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Newsroom
an hour ago
- Politics
- Newsroom
The Israel-Iran conflict may not end without a regime change
Analysis: The spiral of conflict in the Middle East took another dangerous turn when Israel, seemingly unprovoked, attacked Iran last Friday on an unprecedented scale, taking the region to the brink of full-scale war as Iran retaliates. The day before Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the still ongoing war, he went to the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall) sacred to Jews and posted a note into a crack in the colossal stone blocks as per the ritual. The note quoted the biblical Book of Numbers: 'Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion.' Hence the name Operation Rising Lion. When I visited Jerusalem in 2023, I made it into the tunnels behind and beneath the Western Wall and saw long forgotten and faded notes scattered on the ground. My guess is that the current trajectory in the Middle East will see Netanyahu's vision for Israeli power and security cast in the dirt also. For most, the main question now is whether there is any justification or tangible reason for Israel's pre-emptive attack against Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme. My response would be that mutual perceptions of existential crisis in Israel and Iran is driving the region deeper into crisis. To understand this, one could adopt a lens of ontological security. This means the very identity and essence of the political systems in Israel and Iran are intrinsically tied to ideologically conditioned language and behaviours without which the regimes would deflate and crash to earth like punctured hot air balloons. According to this understanding, Israel and Iran have been on a collision course since the formerly close allies parted ways 45 years ago after the Iranian revolution. Let me explain. The raison d'être of the Israeli state is to protect its citizens above all – this is perhaps the one universal principle of an otherwise diverse and increasingly politically divided nation. The more that Israelis feel threatened, the more the state's identity becomes anchored to an inflexible security paradigm willing to compromise the lives and human security of others who are perceived as a 'threat', including Palestinians and those who support them. On the Iranian side, the Islamic Republic emerged out of a popular revolution against the repressive western-aligned Pahlavi monarchy. Again, like the State of Israel the Islamic Republic immediately faced attack and isolation, which led to regression into a narrow, paranoid oligarchy with a theocratic veneer. To offset flagging internal legitimacy, the regime exaggerated the Islamic character of the state by taking up the cause of Muslim justice abroad. The Palestinian issue and anti-Israel sentiment – manifested in the Axis of Resistance alliance – came to rest at the core of the Iranian regime's identity. A senior cleric of the ruling oligarchy expressed this reality perfectly in 2013 when he stated: 'The destruction of Israel is the idea of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and is one of the pillars of the Iranian Islamic regime. We cannot claim that we have no intention of going to war with Israel.' The two core paradigms of both states are mutually reinforcing – Iran props up its internal legitimacy by proclaiming a desire to destroy the Zionist state on behalf of Muslims, and Israel commits atrocities against Muslims in its search for security for Jews. Since the 2000s, the spectre of a nuclear-armed Iranian state amplified this cycle immensely. Israel has been planning to strike Iran's nuclear programme since at least 2007. At that time Israel embarrassed the Syrian regime and its Iranian ally by effortlessly evading air defences to destroy a nuclear research facility in Northeast Syria. The Israeli Defence Force then made clear its intention and capacity to do the same in Iran. What prevented Israel were Iran's regional assets, located on Israel's borders. If Israel were to attack Iran directly, they would have faced a barrage of missiles and rockets from resistance axis allies, Hamas and other militia in Gaza, and from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Syria also posed a possible threat from the Golan. This was the Iranian regime's outer defence rim and insurance policy. This changed after the October 7, 2023 attacks. By the end of 2024, Hamas and Hezbollah were no longer able to threaten Israel as before, the Al-Assad regime was gone and the path to Tehran and the Furdow, Netanz and other nuclear facilities were wide open. If US president Donald Trump had not restrained Netanyahu in the first months of 2025, the latter may have pulled the trigger on the attack even earlier. Trump, in consultation with Gulf allies during his May visit to the Middle East, which tellingly did not include Israel, was persuaded to leverage the vulnerable Iranian state into a more favourable nuclear deal. Talks were being facilitated by the neutral Omanis in Muscat. Trump had scotched the 2013-15 deal negotiated by Barak Obama, also hosted by Oman, in 2018. The latest round of talks were due to be held in Muscat on Sunday, June 15. The Iranians relaxed their security personal protocols put in place after the assassinations of top leaders via pinpoint strikes through 2024, believing that they were safe until at least after the talks. Netanyahu sensed the opportunity and his war cabinet ordered Operation Rising Lion. (Apart from a spike in pizza deliveries to the Pentagon on the day before the attacks it remains unclear how much knowedge the US had of the operation.) Where the current conflict will lead is not clear. At this point, it seems neither the Israelis nor the Iranians can change the script. The Israeli regime will act according to an ingrained impulse to destroy anything and anyone they think poses an existential risk to the State of Israel. The Islamic Republic will continue to fire back as much as they can with missiles and inflammatory rhetoric about the final destruction of Israel. It may be that only regime change in Tehran and Jerusalem via the Iranian and Israeli peoples can arrest the cycle.
Politico
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
Divergent focuses for Cuomo, Mamdani in the NYC mayoral race's final sprint
NEW YORK — The final, frenzied sprint in New York City's Democratic primary for mayor featured Andrew Cuomo homing in on Zohran Mamdani's refusal to condemn the phrase 'globalize the intifada' and Mamdani blasting the millions of dollars Michael Bloomberg has poured into a pro-Cuomo super PAC. In campaign stops Thursday, the rivals both name-checked the billionaire former mayor, who has contributed $8.3 million to the pro-Cuomo PAC in an effort to blunt Mamdani's momentum. Mamdani slammed the spending as an affront to democracy. Cuomo praised Bloomberg for taking a stand. 'Michael Bloomberg has sought to buy elections before. He spent an unbelievable amount of money when he ran for president,' Mamdani told reporters at an Astoria, Queens, bar. 'It's to fulfill the vision that he shared with New Yorkers many years ago: that this city should be a luxury product. And what we want this city to be is a city for working- and middle-class people.' Cuomo acknowledged Bloomberg's endorsement but devoted more pointed attention to Mamdani's recent remarks about the 'globalize the intifada' phrase, which many Jews view as a call to violence against them. Mamdani is not being criticized for using the phrase, but for his response when asked to opine on it. 'He happens to be a billionaire. Good for him. He also happens to have been a highly successful mayor of New York City,' Cuomo said of Bloomberg during a campaign stop in the Co-op City section of the Bronx. 'Mr. Bloomberg is also concerned, as are many Jewish New Yorkers, about statements that Mr. Mamdani has made. You know, when you say 'globalize the intifada,' that is basically repugnant to the Jewish community and is basically inciting violence.' With the June 24 primary just around the corner and early voting already underway, several candidates for the Democratic nomination crisscrossed the city on the Juneteenth holiday. Brad Lander, a third candidate who enjoyed a recent breakthrough with his arrest by federal immigration officials, continued his push to stay in the conversation. But he stepped gingerly into the 'intifada' debate, trying to inject nuance into the flashpoint topic. 'I don't like the phrase 'globalize the intifada,'' Lander, who is Jewish, told reporters after voting in Park Slope, Brooklyn. 'Some people, when they say it, they might mean 'fight for the rights of Palestinians,' but I'll tell you, all I can hear is 'open season on Jews.'' Lander, the city comptroller who has cross-endorsed with Mamdani under the city's ranked-choice voting system, also defended the democratic socialist. 'We do not agree on everything about Israel and Palestine, but I do believe that he will protect Jewish New Yorkers and our rights,' he said. 'And I was proud to rank him second.' Mamdani, a critic of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, was asked this week if the phrase, which has become a rallying cry for some pro-Palestinian protesters, made him uncomfortable. He did not condemn or reject it and was asked again about it Thursday. 'These words have different meanings for many different people,' Mamdani said, repeating his vow to combat antisemitism. 'I've been clear that any incitement to violence is something that I'm in opposition to, and that the use of any language to that end is clearly something that I oppose.' In recent days, Mamdani has also discussed threats he's faced over the course of his campaign, often for being Muslim. On Thursday, his campaign released a statement saying the NYPD is investigating a car bomb threat against him. In the statement, Mamdani said the threat 'is not surprising after millions of dollars have been spent on dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric designed to stoke division and hate.' Recent polls put Mamdani, a state lawmaker, in second place behind Cuomo. Lander has placed third in recent polling. Mamdani said his surge just behind Cuomo is what's motivating Bloomberg's largesse — and that it highlights Cuomo's alignment with the wealthy. He also pointed to the NYPD's post-9/11 surveillance of Muslims under Bloomberg, including at mosques and schools. 'I am very critical of their limited vision as to who belongs in New York City and who is worthy of support and who is worthy of suspicion,' he said. While Cuomo and the super PAC backing him have focused many of their attacks on Mamdani's views around Israel, Cuomo has also called into question his experience. Mamdani, who's 33, has rebutted those broadsides by pointing to Cuomo's own record, including sexual harassment allegations that the former governor has denied and his handling of Covid. Cuomo continued to hammer away at Mamdani's relatively light resume Thursday. 'Mayor of New York, you need to have experience, you need to have credentials,' he said. 'You need to have had a job where you managed something before, right?'
New York Post
4 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Zohran Mamdani receives car bomb threat in vile voicemail — prompting NYPD hate crime probe
A vile bigot left state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani's office an expletive-filled, anti-Muslim voicemail Wednesday threatening to bomb his car — one of several recent death threats the mayoral contender has received, his campaign and police said. The NYPD's hate crimes unit is investigating the threats against Mamdani, a Muslim US citizen who was born in Uganda, cops said. The same unidentified man left two voicemails — both of which were obtained by The Post — that mix racist bile with chilling threats of violence, sources said. Advertisement The NYPD said a vile bigot left state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani's office an expletive-filled, anti-Muslim voicemail Wednesday threatening to bomb his car. Christopher Sadowski 'You're a terrorist piece of s–t, and you're not welcome in New York or in America, neither is your f–king family so they should get the f–k out,' the sicko said in the message Wednesday. 'Go start your car and see what happens. I'd keep an eye on your house and family. Watch your f–king back every f–king second until you get the f–k out of America. Nobody wants your terrorist ways here. And check your beeper, too, you terrorist f–k,' he caller said, apparently referring to Israel's pager attacks against Hezbollah. 'Beep beep.' Advertisement Mamdani's Queens office has received four voicemails going back to March that make anti-Muslim threats, police said. A staffer reported the threats after receiving the disturbing Wednesday voicemail, which appears to be made by the same caller who left a similarly alarming message on June 11, sources said. 'While Zohran does not own a car, the violent and specific language of what appears to be a repeat caller is alarming, and we are taking every precaution,' said a spokesman for Mamdani's campaign. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Advertisement 'While this is a sad reality, it is not surprising after millions of dollars have been spent on dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric designed to stoke division and hate. Violence and racism should have no place in our politics.' The hate crime investigation comes as Mamdani, who is running neck-and-neck with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, faced an uproar over his refusal to denounce the 'globalize the intifada' rallying cry — which many consider an incitement to violence against Jews. Mamdani has repeatedly said he rejects violence and antisemitism. He emotionally spoke Wednesday with tears in his eyes about the Islamophobic death threats he and his family have received, but didn't specify details. The unidentified individual left two voicemails — both of which were obtained by The Post that contained violent and racial threats to Mamdani. Derek French/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Advertisement The hateful caller, in the June 11 message, told Mamdani to go back to Uganda before someone shoots him in the head and 'gets rid' of his family. 'You are not compatible with our Western values,' the racist caller said. 'So stop spewing your antisemitic rhetoric and get the fuck out of America.' The calls were made from an untraceable number, sources said. 'There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing by the Hate Crime Task Force,' police said. Additional reporting by Joe Marino
New York Post
7 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
NYC mayoral wannabe Mamdani keeps struggling to defend ‘globalize the intifada' rallying cry — as even cross-endorser Lander piles on
Mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani on Thursday continued to stumble defending the 'globalize the intifada' rallying cry – as even fellow Democratic candidate Brad Lander, who cross-endorsed him, joined a pileup of criticism. The usually smooth-talking Mamdani devolved into word salad as he maintained the phrase is not an incitement to violence against Jews. 'These words have different meanings for many different people, and my point is rather to say that each and every New Yorker deserves that safety and that my focus is going to be on making this an affordable city,' Mamdani said at a news conference. 'I've been clear that any incitement of violence is something that I'm in opposition to.' 3 Zohran Mamdani keeps struggling to defend his refusal to denounce the rallying cry, 'Globalize the infitada.' Bloomberg via Getty Images The Democratic socialist's awkward response came after he not only refused to denounce the anti-Israel cry but argued he viewed it as a call to stand up for Palestinian human rights. He also tried to downplay the term by noting the US Holocaust Memorial Museum used the Arabic word 'intifada' to describe the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Polish Jews against the Nazis. The museum slapped down Mamdani's argument — as did his critics, who view the Queens state assemblyman as, at best, being blind to antisemitism. Thursday's backlash included Lander, the lefty city comptroller who last week vowed to rank Mamdani second on his ranked-choice city ballot — a pledge his friendly rival returned. The pair's cross-endorsement could carry weight in the ranked-choice voting primary, where voters pick up to five candidates in order of preference. Even if a voter's first choice is eliminated in successive rounds of ranked-choice calculations, their other picks – from second on down – could still be in the mix and emerge as the eventual overall winner with more than 50% of the vote. 3 Mayoral contender Brad Lander criticized Mamdani's remarks but still ranked him second in the primary. Michael Nagle Lander told the 'Pod Save America' podcast Tuesday that the phrase 'globalize the intifada' carries violent associations for Jews such as himself, especially after the recent assassination of two Israeli Embassy staffers and a Molotov cocktail-hurling wacko's attack in Colorado. 'Maybe you don't mean to say it's open season on Jews everywhere in the world, but that's what I hear,' Lander said of those who use the term. 'And I'd like to hear that from other people as well,' he said of his comments, implicitly knocking Mamdani. But Lander still insisted during the podcast that he doesn't believe Mamdani is antisemitic — and noted his own problems with Israel's war in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians. He repeated his measured criticism Thursday of Mamdani's defense of 'globalize the intifada' and overall support of his rival's character as he voted early in the primary. 'I believe that Zohran Mamdani is a person of decency and integrity, and I am therefore encouraging people to rank him number two,' Lander said. 'We do not agree on everything about Israel and Palestine, but I do believe that he will protect Jewish New Yorkers and our rights, and I was proud to rank him myself.' 3 Mamdani has said he rejects any incitement to violence. Bloomberg via Getty Images Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has seen his polling lead in the mayoral primary chipped away by Mamdani, didn't miss the chance to lambast his opponent after a brief speech at a Bronx Juneteenth celebration. Cuomo twice mispronounced Mamdani's name — as he did during a recent debate, drawing an emphatic correction from his rival — while he accused him of 'inciting violence against the Jewish community worldwide. 'He is divisive across the board,' Cuomo said. Lander, during his podcast interview, argued it was Cuomo — not Mamdani — who failed to try to unite New Yorkers during that debate. 'I do not agree with him on Israel and Palestine on every issue, and that's appropriate,' Lander said of Mamdani, before adding, 'Cuomo did not try one iota to speak to Muslim New Yorkers or signal that he will bring people together.' Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of New York City, if elected. — Additional reporting by Carl Campanile and Craig McCarthy
NBC News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani draws criticism for ‘intifada' remarks
Zohran Mamdani, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the New York City mayoral election, drew pushback from Jewish organizations and political leaders this week after he appeared to defend the slogan 'globalize the intifada.' In an interview with The Bulwark posted Tuesday, Mamdani was asked whether the expression made him uncomfortable. In response, Mamdani said the slogan captured 'a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.' He said the U.S. Holocaust Museum had used the word 'intifada' in Arabic-language descriptions of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against Nazi Germany. Mamdani, a progressive New York State Assemblyman who has forcefully criticized the Israeli government, also addressed the rise in antisemitism since the Oct. 7 terror attack and the war in Gaza, saying anti-Jewish prejudice was 'a real issue in our city' and one that the next mayor should focus on 'tackling.' He added that he believes the city's community safety offices should increase funding for anti-hate crime measures. In a post on X on Wednesday, the Washington-based U.S. Holocaust Museum sharply condemned Mamdani's remarks: 'Exploiting the Museum and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to sanitize 'globalize the intifada' is outrageous and especially offensive to survivors. Since 1987 Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history.' The U.S. Holocaust Museum did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it had translated the Warsaw Uprising into Arabic. Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, decried the phrase on X as an 'explicit incitement to violence.' Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who is Jewish, said in a statement that the term 'intifada' is 'well understood to refer to the violence terror attacks against innocent Israeli civilians that occurred during the First and Second Intifadas.' 'If Mr. Mamdani is unwilling to heed the request of major Jewish organizations to condemn this unquestionably antisemitic phrase,' Goldman added, 'then he is unfit to lead a city with 1.3 million Jews — the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.' Mamdani has also faced criticism from some of the other candidates in the crowded Democratic primary field — including the frontrunner, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo's polling advantage has narrowed in recent weeks as Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, built momentum and nabbed a key endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. In a statement, Cuomo called on all the contenders in the race to 'denounce' Mamdani's comments and invoked recent violent attacks on Jewish people nationwide. 'At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths in Washington, D.C. or their burning in Denver — we know all too well that words matter,' Cuomo said in part, referring to the killings of two Israeli Embassy employees and an attack on Israeli hostage advocates in Boulder. 'They fuel hate. They fuel murder.' The war in Gaza and the spike in antisemitism have loomed large over New York City's mayoral primary. Cuomo, 67, casts himself as a fierce defender of Israel and pitches himself to Jewish residents and ideological moderates as the obvious choice in the race. Mamdani, who has characterized Israel's conduct in Gaza as 'genocide,' gained traction partly thanks to enthusiastic support from the city's progressives. Mamdani, speaking to reporters at a press event in Harlem on Wednesday, addressed the outcry over his interview with The Bulwark and the ensuing pushback, saying in part that 'it pains me to be called an antisemite.' 'I've said at every opportunity that there is no room for antisemitism in this city, in this country. I've said that because that is something I personally believe,' Mamdani said. He broke down crying as he described the vitriol he has received as he seeks to become the first Muslim mayor of New York City. 'I get messages that say: 'The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.' I get threats on my life, on the people that I love,' Mamdani said, eyes welling up with tears. New York City's Democratic mayoral primary is on June 24. The scandal-plagued incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, won election as a Democrat in 2021, but he is not participating in the party's nominating contest. He is reportedly petitioning to run on two independent ballot lines: 'EndAntiSemitism' and 'Safe&Affordable.'
