What Does Israel Mean by the "Existential Threat" of Mamdani?

The 78th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba was an occasion to renew the Israeli attack on New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani, viewing him as one of the American political figures contributing to bringing pro-Palestinian discourse into the heart of the political establishment in the United States, having previously been confined to the margins of protest.

The justification for the attack stemmed from Mamdani's posting of a video on the anniversary of the Nakba, which included testimony from a Palestinian refugee living in New York, along with his emphasis on the need to acknowledge Palestinian suffering. The renewed attack also recalled Mamdani's refusal to participate in a pro-Israel rally in New York, marking him as the first mayor of the city to take such a stance, in addition to his repeated positions that deem settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967 illegal under international law and linked to the displacement of Palestinians, and his persistent adoption of rhetoric describing the war on Gaza as genocide, alongside his support for the idea of holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accountable under the International Criminal Court's mandate.

Some opinion writers recalled that a widespread warning accompanied Mamdani's election to his position in Israel, describing him as a strategic or even existential threat. According to one analyst, this existential threat lies not only in his personal stance toward Israel but also in the sophisticated political model he has crafted and in the precise and concerning action program that can be replicated in any Western capital, aimed at neutralizing and dismantling the Jewish community from within. As this writer literally articulated, the "Mamdani model" operates on a simple yet cunning principle: it identifies, empowers, and legitimizes the most extremist and anti-Zionist Jewish voices, using them as a human shield against any accusations of anti-Semitism. This tactic could incapacitate the mainstream movement, fracture social consensus, and ultimately pave the way for extremist anti-Israel agendas to penetrate the very centers of power. This won't just be New York's problem; rather, it is a strategic warning for Jewish communities worldwide, revealing a new form of political warfare.

In trying to count the reasons why Israel views Mamdani as a strategic or existential threat, as reiterated by analysts in Israel or U.S. analysts close to Israel, it can be noted that the first and foremost reason is that Mamdani's pro-Palestine rhetoric comes from an institutional source, considering he is an elected official from the Democratic Party leading one of America's largest and most important cities, whereas this discourse had mostly been confined to universities or protest movements in the past.

The second, equally important reason is that he is seen as part of a broader transformation within the American political arena, particularly among youth and minorities, where the traditional Israeli narrative is declining and being overshadowed by a rights-based discourse that speaks of settler colonialism, apartheid, and the rights of the Palestinian people. In this regard, it is especially noted that what Mamdani represents is part of phenomena that threaten the traditional consensus within the Democratic Party regarding almost absolute support for Israel, which includes both American political parties. These phenomena indicate transformations within the Democratic Party and among its base, particularly after the aggressive war on Gaza.

Another significant reason that cannot be overlooked is Mamdani's distinction between Judaism and Zionism and the support he receives from progressive Jews, which undermines the equation that Israel seeks to cement in the United States and worldwide - that criticism of Zionism is anti-Semitism.

As with any rule, there are exceptions; there were a few Israeli voices that considered the "Mamdani phenomenon" a blessing, as it involves international pressure, believing that only such pressure can affect Israel and curb its brutality, emphasizing that Mamdani does not pose a threat to Israel but to the great lie it tells itself about itself.