Andrew Cuomo Ad Leans Into Racism With Edited Photo of Zohran Mamdani
The altered image of Mamdani, a New York state representative, appeared next to text on a mailer claiming that Mamdani 'rejects' the police and capitalism. It also claimed that Mamdani 'rejects Israel,' on the basis that the Ugandan-born Democratic Socialist supports a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement known as BDS that advocates for economic sanctions against Israel.
The advert also advertised Mamdani as a candidate who 'rejects Jewish rights,' claiming that he 'refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.' It was developed by Fix The City Inc., a group predominantly paid for by DoorDash, according to the group's website.
'Andrew Cuomo is afraid he'll lose, so his donors want you to fear me,' the assemblyman posted on X Thursday. 'His SuperPAC just sent out a mailer that artificially lengthened and darkened my beard.'
'This is blatant Islamophobia—the kind of racism that explains why MAGA billionaires support his campaign,' he added.
Mamdani's connection to New York City's Jewish community was challenged by a curveball during last week's mayoral debate when he was asked, as a hypothetical mayor of New York City, if he would visit Israel.
'I believe you need not travel to Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers,' Mamdani said. 'That is what I'll be doing as the mayor.'
Why Mamdani would be involved with sensitive foreign affairs as the local leader of New York is unclear, but the debate moderators did not appear privy to their own lack of rationale. Instead, they followed up by questioning Mamdani if he believed Israel had a right to exist.
'I believe Israel has a right to exist,' he said.
'As a Jewish state?' the moderator pressed.
'As a state with equal rights,' Mamdani replied.
Speaking with Fox 5's Good Day New York in the wake of the debate, Mamdani clarified that he is 'not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else.'
The gross visual attempt to sway the voters of New York appears especially desperate on the heels of Mamdani's surging numbers: A survey published late Wednesday found that—for the first time—Mamdani had actually topped Cuomo's campaign, beating the ex-governor by 35 percent to 31 percent. The survey was conducted by Public Policy Polling for Democrat Justin Brannan's city comptroller campaign.
Cuomo's continued presence in the race nearly defies logic. The former New York governor was forced to resign from his leadership position in 2021 after he was deemed too corrupt for Albany. Four years on, several major political backers, including a lobby of New York City landlords, have forced Cuomo back into the limelight, surging him toward a political comeback to Gracie Mansion despite his lagging popularity.
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A year after a bloody uprising, Bangladesh is far from political stability
DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Abdur Rahman Tarif was talking to his sister Meherunnesa over the phone when the voice on the other end of the call suddenly fell silent. In that moment, Tarif knew something bad had happened. He rushed home, dodging the exchange of fire between security forces and protesters on the streets of Dhaka. When he finally arrived, he discovered his parents tending to his bleeding sister. A stray bullet had hit Meherunnesa's chest while she was standing beside the window of her room, Tarif said. She was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Meherunnesa, 23, was killed on Aug. 5 last year, the same day Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in a massive student-led uprising, which ended her 15-year rule. For much of Bangladesh, Hasina's ouster was a moment of joy. Three days later, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over the country as head of an interim government, promising to restore order and hold a new election after necessary reforms. A year on, Bangladesh is still reeling from that violence, and Hasina now faces trial for crimes against humanity, in absentia as she is in exile in India. But despite the bloodshed and lives lost, many say the prospect for a better Bangladesh with a liberal democracy, political tolerance and religious and communal harmony has remained a challenge. 'The hope of the thousands who braved lethal violence a year ago when they opposed Sheikh Hasina's abusive rule to build a rights-respecting democracy remains unfulfilled,' said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, a New York-based human rights group. Bangladesh's anti-government movement exacted a heavy price. Hundreds of people, mostly students, were killed in violent protests. Angry demonstrators torched police stations and government buildings. Political opponents often clashed with each other, sometimes leading to gruesome killings. Like many Bangladeshis, Tarif and his sister took part in the uprising, hoping for a broader political change, particularly after when one of their cousins was shot and killed by security forces. "We could not stay home and wanted Sheikh Hasina to go,' 20-year-old Tarif said. 'Ultimately we wanted a country without any discrimination and injustice.' Today, his hopes lie shattered. 'We wanted a change, but I am frustrated now,' he said. After taking the reins, the Yunus-led administration formed 11 reform commissions, including a national consensus commission that is working with major political parties for future governments and the electoral process. Bickering political parties have failed to reach a consensus on a timetable and process for elections. Mob violence, political attacks on rival parties and groups, and hostility to women's rights and vulnerable minority groups by religious hardliners have all surged. Some of the fear and repression that marked Hasina's rule, and abuses such as widespread enforced disappearances, appear to have ended, rights groups say. However, they accuse the new government of using arbitrary detention to target perceived political opponents, especially Hasina's supporters, many of whom have been forced to go into hiding. Hasina's Awami League party, which remains banned, says more than two dozen of its supporters have died in custody over the last one year. Human Rights Watch in a statement on July 30 said the interim government 'is falling short in implementing its challenging human rights agenda.' It said violations against ethnic and other minority groups in some parts of Bangladesh have continued. 'The interim government appears stuck, juggling an unreformed security sector, sometimes violent religious hardliners, and political groups that seem more focused on extracting vengeance on Hasina's supporters than protecting Bangladeshis' rights,' said Ganguly. Yunus' office routinely rejects these allegations. Bangladesh also faces political uncertainty over a return to democratically held elections. Yunus has been at loggerheads with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, now the main contender for power. The party headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has demanded elections either in December or February next year. Yunus has said they could be held in April. The interim government has also cleared the way for the Islamists, who were under severe pressure during Hasina's regime, to rise, while the student leaders who spearheaded the uprising have formed a new political party. The students' party demands that the constitution be rewritten, if needed entirely, and says it won't allow the election without major reforms. Meanwhile, many hardline Islamists have either fled prison or have been released, and the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamist party, which has a controversial past, is now aspiring to a role in government. It often bitterly criticizes the BNP, equating it with Hasina's Awami League, and recently held a massive rally in Dhaka as a show of power. Critics fear that greater influence of the Islamist forces could fragment Bangladesh's political landscape further. 'Any rise of Islamists demonstrates a future Bangladesh where radicalization could get a shape where so-called disciplined Islamist forces could work as a catalyst against liberal and moderate forces,' political analyst Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah said. Worries also remain over whether the government is ultimately capable of enacting reforms. 'People's expectation was (that) Yunus government will be focused and solely geared towards reforming the electoral process. But now it's a missed opportunity for them,' Kalimullah said. For some, not much has changed in the last year. Meherunnesa's father, Mosharraf Hossain, said the uprising was not for a mere change in government, but symbolized deeper frustrations. 'We want a new Bangladesh … It's been 54 years since independence, yet freedom was not achieved,' he said. Tarif echoed his father's remarks, adding that he was not happy with the current state of the country. 'I want to see the new Bangladesh as a place where I feel secure, where the law enforcement agencies will perform their duties properly, and no government will resort to enforced disappearances or killings like before. I want to have the right to speak freely,' he said.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
US and Israeli officials float idea of ‘all or nothing' Gaza deal
The Israeli government has also come under mounting international criticism over the mass hunger that has spread through Gaza's population of about 2 million people after Israel imposed strict restrictions in recent months on the entry of aid. Advertisement Israel has continued launching military strikes on Gaza, even as it has facilitated the entry of more aid into Gaza in recent days. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Sunday that Israeli artillery had hit its offices in Khan Younis, killing one of the aid group's staffers and injuring others. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's special envoy to the Middle East, who is visiting the region, met with families of Israeli hostages on Saturday and told them that President Donald Trump now wants to see all the living hostages released at once. Advertisement 'No piecemeal deals, that doesn't work,' he said, according to an audio recording of part of the meeting published by the Ynet Hebrew news site. 'Now we think that we have to shift this negotiation to 'all or nothing' -- everybody comes home,' he said. 'We have a plan around it,' he added, without elaborating. A participant in the meeting confirmed that Witkoff made such remarks. Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly. Instead, negotiations for a ceasefire between the two sides have run through intermediaries: the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Trump are said to be working on a new proposal that would involve presenting Hamas with an ultimatum, according to reports in the Israeli news media that were confirmed Sunday by a person familiar with the matter. The White House was not immediately available for comment. Under the terms of the ultimatum, Hamas would have to release the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and agree to terms to end the war that include the group's disarmament. Otherwise, the Israeli military would continue its campaign. Mahmoud Mardawi, a Hamas official, said the Palestinian armed group had yet to receive a formal Israeli proposal for a comprehensive deal from Arab mediators. He said that while Hamas supported such an agreement in principle, it would not disarm -- which has long been a core Israeli condition. 'This has been our demand from the beginning: an end to the war, the release of prisoners, and day-after arrangements in the Gaza Strip -- a clear and comprehensive deal,' Mardawi said in a phone interview. Advertisement The prospects of any rapid advancement toward such a deal appear dim. Hamas has consistently rejected Israel's terms for ending the war throughout the negotiations. On Saturday, the group said in a statement that it would not disarm unless a Palestinian state was established, despite a call from Arab states last week for the group to do so. The Israeli government opposes Palestinian statehood. On Sunday, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli national security minister, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which Jews revere as the Temple Mount, long a tinderbox for Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Arab leaders denounced Ben-Gvir's ascent to the site -- during which he openly prayed -- as a provocation. 'It's important to convey from this place that we should immediately conquer Gaza, exercise our sovereignty there, and eliminate every last Hamas member,' Ben-Gvir said from the site, in a video shared by his office. Many Israelis say they support a comprehensive deal to return all the hostages and end the war. But many are skeptical that such a deal can be achieved under the conditions set by the hard-line Israeli government, which has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas surrenders or is destroyed. Many also doubt that Hamas would ultimately give up all the hostages, the only cards the group holds against Israel. On Sunday night, Netanyahu argued that Hamas 'does not want a deal' and vowed to press on in the attempt 'to release our captive sons, eliminate Hamas and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.' Given the firm positions of both sides, an Israeli and American push for a comprehensive deal may not bring an agreement closer, according to analysts. Advertisement 'Hamas is essentially saying to Israel: 'If you want the 20 living hostages out, give us a full victory,'' said Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an independent research group. Hamas' terms are far beyond what Netanyahu would accept, Yaari said. But, he added, the prime minister 'has to keep convincing the Israeli public and his own voters that he is doing everything he can, and he has to reassure the families of the hostages.' Mardawi said that Hamas saw little reason to negotiate with Israel given the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. 'What is the point of talks when people are dying of starvation?' he said. The hunger crisis worsened after Israel's government imposed severe restrictions on aid entering the territory. Israel has accused aid agencies of mismanaging supplies and Hamas of diverting aid. But some Israeli military officials said the military never found proof that Hamas had systematically stolen aid from the United Nations, the biggest supplier of emergency assistance to Gaza for most of the war. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, including thousands of children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war, killed about 1,200 people, according to the Israeli government, and about 250 people were taken captive to Gaza. More than 100 hostages were freed during previous ceasefires and Israeli forces operating in the enclave have retrieved the bodies of some others. Ruby Chen, the father of American-Israeli soldier Itay Chen, who was abducted by Hamas, attended the meeting Saturday with Witkoff. Chen's son is now presumed dead by Israeli authorities. Advertisement He said Witkoff had discussed the need for a comprehensive deal, rather than a partial deal. 'After six months, they've now come to the understanding that it's not possible to execute it,' said Chen. 'We lost six months on this.' This article originally appeared in
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
A year after a bloody uprising, Bangladesh is far from political stability
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Abdur Rahman Tarif was talking to his sister Meherunnesa over the phone when the voice on the other end of the call suddenly fell silent. In that moment, Tarif knew something bad had happened. He rushed home, dodging the exchange of fire between security forces and protesters on the streets of Dhaka. When he finally arrived, he discovered his parents tending to his bleeding sister. A stray bullet had hit Meherunnesa's chest while she was standing beside the window of her room, Tarif said. She was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Meherunnesa, 23, was killed on Aug. 5 last year, the same day Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in a massive student-led uprising, which ended her 15-year rule. For much of Bangladesh, Hasina's ouster was a moment of joy. Three days later, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over the country as head of an interim government, promising to restore order and hold a new election after necessary reforms. A year on, Bangladesh is still reeling from that violence, and Hasina now faces trial for crimes against humanity, in absentia as she is in exile in India. But despite the bloodshed and lives lost, many say the prospect for a better Bangladesh with a liberal democracy, political tolerance and religious and communal harmony has remained a challenge. 'The hope of the thousands who braved lethal violence a year ago when they opposed Sheikh Hasina's abusive rule to build a rights-respecting democracy remains unfulfilled,' said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, a New York-based human rights group. Stalled change Bangladesh's anti-government movement exacted a heavy price. Hundreds of people, mostly students, were killed in violent protests. Angry demonstrators torched police stations and government buildings. Political opponents often clashed with each other, sometimes leading to gruesome killings. Like many Bangladeshis, Tarif and his sister took part in the uprising, hoping for a broader political change, particularly after when one of their cousins was shot and killed by security forces. "We could not stay home and wanted Sheikh Hasina to go,' 20-year-old Tarif said. 'Ultimately we wanted a country without any discrimination and injustice.' Today, his hopes lie shattered. 'We wanted a change, but I am frustrated now,' he said. After taking the reins, the Yunus-led administration formed 11 reform commissions, including a national consensus commission that is working with major political parties for future governments and the electoral process. Bickering political parties have failed to reach a consensus on a timetable and process for elections. Mob violence, political attacks on rival parties and groups, and hostility to women's rights and vulnerable minority groups by religious hardliners have all surged. Some of the fear and repression that marked Hasina's rule, and abuses such as widespread enforced disappearances, appear to have ended, rights groups say. However, they accuse the new government of using arbitrary detention to target perceived political opponents, especially Hasina's supporters, many of whom have been forced to go into hiding. Hasina's Awami League party, which remains banned, says more than two dozen of its supporters have died in custody over the last one year. Human Rights Watch in a statement on July 30 said the interim government 'is falling short in implementing its challenging human rights agenda.' It said violations against ethnic and other minority groups in some parts of Bangladesh have continued. 'The interim government appears stuck, juggling an unreformed security sector, sometimes violent religious hardliners, and political groups that seem more focused on extracting vengeance on Hasina's supporters than protecting Bangladeshis' rights,' said Ganguly. Growing political uncertainty Bangladesh also faces political uncertainty over a return to democratically held elections. Yunus has been at loggerheads with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, now the main contender for power. The party headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has demanded elections either in December or February next year. Yunus has said they could be held in April. The interim government has also cleared the way for the Islamists, who were under severe pressure during Hasina's regime, to rise, while the student leaders who spearheaded the uprising have formed a new political party. The students' party demands that the constitution be rewritten, if needed entirely, and says it won't allow the election without major reforms. Meanwhile, many hardline Islamists have either fled prison or have been released, and the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamist party, which has a controversial past, is now aspiring to a role in government. It often bitterly criticizes the BNP, equating it with Hasina's Awami League, and recently held a massive rally in Dhaka as a show of power. Critics fear that greater influence of the Islamist forces could fragment Bangladesh's political landscape further. 'Any rise of Islamists demonstrates a future Bangladesh where radicalization could get a shape where so-called disciplined Islamist forces could work as a catalyst against liberal and moderate forces,' political analyst Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah said. Worries also remain over whether the government is ultimately capable of enacting reforms. 'People's expectation was (that) Yunus government will be focused and solely geared towards reforming the electoral process. But now it's a missed opportunity for them,' Kalimullah said. A frustrated population For some, not much has changed in the last year. Meherunnesa's father, Mosharraf Hossain, said the uprising was not for a mere change in government, but symbolized deeper frustrations. 'We want a new Bangladesh … It's been 54 years since independence, yet freedom was not achieved,' he said. Tarif echoed his father's remarks, adding that he was not happy with the current state of the country. 'I want to see the new Bangladesh as a place where I feel secure, where the law enforcement agencies will perform their duties properly, and no government will resort to enforced disappearances or killings like before. I want to have the right to speak freely,' he said. ——
