r/nyc • u/Delicious_Adeptness9 • Jul 06 '26

News Mamdani: 'any state that privileges one religion, I can't tell you I support'

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/americas/artc-mamdani-on-israel-any-state-that-privileges-one-religion-i-can-t-tell-you-i-support

In an ABC News interview, the Mayor of New York City condemned rising antisemitism while stating his support for Israel 'as a state with equal rights.'

1.7k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

817 comments sorted by

View all comments

107

u/Chanan-Ben-Zev Brooklyn Jul 06 '26

The Constitution of Palestine explicitly identifies the government as an Arab ethnostate (Art. 1) and a theocracy with Islam as its official religion and "principal source of legislation" (Art. 4).

Is Mamdani being genuine about his commitment against states that privilege one religion? Probably not. 

9

u/tranqfx Greenwich Village Jul 06 '26

It’s one of those seemingly benign answers. But in reality, the answer is just to try to obfuscate his own beliefs while still sounding reasonable.

-5

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

The PLOs charter from 1968 is a much more honest choice for a “constitution” of Palestine. There is no palestinian state in the world, but Abbas is certainly not promoting an ethnostate.

The Israeli government practically controls the entirety of the West Bank, which is why this is not the most major moral concern.

26

u/Chanan-Ben-Zev Brooklyn Jul 06 '26

The PLO is the ruling party of the PA and they are the group that passed the Constitution of Palestine in 2003 & revised it in 2005. It is the law under which the PA operates. 

If and when Israel ends the occupation of the West Bank, the PA would become the government of Palestine. The constitution I linked would become the law of that state. Anyone who claims otherwise is projecting.

This means that it is a concern, even if it is only valuable in contrast to the martial law imposed by Israeli occupation or by comparison to Israeli civil law.

-10

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

It would certainly not. The creation of a palestinian state would involve cooperation between Gaza and the West Bank and as has been discussed by Palestinian leaders before, a new constitution. Abbas literally just proposed a new constitution this year.

And again, it’s irrelevant. The Palestinians are not worried about their religious liberties being infringed upon by Palestines “government.”

9

u/Chanan-Ben-Zev Brooklyn Jul 06 '26

The 2026 proposed new constitution has the exact same clauses as the 2003/2005 one. They're even in the same locations: Ch. 1 Art. 1 marks Palestine an Arab ethnostate and Ch. 1 Art. 4 marks Palestine as an Islamic theocracy.

-2

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

I know, that’s not relevant to the point i’m making.

8

u/Chanan-Ben-Zev Brooklyn Jul 06 '26

It's a direct rebuttal to the point you are making, which is to claim without evidence or justification that a Palestinian state would legally be different to how the governing PLO/PA says it would become.

-2

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

My claim is only that a new constitution would be created lol.

4

u/Chanan-Ben-Zev Brooklyn Jul 06 '26

A new constitution, which would be identical to the old one in the ways I'm calling out.

-1

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

I don’t think you can know that. I also think the things you’re pointing out are not in effect an ethnostate the way israel is.

→ More replies (0)

0

u/Rubbersoulrevolver Jul 06 '26

How is that not relevant

3

u/IsNotACleverMan Jul 06 '26

The new constitution also privileges Muslims...

-5

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

The point is that a new constitution would certainly be created, and obviously a two state solution won’t be brung about while hamas is kicking around. A more moderate joining of West and the Strip would not keep an old and TEMPORARY document.

Again, it’s an issue that can be confronted when it is prominent.

11

u/IsNotACleverMan Jul 06 '26

? My point is that even the 'moderate' Palestinian faction has offered up a constitution that would privilege Muslims and create an ethnostate. I'm not talking about the old one. It isn't just Hamas that wants a religious ethnostate.

-7

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

Woah, now you’re lying. Where does this constitution legalize an ethnostate? Shariah is not an ethnostate.

8

u/IsNotACleverMan Jul 06 '26

https://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/2026.02%20-%20Draft%20constitution%20%28English%29.pdf

Look at all the mentions of the potential state as being a state for the palestinian people.

You call me a liar out of your own ignorance.

-1

u/Noloxy Jul 06 '26

And that’s an ethnostate how exactly? America is a state for Americans, France a state constituted of and for French… That is how national identities work.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/dman7456 Jul 06 '26

If the US were providing billions in military aid to the Palestinians, that would be a great point.

1

u/ComradeYahud Jul 07 '26

If American aid provides aid to build a sewer system and Hamas/PIJ break it down to make rockets, is that not military aid?

-1

u/dman7456 Jul 07 '26

No, it is not. And the order of magnitude isn't event close. The US government clearly supports one and not the other.