The Mamdani pogrom scenario

The protests the mayor has incited against Netanyahu could very well target all Jews.

"NYS Assemblymember Mamdani @ NYTWA Rally @ City Hall 3" by InformedImages is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

My book Self Defense: A Jewish Manifesto is available at Amazon via Wicked Son Books and the Z3 Project.

In a widely circulated recent video, antisemitic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unleashed various blood libels against Israel and especially its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Admitting that he has no legal authority to arrest Netanyahu for various concocted war crimes, Mamdani urged his followers to engage in mass protests against the prime minister when he arrives in September for the UN General Assembly.

All of this might appear to be par for the course for the mayor, who himself took part in the post-October 7 celebrations of the Hamas massacre and rode the passions of the antisemitic mass movement behind them to Gracie Mansion.

I do not believe this is the case. Mamdani’s statements are more than his usual bluster. They may well be a far larger threat to New York’s Jews. Such mass “protests” have often spilled over into random antisemitic violence and could well do more than that in this case. I think a full-scale pogrom is very much a possibility.

I can see how the Mamdani pogrom scenario might play out:

1. Mass protests begin at the UN and Netanyahu’s hotel.

2. The “protesters” begin to fan out into the surrounding area seeking out visible Jews to attack.

3. Large numbers of them reach heavily Jewish neighborhoods, perhaps deliberately, and begin full-scale riots.

4. Overwhelmed and knowing Mamdani loathes them and will never support them if they use the necessary force to put down the riots, the NYPD is unable to control the violence.

There would be only one word for this: pogrom. Moreover, it would be a kind of mega-pogrom, going well beyond the Crown Heights riots of 1991, incited by the racist Democratic Party power broker Al Sharpton—who bears a distinct resemblance to Mamdani himself.

It would be, in effect, another Kristallnacht, an announcement to New York’s Jewish community that they are now a powerless, oppressed minority that can be attacked with total impunity. It would mark a sea change, the beginning of a terrible new era in American Jewish life.

To assess the possibility of such a scenario, it is necessary to ask whether Mamdani actually wants a pogrom.

We cannot look into Mamdani’s soul. We cannot say with any certainty what his intentions are, but we can make some informed guesses. At the very least, it is clear that Mamdani is indifferent to the possibility of mass violence. If he were not, he would never engage in such incitement.

It is quite possible, moreover, that Mamdani does want some kind of violence, if only against Netanyahu or symbols of him and Israel. Mamdani has already engaged in maximum demonization of the prime minister and Israel, as well as those supportive of Israel like AIPAC, which he described as “monsters.” Thus, attacks on, at the very least, symbols of Netanyahu and Israel are likely his preferred scenario. That this could spill over into mass violence against Jews in general is of no interest to him.

If Mamdani does want a full-scale pogrom, the reasons why would be fairly obvious.

First, there are major political advantages to a pogrom. Despite much handwringing on the subject of “Jews for Mamdani,” 70% of New York Jews voted against him. Mamdani may want them out as the first step towards purging the city of any constituencies who do not support him or his socialist policies.

There is precedent for this, such as in Detroit and Boston. In both cities, at various times, mayors deliberately sought to drive out certain ethnic groups who threatened the mayors’ hold on power. “White flight,” for example, prompted by urban riots, caused untold damage to tax bases and other aspects of municipal life, but it also depleted votes that certain politicians very much wanted to deplete. The tactic worked and could well work again.

In addition, a pogrom would be a massive show of force that would pay instant political dividends. It would prove that the antisemitic movement led by the Democratic Socialists of America—of which Mamdani is a figurehead—is capable of warlike violence that can destroy a city if the movement’s opponents do not hand over total control.

In the face of this, as they always do, the Democratic establishment would instantly capitulate—to the extent it hasn’t already—paving the way for the movement to seize the commanding heights of the party and pave the movement’s way to the White House. Violence, after all, often puts you on the map.

Moreover, violence has always been good for Mamdani’s movement. The horrendous atrocities of October 7 galvanized it, and a pogrom would likely supercharge it, perhaps spreading to cities beyond New York, enabling the takeover of most of the country’s major cities. Mamdani will have proven that, if his people do not get what they want, America will burn. This is powerful intimidation, and history has proven it is highly effective.

There is another, darker possibility, and I freely admit that this is speculation: It is clear, given his father’s statements about Israel, that Mamdani grew up in an antisemitic household. As such, it is important to understand one of the basic tenets of antisemitism, including Muslim antisemitism: It sees the Jews as a world-encompassing, monolithic, omnipotent force that wields immense and sometimes absolute power to the detriment of the non-Jewish world.

As such, Mamdani likely does not view the Jews as a vulnerable minority. They do not require his protection and consideration. Worse than that, he would not view a pogrom as an atrocity, but a speech act. It would be speaking truth to Jewish power, to the “monsters” Mamdani may believe control the world.

Given all this, the most important question is what New York Jews should do. I believe that, above all, they must ensure that they are capable of preventing or at least interdicting a possible pogrom. To do this, they must be capable of defending themselves by themselves.

The Jews should legally acquire arms, beef up their neighborhood security organizations, begin a crash program to train community members to defend their synagogues and other Jewish sites, and generally ready themselves for combat. They must do this not because a pogrom is a certainty, but because it is a plausible scenario, and they would be derelict if they failed to view it as such and act accordingly.

Fortunately, I have received information that New York Jews are prepared to defend themselves. This is both heartening and depressing. It is horrific that things have come to this, but at least the Jews have a chance to minimize the damage.

Again, it is not certain that this dark scenario will actually play itself out. Nor is it certain that Mamdani actually wants a pogrom, at least not against the entire Jewish community. Nonetheless, it is clear that he does not care either way. In his mind, the Jews can take care of themselves.

I hope they do.