I haven’t written on my blog in a while, but I have a few things to say—especially in light of Governor Kathy Hochul’s endorsement of Zohran K. Mamdani yesterday. I’ve been thinking about where New York fits in the national moment, and how we talk about politics, violence, faith, and each other.
Hochul & Mamdani
I’ll own this: I think I was wrong about Mamdani—and I suspect many Jewish New Yorkers were, too. Based on what I'd heard from relatives, many of whom had lived in NYC under Bloomberg, I expected a politician who would proclaim a view and refuse to engage across differences. That hasn’t been the case. He has met with Jewish leaders, listened, and addressed concerns directly. His policy positions may not align with what many Jews (including those in my own family) consider the “right” answers, but the way he’s approaching a relationship with his would-be constituents feels appropriate: communicate clearly, leave space for disagreement, and keep the conversation going. With a city as Jewish as New York, that matters.
More broadly, there’s a widening disconnect between Democratic politics in cities like New York and Los Angeles and the rest of the country. That worries me. A national party has to function nationally, not as separate universes. Lately, it can feel like liberalism and small-d democracy are rubbing against each other in uncomfortable ways—less compatible than they once felt.
On the killing of Charlie Kirk
“I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
—Charlie Kirk, TPUSA Faith event (Apr. 5, 2023). Newsweek
Whether one calls it an assassination or a killing, political violence is wrong. Full stop. The tragic irony is that Kirk had often argued publicly about guns and the price society pays; no one’s life should be the “price” of anything. If anything, this underscores how desperately we need better education and media literacy—on guns, abortion and health, religious history, and the civic basics we’re all supposed to share.
Faith, history, and how we’re taught
As a Reform Jew, I was raised to know the history of my tradition and to question it. I wish more religious education across denominations foregrounded history the way many Reform congregations try to. Too often, “real Christian/real Jew/real X” policing gets weaponized; it’s unhelpful and usually ahistorical. (If you’re curious, Reform’s “Learning” hub is a good example of that approach.)
Gender, biology, and law
Saying “there are only two genders” erases the complexity we actually observe—in people and in nature. Intersex variations are real and recognized in contemporary health policy discussions, including calls for informed consent standards. (Human Rights Watch)
And in nature, some fish literally change sex as part of their life history—biology is wild and wonderfully non-binary. (evolution.berkeley.edu)
Whatever one’s theology or politics, reducing human experience to a rigid binary and then writing that into law harms real people. It’s also bad science.
Accountability in leadership
Presidents owe the public basic transparency—especially with the press. Shutting down questions, obscuring information that isn’t legitimately classified, and governing by grievance erode trust. We do need clearer, behavior-based requirements for holding the presidency, grounded in professional evaluation and ethics (impulse control, honesty, conflicts of interest, and empathy) rather than armchair diagnoses. Scholars have also argued that Donald Trump’s approach represents an unusually extreme form of presidential narcissism; agree or disagree, that debate underscores why clear standards matter. (LSE Blogs)
This is a lot. The moment is complicated. But here’s where I land: listen more, label less, reject political violence, teach our histories honestly, and insist on accountable leadership. That’s my two cents.
feed
