Just saw this clip.
Jeez I had no idea how much Israel dominate the American politics that it is a necessary topic of Mayoral debate
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I saw this the other day and it couldn’t be anymore blatant that Isreal are lining the pockets of these bums.
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Meh, this sort of hypertribalism is normal in modern western politics. I think he gave a decent response, its clear he wouldn’t go to Israel and kiss the wall there lol
Seeking the views of the mayor re Israel is valid given NYCs masssive dual citizen population and Jewish population generally.
You had Wes Streeting on the Sunday shows critiquing Isreali citizens in the west bank but daring not to say a word about gaza or the IDF. Very odd space to live in politically speaking
That’s concerning.
Indian population is growing in several cities, much more than Israeli Jews. Should local election be affected by whether or not the candidate favours India over Pakistan & China?
You shouldn’t put a candidate in a position that can impact his vote bank for a factor that has nothing to do with the candidate’s responsibilities
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They were fucking sly in how they did it though. The initial question wasn’t even about Israel, just a general question about where they’d go first. Whole thing was just a set up to get at Mamdani, as the follow up questions showed, asking him if he thinks Israel has a right to exist. They clearly had that one in the chamber just for him, knowing the rest would automatically say Israel and he likely wouldn’t.
He handled it impressively though.
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Sorry I didn’t make the system. Ethnic enclaves with voting rights are going to sway politics at a local and national level, that the way democracy has worked in the states since the 1900s.
In the UK, we have MPs elected in places primarily because of their pro Palestine stance/position relative to the local electorate being mostly conservative Pakistani muslims.
My impression is that Indians in diaspora are less fervent about overtly influencing policy to favour India compared to Israelis who view aggressive lobbying as key to survival. Although the Indian diaspora have flexed their political influence in the US and UK as it relates to visas though.
I don’t see anything wrong with this. We live in representative democracy after all and the role of Mayor is literally to represent the City at home and abroad. You really can’t dismiss Israel or treat it as a non entity in the Major race given historical context and current events. Alot of people will view his non commitment to visit Israel as a good thing, he has just won the primary afterall so I’m not sure about any negative impact.
I can’t agree. Mamdani gave the most normal response. NYC mayor prioritising New Yorkers.
That exchange is ridiculous.
@sevchenko I think it’s fair to also say while you’re correct to say pro Palestine position did get some MP’s elected. Not everyone is happy a foreign conflict is being ‘prioritised’ for lack of a better term in British politics. That criticism definitely existed when George Galloway won in Rochdale. One of the most deprived parts of the UK.
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Probably a member of Hamas using a cafe as a human shield.
Fair.
You are right in it being the political reality and something candidates have to live with.
I just wish there was some regulation to prohibit interviewers or debate supervisor from asking such leading questions in official debates.
There was this one question asked of Mamdani about Modi’s visit and he pointed how the riots eradicated the Muslim population in Gujarat (paraphrasing). I had to roll my eyes because there are more than 90M muslims in Gujarat. But I can’t expect him to know because he is in fucking other side of the world. Ridiculous way of deciding the right candidate.
https://x.com/skynews/status/1939669217973879160?s=46
Freedom of speech lol
His talent agency are free to associate with whoever they like, to be fair. It’s not any sort of violation of his free speech.
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Criminal investigation launched to get another news cycle out of this story and take some of the focus off the government being embarrassed on the welfare vote tomorrow.
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The UK is…getting out of control with the stuff. The (mostly) right wing were complaining about Lucy Connolly but their argument is to advocate for a race to the bottom by arguing he should be treated the same as her.
Yeah I guess they would be fairly treated on that outcome, but what kind of end result is that when you don’t like it happening? What a weird way to apply a principle.
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Gonna need the police to investigate The Telegraph immediately
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Palestine Action has now been officially proscribed as a terrorist group. Absolute joke of a decision.
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But some man said something offensive about the IDF and that’s what the real headline should be about
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