u/Amazing-Cell-128

Sam has repeatedly pointed out that leftists are being manipulated by Islamists, and has said that Mamdani may very well be at least an apologist for Islamists.

We see imagery emerging out of NYC definitely shows the former, and from what I can tell Mamdani's office either puts out very tepid or lukewarm responses on the protestors, or nothing at all.

The protest last week were "anti-zionists" fighting NYPD in the streets, and another protest was last night. In both, hezbollah flags were flying high, along with screams that jews be cleansed from the territory (river to sea, no two state, etc). Another is scheduled this weekend.

The organization holding these protests is PAL-Awda / Al-Awda. You can read about their National Board here.

I'm kidding, it appears to have been scrubbed/purged.

But you can see an archived page with some names. I grabbed one at random and checked: Charlotte Kates

1. Charlotte Kates is cofounder to Samidoun, a designated terror organization by Canada and has been sanctioned by the US and Germany. She also attended Nasrallah's funeral, etc.

What a surprise.

The DOJ has taken notice of the protests:

Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Justice Department’s task force on Jew-hatred, called on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to take action following a protest outside the Young Israel of Midwood in Brooklyn on Monday night that led to four arrests. Terrell criticized city leadership over what he described as insufficient enforcement following incidents targeting Jewish New Yorkers. “Let me be clear, I am sick and tired of Jews being harassed in New York City,” Terrell said. “Did you see what happened in Brooklyn? Where is the mayor? Where is the district attorney? Where are the hate crime charges?”

But again...it looks like Sam is spot on in his assessment in what's going on here.

So last night a protest was held outside a NYC synagogue by "anti-zionists". They purportedly were opposing a real estate expo being held there about settlements.

I say purportedly because I'm not sure what opposition to west bank settlements has to do with celebrating hezbollah, or screaming that Israel should not exist, or chanting mottos suggesting that jews should be cleansed from the territory.

1. Here we have video of the protestors, with a Hezbollah flag held high, fighting against NYPD

2. Protestors also screaming "no two states, we want all of it" and "there is only one solution intifada revolution" and "end the zionist state" and chanting in arabic "from water to water [river to sea] palestine is arab"

Now what has Mamdani's office said about this? Were their words about these protestors as harsh as what they told The Intercept about the Expo Event?

>"Mayor Mamdani is deeply opposed to the real estate expo this evening that includes the promotion of the sale of land in settlements in the Occupied West Bank,” said Sam Raskin, a spokesperson for Mamdani, in a statement to The Intercept. “These settlements are illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians"

Hmmm....

Seems we have lots to say about purported "international law violations" within the west bank.

Now how much was said about protestors waving a hezbollah flag? Or demanding Israel doesnt have a right to exist or suggesting that jews should be cleansed from the territory?

How seriously is Mamdani's office taking this?

***Edit.

The Expo is merely about making Aliyah and dissemination of info relating to insurance, tax advisors, mortgages, assisted living, etc when moving. Covered locations include Jerusalem, Tel aviv, Haifa, Ashkelon, etc.

Sam has discussed the influence of the Qatari state in many domains (academic, foreign affairs, etc) and at times expressed skepticism on the impartiality of international bodies and their biases, especially as it relates to Israel.

So curious what his thoughts would be on the WSJ story yesterday that it appears Qatar had influence over the ‘independent’ ICC prosecutor (Karim Khan) with regard to his 2024 decision to charge Israeli leaders?

Even more grotesquely, they hired intelligence firms to target a woman he allegedly sexually assaulted, to see if she had any Jewish blood.

Background:

1. Just weeks prior to the arrest warrants, both Khan and the ICC were made aware of sexual assault allegations from a victim (Malaysian muslim ICC attorney) alleging that Khan had sexually assaulted her. At the time, the victim confided in colleagues about what happened, but a whistleblower complaint resulted in the ICC‘s oversight board/mechanism (IOM) also becoming aware. The IOM then approached the victim in what she felt was an unprofessional manner, she didn’t trust them, and felt their goal was to have her say the allegations were fabricated, so she declined to pursue a formal complaint. However a second victim came forward in 2025.

2. Last year, the Guardian reported that Qatar commissioned two intelligence firms to target the victim in a covert operation to discredit her by ‘establishing connections between her and Israel’. However nothing was found.

Yesterday's WSJ story was that they reviewed a new witness statement and audio recordings from someone familiar with the operation (which was also submitted to the FBI, as the operation targeted Americans as well).

In one of the recordings reviewed by WSJ, its revealed that Khan ‘wanted to issue the warrant, but was terrified to do it’, but he was then reassured that if he does, “they” would look after him. When Khan inquired who “they” was, the firm’s intelligence operations manager said it was the Qatari state.

In another recording, its revealed the extent the firms went to try and establish the victim’s connection to Israel or Jews. Again, the victim being a Malaysian muslim woman. They note that she “didn’t have a Jewish grandmother”, but that her husband ‘once worked at kosher food subsidiary’, which therefore would be ‘associated with a Rabbi’.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/karim-khan-icc-prosecutor-benjamin-netanyahu-qatar-israel-7b62d474