Mamdani's Victory: A Test of Progressive Politics in America's Most Powerful City

posted on: Nov 12, 2025

By: Ghassan Rubeiz / Arab America Contributing Writer

Israelis do not like Zohran Mamdani. Israel has passion and experience in eliminating political leaders who dream of Palestine.

The election of Mamdani as New York’s next mayor offers a glimpse of America’s progressive future, but transforming hope into governance will require strategic pragmatism.

Mamdani’s win reflects that a sizable segment of US society is ready to fix the tax system to provide basic social services to all citizens, a safety net our rampant capitalism has so far failed to deliver. Voting for a leader of Muslim, South Asian background demonstrates faith in young, culturally diverse leadership and advances the integration of Muslim and other ethnic communities into American political life. Most intriguingly, his leadership could open new dialogue between Arabs and Jews. New York, as North America’s largest and most culturally diverse city, has the resources and influence to model equity, freedom from bigotry and equality, both domestically and globally.

Mamdani could refine his most powerful and sensitive concepts to better suit American political realities. Rather than focusing on “socialism” — a concept that too often invokes communism or state control of the economy— he could emphasize the proven and more appreciated “welfare state” model that guides much of Europe. These social democracies use progressive tax rates to fund universal healthcare, education, and social security- but the government doesn’t control the economy. The open market thrives in Copenhagen.

Mamdani’s focus is human rights. His proposal for free daycare is wise precisely because it empowers people at multiple levels: laying the foundation of child development for all children, rich and poor; enabling mothers’ workforce participation; and strengthening families and communities. You don’t need to be a “socialist” to recognize the basic human rights of children and to recognize smart human investment.

On immigration, Mamdani rightly champions newcomers but shouldn’t appear to ignore America’s justified worry about its national borders. He should actively promote legislative reforms for maintaining border security. New York, as America’s most international city, should pioneer humane reception programs that welcome talent while maintaining border integrity.

The Middle East presents Mamdani’s greatest challenge and opportunity. Two thirds of New York’s Jewish voters opposed him, troubled by his serious attention to Gaza’s “genocide” and Israeli “apartheid.” How could Mamdani lower the temperature on Middle East issues without losing the focus?

As leader of a city where the Jewish community wields considerable power, Mamdani must not abandon his principles on Palestine, but he could steer the conversation to highlight Arab-Jewish dialogue and Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. The Jewish community fears New York is turning against Israel; Mamdani must demonstrate to skeptics that he’s not an enemy of Jews, but a friend to the Palestinians who have suffered dispossession and abuse for over a century. Having built relationships with a minority of New York’s Jewish community, he has the platform to pursue broader reconciliation. His success in the Jewish diaspora could help to soften hard-to-reach, right-leaning, hegemonic Israeli policies. The challenge is turning the Jewish question from a threat to an opportunity.

Mamdani has given us hope. Whether he can navigate the mentioned (and unmentioned) stumbling blocks ahead and help make New York -and perhaps even the United States- more equitable will determine if he’s truly a statesman, or merely a young charismatic leader.

Targeting Mamdani for thinking of Palestine is unfair.

Ghassan Rubeiz is the former Middle East Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Earlier, he taught psychology and social work in his country of birth, Lebanon, and later in the United States, where he currently lives. He has contributed to political commentary for the past twenty years and has delivered occasional public talks on peace, justice, and interfaith topics. You can reach him at rubeizg@gmail.com

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab America. The reproduction of this article is permissible with proper credit to Arab America and the author.

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