A major effort is underway to flood the White House with calls and letters urging Trump to follow through on his promise to allow food and medicine into Gaza. Will it work? I’m dubious, but it’s worth a shot. You can participate here, please do if you have a moment.
Today we’re publishing an excerpt from Theodore Hamm's new book Run Zohran Run!
It’s now available for pre-order via OR Books — which also published Refaat Alareer’s collection “If I Must Die” — and it’s an inside account of Mamdani's stunning upset victory over Andrew Cuomo in the June Democratic primary for New York City mayor. (Hamm covered the primary for Drop Site.)
Six weeks before the June 24 primary in the New York City mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo led Mamdani by over 20 points in the polls.
The following excerpt is a look at how the genocide in Gaza became the turning point in the New York City race. Read it below.
—Ryan Grim
By Theodore Hamm
“Mamdani passes on condemning the Holocaust,” read the alarming subject line of an influential email morning newsletter from Politico’s New York Playbook on Friday, May 16. Thus began a whirlwind ride for Zohran, which did not stop until his victory party forty nights later. The journey saw Mamdani’s stance on Israel become central to the race for mayor of New York City.
Politico’s buzzy Holocaust headline was not paired with a coherent story, but the New York Post and its social media devotees eagerly helped amplify it. Each year, the New York legislature approves scores of resolutions on subjects ranging from important historical events to current controversies including the use of A.I. The statements are passed via voice vote. Zohran, in fact, affirmed his support for this year’s Holocaust resolution, as he had done previously. But unlike in past years, Mamdani was not a co-sponsor of the 2025 resolution.
As Zohran explained in a video statement recorded later on May 16, he decided at the outset of this year not to co-sponsor any resolutions because he and his fellow legislators are inundated with them. Although the outlet’s coverage of Mamdani had not been favorable up to this point, it was now adopting the Murdoch organ’s smear tactics.
“I am not a supporter of Zohran Mamdani but the notion that his non-sponsorship of the Holocaust resolution means anything is disconnected from what goes on in Albany,” Assemblyman Micah Lasher posted on X two days after the story went viral. A Jewish Democrat representing the Upper West Side, Lasher noted that he and his colleagues get “dozens of emails every day” about proclamations of all kinds, and that he finds the “resolution business to be rather silly.”
The mundane facts mattered little to Politico, the Post, or kindred forces. Since 2021, Politico has been owned by German publisher Axel Springer, a stridently pro-Israel media powerhouse. In a May 19 editorial, AM NY, a free morning paper owned by a longtime Cuomo ally, inanely (and inaccurately) declared that Zohran’s unwillingness to condemn “the horrors of the Holocaust in writing and with a vote on the floor” disqualified him.
New York City was experiencing a twenty-first-century outbreak of what Charles Dickens famously called “an age of foolishness.”
Andrew Epstein, Zohran’s communications director during the primary, vividly recalls his reaction to Politico’s Holocaust smear. “I said, ‘Wtf?’ and started firing off texts and emails,” explained Andrew, who is in his late thirties and lives near Zohran in Astoria. Along with Mamdani’s then-political director Julian Gerson and the campaign’s media strategist Morris Katz, Andrew is Jewish.
The same Politico hit job called attention to a second pro-Israel resolution in the assembly that Zohran did not support. Later that Friday morning, Zohran held a presser aimed at spotlighting to his less-sensational plans to help small businesses in the city. After Mamdani opened the floor (actually, the sidewalk) to questions, reporters asked, “Do you support Israel’s right to exist?”
“Yes, I do support Israel’s right to exist as a state,” Zohran replied. On social media, numerous millennial Mamdani backers began to ridicule the media’s relentless focus on Israel. Even when he stated his positions clearly, Zohran was portrayed as somehow evasive.
Along with Epstein and campaign videographer Donald Borenstein, Zohran spent that Friday afternoon putting together the insurgent’s response statement, which explained his assembly office practices regarding resolutions. That night, Andrew and Donald went out to dinner.
When Andrew returned home to Astoria around 10:30 p.m., he got a call from Zohran. The tireless contender wanted his comms guy to join him outside Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks had just finished off their arch-rival Celtics and fans were celebrating like they’d won the NBA title.
Earlier that week, Zohran posted a clip of himself wearing a Knicks cap backwards at a watch party outside of the Garden. A middle-aged white guy in a sleeveless shirt had his right arm around the candidate, while his left index finger pointed to the multi-colored Knicks basketball spinning rapidly on the candidate’s head. “Here we are,” said Zohran playfully. “We’re spinning a ball.” It was a memorable moment that traveled quickly across platforms. Spontaneity yields results.
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Andrew journeyed back from Astoria and met up with Spencer Goldberg (the candidate’s top aide) and Zohran, the only person outside the Garden sporting a suit and tie. The upbeat mayoral contender used his lapel mic to interview an assortment of young male fans. Nearly everyone at such gatherings is a social media maven, and many are aspiring performers. “I’m feeling impeccable,” said a large, likely Eastern European guy in his twenties. A 21-year-old Latino jumped in to say he would be voting for Zohran. A rotund Black guy, clad in a matching Knicks jersey and beanie, launched into a comedy routine. To the Pacers (the Knicks’ next-round opponent), the twenty-something offered fake advance condolences. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…for absolutely nothing!” he yelled at the camera, with his pals roaring behind him and Zohran laughing along.
Andrew returned home, edited the footage and posted clips on the campaign’s platforms at 3:15 a.m. A day that began with the Holocaust attack ended on a boisterous note.
A few nights after Politico’s hit piece, Zohran spoke in Brooklyn’s Gowanus at an issue launch party for Acacia, a progressive Muslim magazine that debuted in 2024. After the candidate’s remarks received a friendly reception, a Palestinian American activist named Anas Saleh angrily confronted Mamdani.
Saleh pointedly accused the candidate of “being hypocritical” when calling for “Free Palestine while saying Israel has a right to exist.” The activist said that he had family in Palestine who were under attack, insisting that “Israel does not have the right to exist.” The candidate heard him out, but Saleh exited before Mamdani could reply.
Palestinian American Muslim leader Nerdeen Kiswani, the Bay Ridge-based founder of Within Our Lifetime, promoted Saleh’s statements on social media. In Kiswani’s view, Zohran “never should have” affirmed support for the colonizer’s statehood. Mamdani, Kiswani argued, was “trying to appease genocidal maniacs.”
Zohran responded by addressing concerns about his position directly. The night after the Saleh confrontation, Zohran attended a trans community town hall hosted by Park Slope-based Ceyenne Doroshow, a leading Black activist. Many attendees had participated in Palestine solidarity protests.
Prior to detailing his plans to defend trans rights as mayor, Zohran told the gathering that he wanted “to address something I know is on many of your minds.” The candidate assured the group that his position on “Palestinian human rights, liberation, and Gaza” had not changed.
“I will not walk away from my principles or my track record,” Zohran continued. “And I don’t believe any of us can look away while Israeli war crimes continue to escalate, and thousands of children are being slaughtered.” He then reaffirmed his support for BDS and spoke about his “Not on Our Dime” legislation that strips tax-exempt status from New York nonprofits that aid Israel’s war crimes.
Rather than modify his support for Palestinian rights, or try to mollify his anti-Israel critics, the DSA candidate remained steadfast. This meant that he was now incurring fire from two different directions, although one side’s arsenal had far heavier artillery.
Theodore Hamm’s Run Zohran Run! is now available via OR Books.
Let's not forget what Mamdani has already achieved: in winning the primary, he also defeated the Israel lobby, the pro-Israel media coverage, and laid waste to Bloomberg's $8 million donation to Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani never campaigned on Israel/Gaza, but was forced to respond -- and he was succinct and steadfast in his views.
If the Israel lobby doesn't resort to dirty tricks, or worse, Mamdani's win in November will be a turning point in the power of the pro-Israel lobby in our elections nationwide -- and liberate politicians who are critics of Israel from being silenced.
ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS ISRAEL IS A MONSTER.
No, Israel doesn't have a right to exist on stolen land and through genocide.