Let’s be honest. You are never going to be a national figure, and that’s fine — New York is more than enough. But if you want to succeed as mayor, you need to focus completely on the city and keep your thoughts on Israel to yourself. They are not relevant to being mayor, and they will derail every promise you’ve made to New Yorkers.
You campaign on rent relief, affordable housing, childcare, and transit. Those are real issues. That is the work of a mayor. Being mayor of New York should not be your personal soapbox for grievance about Israel.
When you talk about Israel, I can only characterize it as ignorant. Calling Israeli actions “genocide” and pledging to enforce ICC warrants against Netanyahu if he visits NYC isn’t just inflammatory—it shows you don’t understand the job you’re seeking. The ICC isn’t recognized in the USA and wouldn’t be in your jurisdiction anyway. That debate is endless, deeply polarizing, and not the job you’re running for.
What New Yorkers care about is whether you can improve daily life in the city. But governing means building coalitions and courting stakeholders who control funding streams. Your rhetoric risks alienating exactly the people you’ll need to deliver on housing, transit, and childcare promises.
The irony is that you have an open field. Adams is buried in scandal. Cuomo is weighed down by baggage. You most likely will win.
But then what?
The fastest way to squander your opportunity is to keep weighing in on a polarizing foreign conflict instead of your own city.
If you want to make history, do it by governing New York well. If you can’t stay disciplined, you’ll be remembered not as a bold reformer but as another politician who let ideology sabotage opportunity.
Respectfully, An Outsider Looking In