In 2026, New York’s mayor will preside over two starkly different occasions of national significance: the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack and the 250th anniversary of American independence. The mayor’s words will carry far beyond the city.
What if that mayor is Zohran Mamdani, rising star of the Democratic Socialists of America?
September 11 is still a wound for New Yorkers. Each year, the mayor at Ground Zero embodies unity and resilience. The role demands a clear condemnation of terrorism.
Mamdani’s movement, while condemning terrorism as a strategy or tactic, typically relates it to issues of global inequality and “imperialism.”
In other words, according to the DSA, terrorists have legitimate grievances, and the root cause of terrorism is – you guessed it – America’s “imperialist” foreign policy. In the eyes of Mamdani’s comrades – DSA members actually call each other that – the nation’s power, prestige, global reach and influence is a menace.
The DSA political platform explains that it “operates in the heart of a global capitalist empire that has wrought untold suffering on billions of people and the environment.” Terrorism is seen as the logical product of that suffering.
The same logic surfaced after the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. DSA’s national committee condemned terrorism as a strategy or tactic, but described the massacre as the result of Israel’s “apartheid regime” and went on to demand an end to U.S. support for Israel, placing its military response on the same moral plane as the slaughter that provoked it.
Mamdani, who opposes Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, has also refused to condemn the slogan “Globalize the Intifada,” a call to spread violent uprisings against Israel Jews and Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel worldwide.
Back to New York. On July 4, 2026, the city will commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. It should be a joyous celebration of liberty and national achievement. The DSA, however, has historically framed July 4 as a moment to reflect on the meaning of “real freedom” – and its incomplete realization. The organization can be expected to use the anniversary to mobilize support for “economic justice” and “collective liberation.”
And Palestine. Not for nothing was the rabidly anti-Israel Rep. Rashida Tlaib the keynote speaker at this year’s DSA national convention, which was held August 8-10 in Chicago. The DSA has clearly made Israel’s dissolution – standing “in solidarity with the Palestinian people” – the organization’s key foreign policy issue.
The Michigan Congresswoman’s emotional address, which centered on “fighting fascism” in America, the “genocide of the Palestinian people,” and the unwillingness of the Democratic Party establishment to demand and push for a “complete arms embargo on weapons to Israel” – described as a “rogue apartheid state” – was warmly and enthusiastically received by the wildly cheering delegates. A resolution advocating for a “fighting anti-Zionist DSA” passed – mandating that any support for Zionism or opposition to BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) could be grounds for expulsion.
Which means that Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders, if he was a formal, dues-paying DSA member instead of a self-identified democratic socialist supported by the DSA, could be kicked out of it for the inexcusable sin of backing the so-called two state solution – the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state.
Mamdani’s Democratic Party primary election victory was celebrated by the convention attendees with speeches declaring that “Palestine is a winning issue” and “socialism is a winning issue.”
Tlaib has officially endorsed his mayoral run and has actively fundraised for his campaign; and he has expressly thanked her for her backing, characterizing it as part of a united struggle for progressive values.
So, the question is plain: if the DSA’s Mamdani is elected mayor, how will he mark the commemorative moments of 2026?
His campaign has already said he won’t attend or march in the city’s annual parade for Israel on Fifth Avenue – the world’s largest gathering in support of the Jewish State – which has been held every spring since 1965 with the participation of all New York City mayors. But he promises not to curb the event and to provide adequate security for it, citing the right of all New Yorkers to freely assemble.
Big deal.
Anniversaries shape memory. They tell the next generation what to honor – and what to reject. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the 250th anniversary of American independence, New York will either affirm courage, resolve, and liberty – or allow them to be diminished by a radical ideology.
That choice rests with the voters.
