Jooish

Is Mamdani mellowing?: Mayor Mamdani passed on an opportunity today to continue his virulent Israel-bashing, sparking faint hopes that the anti-Israel politician is heeding calls to stop stoking antisemitism. • Mamdani spoke publicly for the first time on his plans to skip the protests against PM Netanyahu when he arrives in New York next week for the UN General Assembly. He said he’s already “made very clear about my views, my thoughts, my assessments” on the matter but he was focused on ensuring the city is prepared to host representatives from across the world, keep New Yorkers safe, and keep traffic flowing. • It’s a far cry from his typically strident anti-Israel rhetoric and baseless threats to arrest Netanyahu. And he has appeared to call on New Yorkers to protest, something that would be unheard of for a mayor who in in charge of quelling protests. He denied today making that call, saying “I’ve never encouraged them to protest, but I always told them they have the right to do so, and we respect that right, and this city is proud of the first amendment.”