Welcome to the latest edition of The Week that Was, my rundown of what happened last week, curated, in the loosest sense of the word, for your reading pleasure, or displeasure.
The big story this week is Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s victory in the New York Democratic mayoral primary, and the subsequent establishment freakout. In Gaza, any doubts about the genocidal actions of the Israeli government were answered when the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) officers have ordered soldiers under their command to shoot civilians in Gaza. Haaretz has also reported on death tolls in Gaza. And there was a technofeudalist wedding in Venice.
1. Photos of the Week: Mass Grave in Khan Yunis, Gaza, November 2023
© Mohammed Dahman / AP
“111 bodies were buried Wednesday in a mass grave in Khan Younis in Gaza. A truck brought them from various areas in northern Gaza, including Shifa Hospital. More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and minors, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.”
(Nov.23/AP video: Mohammad Jahjouh)
More than 100 bodies buried in Gaza mass grave
See No. 4, below, for more about the town of Khan Younis.
2. Mamdani!
On Tuesday, Zohran Kwame Mamdani won a very convincing victory in the New York Democratic Primary. With ranked choice voting, I thought we’d have to wait a week to find out who won the primary. But when I checked in a 9:45 pm on election night, Mamdani was the victor.
© Barry Williams/New York Daily News
“Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded to state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night.
“Why it matters: Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, is on course for an earthquake victory after running an extraordinary grassroots campaign focused on affordability in America's largest city.
“By the numbers: Mamdani received nearly 44% of votes with 90% of votes counted as of 10:30pm on Tuesday, per AP.
“Cuomo received 36% of votes.
“What they're saying: Cuomo said he called Mamdani Tuesday night to concede and congratulate him on his expected victory.
·“’Tonight is his night,’ Cuomo said at a watch party. ‘He deserved it. He won.’
“Speaking at his election night party in Queens, Mamdani promised to be a ‘mayor for every New Yorker, whether you voted for me, for Gov. Cuomo, or felt too disillusioned by a long-broken political system to vote at all.’
"’We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford. A city where they can do more than just struggle. One where those who toil in the night can enjoy the fruits of their labor in the day, where hard work is repaid with a stable life,’ Mamdani added.
“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), backed Mamdani's campaign, also congratulated him.
"’Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,’ she wrote on X.
Andrew Cuomo concedes to Zohran Mamdani in NYC mayoral primary
The establishment hates him, and so do even a few socialists, at least in Seattle. (The article is fatuous.)
The eponymous Ryan Grim had a good take on it:
I don't see how the establishment, or rather, any of multiple establishments, are going to stop Zohran Kwame Mamdani from becoming the next mayor of New York City. I don't see Adams returning to Gracie Mansion for another mayoral term of clubbing and jet-setting courtesy of Turkish Airways.
I've been incredibly impressed by Mamdani’s actual knowledge of the city and his command of, dare I say it, facts and data. Not to mention his ability to explain these things, and how his proposals will work, factually, all the while keeping people's interest. I’ve also been impressed Mamdani’s ability to deflect the awful (and unfounded) attacks on him. Hell, he even knows some cops—and listens to them.
Mamdani won areas in NYC that Trump won. I can't wait for the establishment to try to use that. Even though their preferred candidate, the odious groper and user of COVID and power grabber and all the rest, was bankrolled in part by a certain hedge fund guy that backed Trump.
“A week after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani was on Hillside Avenue in Queens and Fordham Road in the Bronx — microphone in hand — searching for working-class New Yorkers who voted for Trump, despite normally voting for Democrats.
“Affordability was a driving factor in their decision, according to a video the then-nascent mayoral candidate posted of his visit to the neighborhood.
“’Rent is expensive. Foods are going up. Utility bills are up,’ one person Mamdani interviewed said.
“Those voters became a key part of a strategy that led to his stunning victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in this week’s Democratic primary. Eight months after Trump made significant gains among New York City’s working-class and immigrant communities, the city’s Democrats have chosen a self-described democratic socialist as their presumptive nominee. And Mamdani said his strategy of wooing Trump voters on affordability will continue into November’s general election.”
How voters in Trump districts helped Mamdani win the Democratic primary
In a strange way, Cuomo’s campaign reminds me of Kamala Harris's campaign: more money, more consultants, more incompetence, and defeat.
And watching Governor Hochul squirm is fun. She knows she could be primaried; she knows she owes her position to the above-mentioned odious one, first in her elevation to Lieutenant Governor, and then in his fortuitous resignation. Hochul does have some practice at sounding like she cares, and who knows, maybe she does care, a bit, when she can afford to care.
“Hochul told reporters that she needs to have more conversations with Mamdani about the differences in their policy platforms.
“’But in the meantime, I truly am not focused on the politics,’ Hochul told reporters. ‘We’re six months away from Inauguration Day, and that’ll determine who I’m working with for the next four years.’”
After Zohran Mamdani's win, NY Gov. Hochul says she's 'not focused on the politics'
Meanwhile, the ultrarich New York business community (the Upper East Side has the highest concentration of wealth and billionaires in the world) are freaked out that someone wants to serve all New Yorkers as mayor of New York City, and doesn’t even seem to be angling for a law partnership or a gig at an investment bank following his term(s) in office.
“New York City business leaders woke up to the outcome they least expected Wednesday morning — young, popular socialist Zohran Mamdani cruising to apparent victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary.
“Why it matters: There's a reason Kathryn Wylde, long the voice of the city's business community, said this week that leaders were ‘terrified’ of Mamdani's rise.
“Zoom in: Tusk [that’s Bradley Tusk, CEO of Tusk Ventures and former campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg's 2009 mayoral race] pointed to what he sees as a rise in ‘very, very progressive mayors,’ citing Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu as examples, albeit with mixed track records.
Johnson's approval has been at a record low for the office, while voters view Wu much more favorably.
Zohran Mamdani has NYC's business community "terrified"
It’s looking like the election is going to be complicated. And that’s without Bill Ackman’s write in campaign for someone who hasn’t even stepped up for the role, yet, although Ackman has assured this phantom that it’s not even hard to run for mayor of New York City.
“And the setup is extremely attractive for a run for mayor. There are only 132 days until the election, which means the commitment of time to run is de minimis.”
Why the NYC mayoral election may be a five-way race in November
Mamdani’s victory has been met with a strong upswing in Islamophobia, in tandem with the increase in bigotry in the U.S. today, including antisemitism.
“Driving the news: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) urged the Justice Department to denaturalize and deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a U.S. citizen in 2018.”
“After his victory, MAGA activists and Republican lawmakers took to social media to attack Mamdani's faith, heritage and left-wing politics.
"’Zohran 'little muhammad' Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED,’ Ogles posted on X.
“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) [who brought us the theory that Jewish space lasers caused wildfires in California] posted an AI-generated image of the Statue of Liberty wearing a black burqa.
“Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) tied Mamdani's victory to what she called America's ‘forgetting’ of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
Attacks on Muslims flood mainstream after Mamdani win
But none of this comes close to New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s claim that Mamdani wants “global jihad.” In the interview with Brian Lehrer of WNYC, she went on at length with Islamophobic rhetoric.
Brian Lehrer gave her a chance to stop, but nooooo! Onward into the abyss my junior senator strode!
“Disregarding Lehrer’s warning, Gillibrand seemed to co-sign the misinformation the caller was spreading — and added her own blatant lie on top. ‘The caller is exactly the New York constituents that I’ve spoken to that are alarmed,’ Gillibrand said. ‘They are alarmed by past public statements. They are alarmed by past positions — particularly references to global jihad.’
First of all, I am one of her constituents. I’m impressed that constituents have been able to speak to her. When Trump was beginning his destruction of the U.S. government and Elon Musk was running amok, I called her office multiple times. No one picked up. After a while, the voice mail box said that it was full and could not take any more messages. Shortly after that, elected Democratic members of Congress starting complaining that their constituents were calling and demanding action.
N.Y. Senator ‘Misspoke’ When She Falsely Claimed Zohran Mamdani Condoned ‘Global Jihad’
3. Gaza: It’s Officially Genocide Now
Officers in the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, have ordered Israeli soldiers to shoot civilians in Gaza who are seeking aid.
“Israeli soldiers in Gaza told Haaretz that the army has deliberately fired at Palestinians near aid distribution sites over the past month.
“Conversations with officers and soldiers reveal that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat.”
“On Monday of this week, Hamas' Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip published an updated list of those killed in the war, a 1,227-page chart, arranged from youngest to oldest. The Arabic-language document includes the deceased person's full name, the names of the father and grandfather, date of birth and ID number.
“Unlike previous lists, this compilation notes the precise age of children who were under the age of one year when they were killed. Mahmoud al-Maranakh and seven more children died on the same day they were born. Four more children were killed on the day after they entered the world, five others lived to the age of two days. Not until page 11, following 486 names, does the name appear of the first child who was more than six months old when he was killed.
“The data position the war in Gaza as one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 21st century. Gaza is in first place in terms of the ratio of combatants to noncombatants killed, as well as in terms of rate of death relative to population size.”
100,000 Dead: What We Know About Gaza's True Death Toll
4. The Town of Khan Younis
The town of Khan Younis, where the photo of the week for this edition of The Week that Was was taken, is a town with a history stretching back at least 600 years.
Below is a photo of a historic fort as it appeared in the 1930s.
This is a map from 1931, from the British Mandate for Palestine.
Below is a photo of the town, population 250,000, before the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War.
And this is a photo of a sunset from the beach near Khan Yunis. Perhaps this will be your view when you stay at Jared Kushner’s hotel.
5. More Kings and Queens! Fiddling While Rome Burns, Part Two
There was another royal weekend recently, following the royal wedding between Huma Abedin and Alex Soros. Perhaps more precisely, a technofeudal capitalist wedding.
The wedding was met with major protests.
© Antonio Calanni/AP
6. Book Recommendation
Disaster Nationalism, by Richard Seymour.
This is a wonderful (and disturbing) book if you’re wondering what motivates movement the rightwing nationalist movements around the world, including in Brazil, India, Hungary, and, of course, the U.S.A.
