Standing Strong When Politics Turn Hostile |
New York has always been both my home and my anchor. The place where my family grew, my business took shape, and my connection to the Jewish community deepened.
For decades, this city has shown how diversity and ambition can reinforce one another: different people, different backgrounds, different ideas, all contributing to a shared story of opportunity.
Lately, though, it’s hard to ignore a change in the atmosphere.
Public discourse feels sharper. Divisions feel deeper. Antisemitic incidents have risen in ways that make many Jewish New Yorkers pause for the first time in years. And the recent election of Zohran Mamdani has brought that discomfort into sharper focus, not only because of his public positions on Israel, but because those positions reflect a broader cultural shift affecting Jewish life in the city.
When a newly elected mayor openly supports phrases like “Globalize the Intifada” or labels Israel an “apartheid state,” it reverberates far beyond policy debates. It shapes how Jews are viewed, how safe they feel expressing their identity, and how connected they feel to a city they’ve been contributing to for generations.
And for me, as both a Jewish New Yorker and someone deeply invested in the long-term health of this city, that impact is felt on both a personal and........