{"id":14559,"date":"2025-10-23T10:32:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T10:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/?p=14559"},"modified":"2025-10-23T10:34:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T10:34:24","slug":"elie-wiesels-son-speaks-out-about-mamdanis-anti-semitism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/?p=14559","title":{"rendered":"Elie Wiesel’s son speaks out about Mamdani’s anti-semitism."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the Wall Street Journal – Wiesel’s son is Elisha Wiesel.<\/a> This is an excerpt of his op ed in which he describes a conversation he had with a friend – who see things as Israel being “as bad as Hamas.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Mamdani Mayoralty Threatens New York\u2019s Jews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By propagating lies about \u2018occupation,\u2019 \u2018apartheid\u2019 and \u2018genocide,\u2019 he helps promote antisemitism.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he asked: \u201cIsn\u2019t it terrible where we\u2019ve ended up in the Middle East?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was still elated from the Israeli hostages\u2019 release the previous day, and it took me a minute to realize he didn\u2019t share my relief. \u201cIt\u2019s been a terrible war,\u201d I agreed, \u201cbut I\u2019m optimistic. Thank God President Trump stood with Israel and took out the Iranian nuclear facilities. The Abraham Accords will grow from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut who\u2019s going to force Israel to make peace?\u201d he asked. \u201cThey\u2019re as bad as Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve discussed world affairs for 30 years, and I know he reads Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky. But this was the first time I wondered if I had misheard him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you really both-sides-ing this conflict?\u201d I asked, incredulous. \u201cAre you suggesting the rape, murder and kidnapping by Hamas on Oct. 7\u2014with Gazan civilian participation\u2014is equivalent to Israel\u2019s defensive war?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Mamdani\u2019s messaging has made class war and hatred of Jews great again. Smiling, polished, articulate, Mr. Mamdani lies. He lies about Israel as easily as he lies that he can freeze rent and offer free goods through higher taxes, as though the corporations and billionaires he targets can\u2019t relocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Yorkers aren\u2019t dumb, but we\u2019re busy. Mr. Mamdani is lying to those too busy to learn the truth. His attack points: \u201coccupation,\u201d \u201capartheid,\u201d \u201cgenocide.\u201d The casualties: truth, friendships, coexistence for New York\u2019s Jews. Unlike Andrew Cuomo, he seeks to \u201cother\u201d us and divide the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Mamdani blamed Hamas\u2019s butchery on the \u201coccupation\u201d on Oct. 8, while Israel was reeling. He omitted that Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 and that Hamas built rockets and tunnels with billions in aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*************<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Mamdani\u2019s apartheid charge also lies by omission. Members of Israel\u2019s 15% Arab minority have sat on its supreme court, run banks and represented the country at Eurovision, and they dominate medicine. The Islamic-majority states around Israel are Judenrein\u2014free of Jews\u2014or nearly so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan\u2019t you just be civilized?\u201d my friend said. \u201cIt\u2019s so frustrating watching Israel mistreat the Palestinians.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow many Jews live in Gaza?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZero.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy, do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe they don\u2019t want to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer: They\u2019d be killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ugliest and most dangerous of all, this Oct. 7 Mr. Mamdani accused Israel of genocide\u2014normalizing the lie that Israel seeks destruction, not security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cElisha, tens of thousands of Gazans died,\u201d my friend said. \u201cNothing is worth that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genocide requires intent. The Nazis aimed to annihilate all Jews. Israel\u2019s intent is to destroy Hamas, not Palestinians. Before Oct. 7, 18,000 Gazans worked in Israel. Mr. Mamdani knows this even if my friend doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Oct. 7, Israel faced a terrible choice: destroy Hamas or face endless attacks. Hamas hides behind civilians; Israel drops leaflets and sends texts to cellphones before dropping bombs. Who is genocidal\u2014Israel or Hamas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***************<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Mamdani\u2019s lies endanger Jews everywhere. Incendiary, false and deadly, they spread hatred. More than half of New York\u2019s hate crimes last year were antisemitic. One attacker, shouting \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d stabbed a Jew. Another tried to run Jews over with a car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was assaulted last week by anti-Israel marchers at the kind of rally Mr. Mamdani attended, then encouraged, and then endorsed only tacitly as he came under pressure. The signs read: \u201cGlory to the martyrs.\u201d \u201cViolence is resistance.\u201d \u201cKill the Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m voting for Andrew Cuomo. We need a uniter, not a divider. His support matters at a time when we feel so isolated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend and I left the restaurant, a seam of our friendship unraveling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I can\u2019t be with you on this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s OK. Jews have been alone for millennia. We\u2019re used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas it worth it\u2014all this fighting?\u201d he asked, his eyes sad. \u201cDo you think you\u2019re winning?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. We\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Wall Street Journal – Wiesel’s son is Elisha Wiesel. This is an excerpt of his op ed in which he describes a conversation he had with a friend – who see things as Israel being “as bad as Hamas.” A Mamdani Mayoralty Threatens New York\u2019s Jews By propagating lies about \u2018occupation,\u2019 \u2018apartheid\u2019 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14559"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14564,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14559\/revisions\/14564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}