Two weeks ago I spent a week in New York City, my hometown and the place that still calls itself the global capital of tolerance and progress. Yet during a simple Uber ride, I heard something that shocked me as an American and as a Jew.
My driver calmly explained that the devil has taken over the world, that only a caliphate can restore order, and that women invite rape by the way they dress. He presented these views with complete confidence, as if they were now part of the mainstream discussion. This was not whispered extremism. This was Midtown Manhattan on a weekday morning.
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This climate did not arise out of nowhere. Political figures like Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor, normalized anti-Semitism and excused extremist rhetoric that undermined Jewish security. When elected officials erase the moral boundaries that once protected minority communities, ordinary people see this as permission to go even further. New York is beginning to tolerate ideas that contradict American values ​​and put Jews in real danger.
Then I arrived in Jerusalem for the Sabbath.
The Israeli flag flies in Jerusalem. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Within hours, my children were playing freely with Arab children in Liberty Bell Park. At the skate park, Israeli teenagers and Arab teenagers shared bikes and boards without hesitation. A young Arab boy named Ayub ran toward me with his arms up, and his mother smiled approvingly. There was no tension. No division. Only families live their lives.
Later that weekend in Tel Aviv, I met a gay Arab-Israeli (yes, read that again) who was relaxing on the beach, having a drink and enjoying a level of personal freedom that would be impossible in much of the region. He spoke openly and comfortably. It was a simple moment, yet powerful. Israel, despite its challenges, is a place where people of different identities and backgrounds can live freely and authentically.
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This is the reality on the ground, not the composite story, the lived truth.
Meanwhile, in New York, the city that prides itself on moral clarity, my driver outlined a theocratic worldview and hinted that violence is justified when society does not follow its religious rules. When political leaders legitimize anti-Semitism or downplay extremist ideas, people who adhere to these ideas no longer feel restricted. They feel validated. They feel strengthened. And Jewish communities feel more vulnerable.
Israel continues to uphold values ​​of coexistence, diversity and personal freedom that New York is drifting away from. American Jews are feeling this shift. We see that anti-Semitism is creeping into political expressions and seeping into public behavior. It emboldens or intimidates those who target or intimidate Jews. It weakens the foundations of security that once defined New York.
The anti-Semitism of newly elected mayor Mamdani is not innocent rhetoric. It sets the tone of the city. It creates an environment in which a Manhattan executive feels comfortable describing a world governed by Sharia law and implies that an October 7-style attack could be justified because society does not conform to his religious standards. That’s not normal. That is not acceptable. And that’s not the New York that generations before us worked so hard to create.
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I refuse to be silent. I will stand up for my children. I will stand up for their friends. I will stand up for every generation that has fought for freedom and against persecution. That’s why I’m working with NCSY and its Jewish Student Union program in their fight against anti-Semitism in America’s schools. That’s why I’m working with the Yad Vashem USA Foundation to preserve memory and truth at a time when both are under attack.
Anti-Israel activists protest outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on April 7, 2025. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Two weeks. Two cities. Two completely different realities. There is only one who protects the values ​​the world claims to cherish.
New York must decide whether it will continue down a path shaped by extremism and anti-Semitism, or whether it will regain the principles that once made it a beacon of freedom.
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Lady Liberty, I am concerned about you.
