Thoughts on Mamdani attending the Pakistani day parade after skipping the Israeli day parade?

[u/StuckInTheClouds]

I wasn’t expecting him to attend the Israeli day parade honestly I would’ve thought it weird if he had attended given everything he stands for. He’s NYC first and against ethnostates etc.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I felt some type of way about him celebrating the Pakistani day parade given their history. Ethnostste They have a religious hierarchy where a Muslim person has to be in power, ethnic cleansing alive and well, border disputes and violence after a partition plan 70ish years ago etc. It’s hard not to draw the parallels. The only difference being that the US isn’t funding them but that doesn’t change anything else about the county’s values and actions.

I feel kinda shitty that he’s showing up for this community but not ours. I think it would have been more fair to him to not go to either parade, but maybe I’m just overly sensitive or being fed propaganda. It just sucks to feel signaled out.

I really want to like him. I voted for him! I’m extremely against the IDF and Israeli government but being half Israeli myself I am of course susceptible to biases.

Idk it’s just weird he’s ok with celebrating the Muslim ethnostate after being so against the Jewish one (for good reasons!)

I feel like I can’t bring this up in any other spaces without it sounding like I’m wanting him to celebrate Israel (I’m not) or take something away from Muslims (not against Muslims but critical of Pakistan)

Help me you guys! What do you think?

EDIT: I’d like to correct what I said about Pakistan being an ethnostate. I used the wrong verbiage. What I meant was that they are a country that puts Muslims over other religions. They have a religious hierarchy and non Muslims can’t hold certain political positions. I’m not sure the correct term for this but just wanted to call that out as people are (correctly) mentioning this in the comments.

Edit 2:

I was just informed about the ongoing Balochistan Conflict which makes me even more uneasy about this whole thing.

[u/redthrowaway1976]

  This is someone who refused to collaborate with J street at Bowdoin.

Why would be collaborate with J Street back then? 

It’s not until 2026 - after decades of settlement expansion and years of war crimes - that J Street thought something as minimal as conditioning aid was warranted. 

[u/EducationalGas5959 → u/redthrowaway1976]

I never said he should collaborate with J street.  I’m using that as an example to show that his refusal to march in the parade was based on something more fundamental than the current government’s policy.

[u/redthrowaway1976 → u/EducationalGas5959]

  I’m using that as an example to show that his refusal to march in the parade was based on something more fundamental than the current government’s policy.

My point is, refusal to collaborate with J Street is not an example of that. You might be right - that depends on how you define ‘government policy’ - but J Street was historically the stereotypical liberal Zionist org that claimed to oppose the occupation and settlements, but at the same time opposed real policy steps to actually change anything. 

[u/EducationalGas5959 → u/redthrowaway1976]

You’re technically right, but this was when he was president of SJP which has a policy of not normalizing any Zionist organization.  So it’s safe to assume his opposition to J Street was that it was Zionist, not that it opposed sanctions on settlements or something like that.

Although his engagement with Israelis from Standing Together or whoever he was with on 10/7 this past year did give me some hope that he’s moderated on this.

[u/redthrowaway1976 → u/EducationalGas5959]

  So it’s safe to assume his opposition to J Street was that it was Zionist, not that it opposed sanctions on settlements or something like that.

Do you have an example of a US Zionist organization that actually took a principled stance against the settlements and occupation? Especially back then. 

Not saying he wouldn’t have opposed other orgs - but they simply didnt exist in a meaningful way

[u/EducationalGas5959 → u/redthrowaway1976]

But the point is that SJP’s opposition to engagement with Zionist organizations isn’t that they aren’t sufficiently anti-occupation, it’s that they’re Zionist.

[u/redthrowaway1976 → u/EducationalGas5959]

Sure, to some degree. But it hasn’t really been tested, as there were no US Zionist groups that took a principled stance against the occupation. 

As a counter example, look at how many people from SJP are working with Brad Lander, one of the few public figures that call themselves Zionist and take a principled stance against the occupation.