The Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, never misses an opportunity to bring up Palestine while excoriating Israel. His latest was his comparison of the war in Gaza to the past war between Ireland and Great Britain while hosting former Irish President, Mary Robinson, as his guest of honor at Gracie Mansion on St. Patrick’s Day 2026.

Really Zohran – do you have to turn everything into Palestinian rights? You’re a two-word repetitive refrain. St. Patrick’s Day honors the death of St. Patrick, the Catholic saint (c. 385–461 CE), who is the patron saint of Ireland, and who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. How do you manage to turn this into Palestinian rights? Nothing like exploiting a religious holiday to score political points.

A Quick Bit of History

In a land for peace deal in 2005, Israel disengaged from the Gaza strip. Eight thousand Israelis vacated their homes, their lands, and their businesses – bodies were removed from cemeteries – not a trace of Israelis/Jews remained in Gaza. In 2006, Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, gained control in the Palestinian legislative elections. Subsequently, Hamas seized full control of the territory by force in 2007. There has not been an election since.

Billions of international dollars were donated to help rebuild Gaza. Instead of reconstruction, these billions were spent on munitions, bombs, and the building of a terror tunnel structure rivaling the New York City subway system. It is approximately 400 miles long, 20 feet to 200 feet deep below Gaza – beneath hospitals, schools, libraries, residential housing, mosques, etc. Many high-level Hamas leaders decamped to Qatar to live in luxury on these dollars while ordinary Gazans were left to suffer hunger, lack of infrastructure, lack of medical facilities – and to become human shields.

The long time Hamas goal, along with Hezbollah, Houthis, and other radical Islamist groups – many are proxies of Iran – is to destroy Israel and kill Jews. Peace is not the goal. Palestinians have been offered a state five times since 1937. Their only interest is from the river to the sea.

Comparing Ireland and Gaza

The war between Ireland and Great Britain is not equal to the Palestinian struggle in any way. For one thing, Ireland has had free and fair elections for over one hundred years.

I won’t belabor Irish/English history. England invaded Ireland in 1169 CE as an expansionist project. Israel did not invade Gaza as an expansionist project. Israel took control of Gaza after the ’67 war. At the time, Gaza had been occupied by Egypt.

On Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel, massacred 1250 civilians, and took 254 hostages – Hamas was breaking the 2005 land for peace deal.

The Irish don’t attack the Brits on a regular basis claiming British land is theirs. The Irish didn’t bomb places all over the world to force the separation from Great Britain: Think 9/11 – Madrid train bombings – London bombings – airline hijackings –  Bataclan attack – Bondi Beach – Michigan synagogue, the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre, Tree of Life Synagogue, etc., etc., etc. Radical Islamists and their followers (those who globalize the intifada) have been terrorizing the world for 80+ years simply because they want the land that Israel sits on and because they want to kill Jews. There are 22 Arab countries and 57 Muslim majority countries worldwide – but this isn’t enough. Since the time of the Iranian Revolution (1979) and through the end of 2024 with the onset of the Ayatollah rulers, there have been an estimated 66,872 Islamist attacks worldwide, resulting in at least 249,941 deaths. That’s without 2025 or 2026 statistics.

Mamdani: “As we know, it was on Irish soil that the British Empire developed their colonial project.” What a laughable statement. In fact, British colonialism involved global expansion, settlement, and influence from the late 16th to the mid-20th century, creating the largest empire in history. Beyond Ireland, it spanned the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia.

It is preposterous to compare British expansion around the world to the Gaza/Israel conflict. To state that the start of the global British expansion in Ireland is equivalent to the Israel/Palestine issue is so off kilter it is hard to imagine the statement is taken seriously. Britain conquered a huge part of the globe, expanding its empire from the late 1500s into the 20th century.

A more accurate comparison is with the Muslim conquests and expansion between 622-750 CE. Beginning in the Arabian Peninsula, Muslim forces conquered the Levant, Egypt, and the Persian Empire, expanding from Spain to India. Both expansions were about power, land, and religion – but different lands and different religions and very different religious ideologies.

Conversely, the Jewish people have been in Israel, previously the Palestinian Mandate under Great Britain, previously the Ottoman Empire, previously the Mamluk Sultanate, etc., going back for over four thousand years. There is archaeological evidence that Jews have been in what is now Israel since 1400 BCE. Even after Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 CE, and Jews were enslaved and/or scattered around the globe, Jews have continually maintained a presence in Judea/Israel and the surrounding land.

There were periods when the Israelites were conquered and other times when they lived in peace. But, beyond the lands that comprised the Twelve Tribes Of Israel (1200 BCE – 586 BCE), the Israelites did not expand. The Assyrian conquest (722 BCE) resulted in mass displacement of most (but not all) of the Israelites. In addition to maintaining a continued presence in these lands since 1400 BCE, evidence shows that Jerusalem has been a majority-Jewish city since the 1870s.

“Over the past few years, as we have witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many. For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence is nothing new. Palestinians are so often left to weep alone.”

I don’t know what planet Mamdani lives on, but maybe he doesn’t read newspapers or watch television news. If he hasn’t seen college encampments, huge worldwide pro-Palestinian marches and demonstrations, and “globalizing the intifada” murders and assaults around the world, then he should not be in a position of authority. To put forward such a grievously inaccurate statement is negligent and irresponsible.

Mary Robinson was very politic in her reply. She could have been referring to current situations in Sudan, or Iran, or years of Jewish history including the Inquisition, pogroms, the Holocaust, or Oct 7th, when she said, “Our own history holds memories of famine, exile, and conflict. Perhaps because of that, many recognize echoes of Ireland’s past in the suffering of others today, in the pain of displacement and the enduring human longing for dignity, justice, and self-determination.”

Many Catholics didn’t see Mamdani’s words about Ireland as the peace offering he meant it to be. When Mamdani skipped the installation of the 11th Archbishop of the New York Archdiocese, he broke decades of tradition. It was a packed historic ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral – steeped in Catholic ritual – and had been attended by New York City mayors for over one hundred years. And Mamdani had no excuse. Yet, he put out a tweet marking World Hijab Day and suggested at the annual interfaith prayer breakfast that the US should follow the Prophet Muhammed’s example. Personally, I find this as offensive as when Christians claim that the US is a Christian country and we should put Christ into our public school classrooms.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, criticized Mamdani for missing the Mass, saying that Mamdani “ghosted the event.” He also said, “He could easily have been there. Instead, he attended business as usual. One in three New Yorkers are Catholic, making them the largest faith community in the City. Mamdani’s professed interest in diversity and inclusion obviously hits a brick wall when it comes to Catholics. He wants nothing to do with them.”

Even if New York City is displeased with Mamdani, he cannot be recalled; there is no provision in either the State Constitution or the City Charter. He can only be removed by Governor Kathy Hochul. The next New York City mayoral election is 2029.

How Mamdani fares with the Catholic population is anyone’s guess. He has not gone out of his way for any religious group other than the Muslim community. He has dissed the Jewish community on many occasions, for example, calling a Nefesh b’Nefesh event, which assists people who want to move to Israel, a violation of international law.

Additionally, he has done nothing to aid and protect the Jewish community – in fact often making it harder. One example: On his first day in office, he revoked the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of Jew-hatred ostensibly for free speech purposes. He refuses to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada,” and he made BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) movement boycotts easier to get around. As a bit of fluff, he has met with and assisted Orthodox Jews, but the reason for that is obvious: The community he met with doesn’t believe a Jewish land should exist, but that is because they don’t think Israel should exist until the Messiah comes.

The Irish have never been complacent in New York City. They came as refugees fleeing famine and oppression. They worked hard and they moved up. As refugees, the Irish and other Catholics built lives for themselves. They organized and they helped each other – never crying for refugee status. The Catholic community as a whole is large, and if Mamdani ignores them or uses the community to further his own goals, he will suffer the consequences.

The Catholic community built strong neighborhoods and strong lives. In this way, they are much like the Jewish people, who also built a strong community in New York City.

The Jewish people also built a strong Israel. There is nothing Mamdani and his cohort can do to take that away.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)