Dear YWN,
Today in Boro Park, Mayor Mamdani paid a visit to Eichler’s. To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the store allowing him to enter. He is the mayor of New York City, and if the mayor requests an opportunity to visit our community and meet its residents, he should be treated with the basic respect and courtesy that comes with his office.
But there is an enormous difference between showing respect to the office of mayor and fawning over the person occupying it.
What unfolded inside Eichler’s was embarrassing.
People crowded around Mamdani, rushed to take pictures with him, eagerly showed him around, and treated his appearance as though some great dignitary had arrived. A Jewish social media personality then took the spectacle even further, proudly presenting the mayor with a special apple cider and pouring it for him into a silver becher.
Seriously?
Have we lost all sense of dignity?
Whatever one thinks about maintaining a working relationship with City Hall, does that require us to fall over ourselves for a politician whose record and rhetoric have caused such deep concern among so many Jews?
And the concerns surrounding Mamdani are hardly ancient history. His wife has been exposed with her social media activity surrounding October 7 — the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust — including her glorification of the massacre. She also openly volunteered to be a “Shahid”. Yet there has been no meaningful reckoning that would justify pretending none of this ever happened.
Again, nobody was asking Eichler’s to throw the mayor out. Nobody was asking people to scream at him. Nobody was asking for disrespect.
But must we drool over him?
Must we fight for photographs with him?
Must Jewish influencers slobber all over a politician whose positions have caused enormous pain and alarm in the Jewish community, and ceremoniously pour him a drink in a silver becher as though we are welcoming royalty? They should be ashamed of themselves. They sold themselves out for a few clicks and fame.
To make matters worse, when a woman reportedly attempted to confront Mamdani over his record on antisemitism, people around her tried to silence her and usher her away.
Think about that.
The person raising concerns about antisemitism was treated as the embarrassment, while everyone falling over themselves to impress Mamdani was apparently perfectly acceptable.
Something is backwards here.
We can respect government officials. We can work with elected leaders. We can invite them into our neighborhoods, speak with them, advocate for our community and maintain the relationships necessary to protect Jewish interests in New York City.
But respect does not require adulation.
Derech eretz does not require surrendering our self-respect.
The mayor could have entered Eichler’s, exchanged greetings, toured the store and left. Instead, parts of the visit became a spectacle that was painful to watch.
We should never become so dazzled by political power that we forget who we are, what we stand for, or what has been said and done to our people.
A silver becher should not make us forget.
A photo opportunity should not make us forget.
And the title “Mayor” certainly should not make us forget.
Disgusted in NYC.
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20 Responses
I’m no fan whatsoever of the mayor, but for some instagrammer without any rabbinical guidance comes and instigates against the sitting mayor no matter how much he may deserve it, is irresponsible and damaging to the community that many Jews still live in. Go ahead and yell about Hitler and World War II all you want but it’s not the same. You can take the protesting to the front of Gracie Mansion or City Hall and scream till the sun goes down about everything you don’t like about him. But if he’s faking being friendly at a Jewish store in our neighborhood, you can either get out of the way or play along so that we can survive another year perhaps. She’s not the one who has to deal with the consequences, it will be our schools and synagogues. So just be mature for once, and listen to your rabbanim who will say exactly the same thing
The letter-writer couldn’t have said it better! Yes, sadly, we lose our self-discipline and dignity when we face up to these haters and he knows it! Disgraceful indeed!
We are our own worst enemies. If one group of Jews thinks they can save themselves from the Nazis by cozying up to them, they only need to look at the Lodz Ghetto, Hungary, Jewish councils of Europe, Poland, Belgium, to see that the Nazis burn everyone in their path, whether you have no kippah at all or you wear a straimel or a kapata, beard or no beard.
Spot on.
“…as though some great dignitary had arrived.”
A great dignitary DID arrive. New York City is gigantic and has a population that is equivalent to a small country. This is a city that has its own foreign relations.
The mesorah is to treat those in positions of authority with tremendous respect, no matter how antisemitic they are. The conduct of the yidden at Eichler’s was entirely appropriate.
Dear “Disgusted in NYC,”
I read your letter with great interest, and I must say, you raise some very important points.
But I think there is one fundamental issue missing from the whole discussion:
The silver becher.
Apparently, we have now reached the stage in Jewish history where the difference between kavod haMalchus and kavod haMayor is determined by the quality of the keilim being used.
A regular plastic cup?
“Of course, we are merely being polite.”
A glass?
“Nu, there’s a little bit of derech eretz.”
A silver becher?
Oy vey. We have become meshubad to City Hall.
Let’s be honest. The mayor walks into Eichler’s, and suddenly half the neighborhood becomes a welcoming committee. One fellow is taking pictures, another is giving a tour, another is explaining the seforim department, and somebody else is already looking for a silver tray.
I can only imagine the scene:
“Mr. Mayor, would you like to see the Judaica section?”
“Sure.”
“Excellent. Right this way. And please watch your step — we just got in a new shipment of Artscroll.”
And then comes the cider.
With a becher.
At this point, I think we need a shailah:
Is this still a political visit, or has it already become a Sheva Brachos?
The answer, of course, depends on whether somebody started saying Shehecheyanu.
Now, in fairness, there is an important distinction here. A mayor is the mayor. One can certainly show derech eretz to the office. We are not advocating that anyone should throw him out of the store, scream at him, or start a protest in the middle of the shelves between the Chanukah menorahs and the Hilchos Shabbos section.
That would not be appropriate.
But there is also such a thing as not losing your kishkes because a politician walked through the door.
There is a famous yeshivish phenomenon known as:
“He has an important position, therefore I must immediately become his biggest fan.”
This is a dangerous kal vachomer.
A person can respect the office without requesting a selfie.
He can shake the mayor’s hand without looking like he just met the Chazon Ish.
He can cooperate with City Hall without putting the mayor on a silver platter — or, apparently, pouring him cider from one.
And the photograph situation deserves its own sugya.
Why does every political encounter today require approximately 47 photographs?
The mayor walks into a store.
Click.
Mayor shakes a hand.
Click.
Mayor smiles.
Click.
Mayor looks at a sefer.
Click.
Mayor holds a bottle.
Click, click, click.
At some point you have to wonder:
Are we documenting a historic political meeting, or are we preparing the mayor’s wedding album?
And then we have the allegation that a woman tried to raise concerns and was ushered away.
If that is indeed what happened, then a fortiori it deserves examination.
Because if someone is going to make a political visit into a public-relations spectacle, the last thing we should do is pretend that legitimate questions have suddenly become muktzah.
There is nothing wrong with speaking respectfully.
There is nothing wrong with disagreeing respectfully.
And there is certainly nothing wrong with saying:
“Mr. Mayor, welcome. We are happy to have you here. Now, while you’re here, we have a few questions.”
That is not machlokes.
That’s called democracy.
And for those who are worried that asking difficult questions will damage our relationship with City Hall, perhaps we should remember that the Jewish people have survived thousands of years without mastering the art of making every politician feel like the guest of honor at a bar mitzvah.
We have always known how to deal with powerful people.
Sometimes you speak.
Sometimes you negotiate.
Sometimes you advocate.
Sometimes you smile.
And sometimes you say, “With all due respect, no.”
But there is another side to this.
We should also be careful not to go from one extreme to the other.
If a Jewish person sees the mayor and treats him respectfully, that does not necessarily mean he has “sold himself out.” Perhaps he is simply practicing derech eretz. Perhaps he is trying to build a relationship. Perhaps he wants the mayor to remember that there are Jewish communities in New York City whose needs deserve attention.
Not every handshake is hachna’ah.
Not every photograph is avodah zarah.
And not every cup of cider requires a kinyan.
The real problem begins when political access becomes political adulation.
We don’t need to bow down to anybody because he has an office.
We also don’t need to scream at anybody because we dislike his politics.
There is a beautiful middle ground known in the yeshiva world as:
Being normal.
It’s actually a very high madreigah.
So yes, respect the mayor.
Work with the mayor.
Advocate to the mayor.
Invite him to the neighborhood.
Tell him what the community needs.
And if you want to give him a drink, fine.
But perhaps next time, a Dixie cup will suffice.
Because when the mayor leaves Eichler’s with a selfie, a silver becher, and a bottle of cider, we should at least make sure that nobody accidentally says:
“ברוך הבא בשם השם.”
Because then we’re going to have a much bigger shailah.
A concerned but slightly thirsty Yid
A level of respect is necessary, fawning and kissing up isnt. With that said, I am confused by the segment of people who think yelling and confronting is a good idea. You think if somebody screams at Mamadani only a few more times, maybe really gets in there and gives him a good yelling at, he is suddenly going to start loving Jews? When has that ever worked for antisemitism or any other thing? I don’t understand the “we’re 3 angry op-eds away from ending anti-semitism” crowd.
This is a very non-Jewish perspective that is based on the modern social media view that knocking people who you don’t like is helpful by…no one really knows. Or the related view in public to just show a minimum level of respect and seem like your waiting in a waiting room for a long time for people who are not of your view.
If you look at Gedolim over time, they fawned and said very nice things about leaders including with a much worse actual record than Mamdani. Maybe we should all protest the Jews in Iran who went to Ayotallah’s funeral because virtue signaling is docheh pikuch nefesh. The entire idea of “blasting” people is a very new and American perspective. If it had any track record of sucess, that is great. But it does not especially when the opposed (Mamdani) isn’t poorly viewed by a lot of people. Imagine a normie NY voter who is unsure about Mamdani and the “Jews” and their views, seeing on their phone or TV the mayor get accosted when trying to have a friendly visit to a bookstore (not about anything new but just the general views that have been widely noted he has yet hasn’t moved the needle). Would that convince anyone? Would that make Mamdani more likely to come to the community’s aid? What’s the point?
If one views the issue of antisemitism as a big deal and also that our decisions are important in that, then we have to be Frum Jews who don’t just follow the ways of rest of the world by creating put downs and blasting people,we have to have a nuanced and careful perspective based on daas torah (so far I have not had seen wicked memes from Roshei Yeshiva and Admorim against Mamdani). Part of derech eretz is respecting the government ESPECIALLY if relations are strained. Showing we are appreciative of the Mayor visiting and acting in a way that b’kavodik isn’t lacking derech eretz based on what? Let’s use our heads.
Unfortunately too many people put their emotion into everything and all their decision making and don’t seek rabbinical guidance before they spit out their opinion. At the end of the day we as Jews have so much at stake here on the line, tons of Real Estate and schools and shuls. Of course it’s obvious he doesn’t like us but trust me he can make things worse than they are, you want to push his buttons take your risk but I would advise against it. And so would any rabbi. And especially if it’s for a moment of Fame on Instagram so all the kahanists and world war 2 heros can make lchaim to you
Boycott Eichers . No one should ever host an evil person
The Torah’s perspective, as taught to us by Chazal, is Gadol haMachtio min haHorgo, and we recently lained the source for that the other week. So, even if you foolishly make up all sorts of fantasies that this mayor is haman and all that silly nonsense, nonetheless, he would still be viewed by the Torah as better than, say, the Zionist dear leader, whose minions actively battle Torah and its learners including educating all its citizens to not know the basics of Judaism and, liHavdil, oppressing the Torah learners there like never before.
Yet, a few years ago, when the Zionist dear leader entered a chareidi parliament member’s simcha, the band immediately thoroughly disgraced G-d and His Torah (i.e., a gross – in both senses of the word – chillul Hashem) by playing LiVinyamin Amar in the Zionist leader’s honor.
So, if you thought that adoration of the Zionist dear leader was a good thing, or otherwise had no problem with that, then the Torah’s clear view is that you certainly should have no problem with honor and adoration towards the Mayor of NYC who is the leader of millions of people including many Jews.
This stark difference is made even more clear when considering recent statements by both of them. The NYC Mayor stated explicitly that he will not allow hatred of Jews in his city. Whereas the Zionist dear leader recently stated that they should imprison R”L L”A any “citizen” of the Zionist paradise who simply says – not does anything other than saying – that he would rather die than be shmaded in their army,
Elul is here. R”H is coming. Let’s all be mamlich HaKadosh Baruch Hu with only Torah values, not any nonsense values from the gentiles and heretics.
I vehemently disagree with the letter writer. He should not have been allowed in and certainly not welcomed in any form. He’s not a Melech in medieval times where no matter how bad he is we would have to accord him Kavod מפני איבה. He’s an elected official who won with 51 % due to a runoff. There’s no advantage whatsoever in playing dumb and pretending along with him that he’s not the Nazi which he in fact is. Enough New Yorkers (and beyond) recognize this. Hiding this doesn’t bode us well towards future elections.
Think for a moment what a decent חסידי אומות walks away with. Think what another potential candidate walks away with. Not just does the helplessly liberal (college student) Jew loves him but apparently even the Conservative “Trump voters” Jews seem to tolerate him [even by just allowing him in, as opposed to fawning over him, to the writers point].
I for one will BL”N never shop there again.
Maybe you don’t live here and aren’t afraid of suffering consequences such as no trash pickup, an army of meter maids invading our neighborhoods for good, extra Building Inspections and cancellation of construction projects, and all sorts of other vengeful repercussions that he has the power to take on people that disrespect him. Go ahead and call him names to his face and antagonize his staff see where it gets you. Only a fool starts up with the person who has the most power to make them miserable
Boycott Eichlers!
Oh gosh Hakatan…
We are very tired of your diarrhea of the mouth.
Just stop talking.
You’re embarrassing yourself.
I think they should have received him respectfully, and that’s it! Too much jalaboleria.
Mamzerani himself looked really uncomfortable surrounded by so many Jews. Even a faker like him couldn’t fake a “natural” smile.
No more Eichlers for me.
Am Yisrael Chai
What happened in Boro Park today was far more than the visit of someone I choose not to mention and waste my energy on.
As much as the sight of someone I consider despicable standing in a store that sells our holy Torah books was deeply disturbing, what disturbed me even more were those who enabled it in the first place.
It revealed something far more painful: that there are Jews who appear to have become numb to their own existence—disconnected from the very essence of who they are.
So many of us understand instinctively that we are Am Echad—that the pain of another Jew is our pain, and that Eretz Yisrael is inseparable from who we are.
The deeply disturbing question is what happens when a Jew loses that consciousness.?
What happens when self-hatred, political expediency, or a profound disconnection from Jewish identity becomes so powerful that a Jew can comfortably consort with those who display hostility toward his own people?
That is not merely sad. It can become dangerous.
And this is what the very brave Woman of Valor Mrs Benshimol embodied with her brave actions and was creating awareness about!
That when Jews become numb to hostility directed toward other Jews, their actions can legitimize that hostility. Their embrace can be held up as evidence that the hatred is acceptable: Look—the Jews themselves welcome us. The Jews themselves do not object.
And that affects all of us.
“The mesorah is to treat those in positions of authority with tremendous respect, no matter how antisemitic they are. The conduct of the yidden at Eichler’s was entirely appropriate.”
Well that’s a stupid mesorah and we should replace it with a wiser one. Hitler also had position of authority.
The only people upset at the Frum community’s welcome of the Mayor of New York City, are Zionists. All normal frum Yidden know that welcoming the Mayor is absolutely the right thing.