Israel was bombing Gaza in September 2023 while holding thousands of Palestinians hostage in administrative detention.
To call the October 7th attack unprovoked is not accurate.
It was the overwhelming consensus of human rights experts that Israel was enacting an apartheid occupation against Palestinians before October 7th.
Mamdani is also right to condemn Israel's actions in Gaza much more severely than the October 7th attack because Israel's conduct is substantially worse.
You are absolutely right here about his callousness towards Jewish suffering and his inability to refrain from trotting out his usual slander against Israel even on a day of mourning. The only line I take issue with in your piece is this: “Mamdani is entitled to his view of Gaza”.
He is entitled to oppose the war in Gaza (although what he would have liked Israel to do in response to a brutal terrorist attack remains a mystery) but he is NOT entitled to call it a genocide. That is a term with a very specific meaning and Israel’s conduct, while far from perfect, does not meet it. He is also not allowed to call a democracy, even one run by a leader he disapproves of, an apartheid state when Israeli Arabs have full rights in the country.
He is entitled to his opinions, but not his own facts.
Israel was bombing Gaza in September 2023 while holding thousands of Palestinians hostage in administrative detention.
To call the October 7th attack unprovoked is not accurate.
It was the overwhelming consensus of human rights experts that Israel was enacting an apartheid occupation against Palestinians before October 7th.
Mamdani is also right to condemn Israel's actions in Gaza much more severely than the October 7th attack because Israel's conduct is substantially worse.
Abhorrent statement and frankly makes me wonder whether he’s in fact an abhorrent individual as well.
You are absolutely right here about his callousness towards Jewish suffering and his inability to refrain from trotting out his usual slander against Israel even on a day of mourning. The only line I take issue with in your piece is this: “Mamdani is entitled to his view of Gaza”.
He is entitled to oppose the war in Gaza (although what he would have liked Israel to do in response to a brutal terrorist attack remains a mystery) but he is NOT entitled to call it a genocide. That is a term with a very specific meaning and Israel’s conduct, while far from perfect, does not meet it. He is also not allowed to call a democracy, even one run by a leader he disapproves of, an apartheid state when Israeli Arabs have full rights in the country.
He is entitled to his opinions, but not his own facts.