the least of which is happening at the formerly prestigious Columbia University, the city's Jewish community may have cause for nervousness. And Mamdani is on record for, among other things, defending the use of the term "globalize the Intifada," the "Intifada" meaning the removal of Jews from, presumably, the planet. Shilling for "Intifada" is shilling for genocide, pure and simple.
It's no wonder that New York's Jews may be looking to get while the getting is good. Mr. Simon continues:
Yes, other groups made immense contributions, but pound for pound New York deserved the moniker “Hymietown”—offensive as it was— given it by Jesse Jackson in 1984.
Who can deny the Jews contribution to theatre, literature, all the arts, sciences, medicine, politics, construction (Robert Moses hand his hand in most of the city’s iconic parks, highways and bridges), academia, finance and, yes, food in NYC?
This was done for the benefit of all citizens of the city, not just Jews. Besides “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and hundreds over other hits, Irving Berlin, dubbed by Walter Cronkite and many others the greatest of all American composers, also wrote the two holiday anthems of New York’s and America’s Christian world, “White Christmas” and “Easter Parade”. (The refugee from the pogroms of Russia also married a Catholic heiress in one the great scandals of the early 20th Century.)
Mr. Simon specifically excludes one Jewish New Yorker from consideration, that being Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), whose primary accomplishment in life seems to have been sinking his tentacles so deep into the Deep State as to become effectively unextractable. But Zohran Mamdani? The guy's list of personal achievements in his 33 years on the planet could be easily written on one side of a 3x5 card, in 72-point font, with room left over for the week's grocery list. Mamdani is a cipher - but he's a cipher who has no love for Jews.
See Also: Could Socialist Zohran Mamdani Be a Big, Beautiful Gift to Republicans?
Not Parody: Socialist NYC Mayoral Candidate Lectures Billionaire About How DEI Is Good for Business
In my life - and I count three decades more time in the world than the commie Mamdani - I've been fortunate to know many Jewish people, including some I count as good friends. I dislike characterizing people by the group, but were I to speak in generalities, my Jewish friends and acquaintances have been industrious, intelligent, friendly, and hard-working. Jews also make up about 0.2 percent of the world's population, but have won 22 percent of the Nobel prizes in the history of that award. That, in itself, is remarkable.
Mr. Simon is correct to note that their contributions to New York in particular have been considerable. But given Zohran Mamdani's background, his statements, his fuzzy history, his lack of achievement, and his virulent leftism, we can scarcely blame New York's Jews for thinking about greener pastures.
