After Mayor Mamdani gave a City Hall speech labeling Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu a war criminal, I wondered: could the mayor have spoken from his heart, but also tried actually to apply universally the universal principles he invokes consistently? The following is a speech that, while not fully aligned with my views, would be refreshing to hear:

My fellow New Yorkers, my views on Israel and Palestine are no secret. I believe the 1948 creation of Israel represented a profound tragedy for Palestinians: hundreds of thousands displaced; communities destroyed; and a refugee crisis and occupation that continues. Since Oct. 7, civilian deaths and suffering in Gaza have been catastrophic, resulting in allegations of war crimes and genocide that must be adjudicated.

These convictions are at my core, rooted in my belief that human rights must be universal. But today I want to expand on this, because I must acknowledge critiques about what I have not always said sufficiently clearly.

Start with the Palestinian connection to modern Israel. It is ancient and profound. But a truthful examination must acknowledge that so too is the Jewish connection. For millennia, Jews maintained a spiritual, cultural, historical and physical bond to the land.

After the Roman destruction of the last Jewish state, Jews became stateless — living as minorities, often under Christians and Muslims, enduring centuries of discrimination, persecution and violence. It........

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