HOW on earth can `Death, death to the IDF` referencing the Israel Defence Forces engaged in committing a genocide conceivably be construed as an antisemitic chant? Keep wondering while the British police launch an investigation into whether the English duo Bob Vylan breached the law at the Glastonbury music festival last weekend, alongside the Irish duo Kneecap, which opened its set with a rude but hardly inappropriate reference to Keir Starmer.

On the other side of the Atlantic, an unexpectedly easy victory for upstart candidateZohranMamdaniin the Democratic primary for the New York mayoral primary has prompted a similar frenzy. The final result in the ranked choices elections was expected last night, but Mamdani`s heavyweight opponent Andrew Cuomo congratulated him a week ago for running a better campaign, albeit without apologising for some blatantly racist efforts to thwart the upstart candidate`s surprising momentum.

The limits of weaponised antisemitism have adequately been demonstrated in NYC. Not only did plenty of its younger Jewish residents vote for Mamdani, but he has also been backed by his rival Brad Lander, the NYC comptroller, and endorsed by Congressman Jerry Nadler.

Plenty of Democrats and Republicans have, however, opted for Islamophobia in denouncing him. And rubbishing by proxy the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who voted for him. Not surprisingly, President Donald Trump has been at the forefront of this crusade, crudely deriding Mamdani as a `radical left lunatic`.

What Trump fears is a Democratic strategy that might dethrone the dynasty he hopes for. He rose to the surface of the Republican Party swamp towards the end of the inadequate Obama era by focusing on the Democrat establishment`s failures and offering remedies he never intended to implement. The Democrats chipped in by hobbling Bernie Sanders (more than a tenth of whose supporters became Trump voters) and promoting Hillary Clinton, who stood for the neoliberalism her husband and Barack Obama had dutifully (and disastrously for many Americans) abided by.

After Trump`s triumph in 2016 and his disastrous first presidency, the best the Democrats could come up with was the decrepit Joe Biden, whose administration appeared not to have a clue about deterring Vladimir Putin`s invasion of Ukraine, let alone about obstructing Benjamin Netanyahu`s path to genocide. Occasional hand-wringing was not going to make the slightest difference. The question of halting the flow of American arms in aid of theZionists` bloodthirsty desires never arose.

Palestine, whose liberation Mamdani stands for, wasn`t among the leading considerations in his primary campaign, which focused chiefly on local issues around affordability, such as rising rents, the cost of groceries, and unaffordable daycare for infants. It remains to be seen whether the momentum Mamdani has generated will flow into the general election in November, where he will face discredited incumbent Eric Adams who evaded corruption allegations by aligning with Trump and possibly the defeated Cuomo. Adams, unlike Cuomo, was too embarrassed even to contest the primary.

A million New Yorkers voted in the primary, but up to 7m might turn out in November, and one can only hope that Mamdani will be able to build on the impressive momentum he has generated. It is perfectly possible, though, that the combined effort of the Democrat/Republican status quo forces could entrench a less popular candidate as the city leader. Someonewho would not question the wealth of the landlords or the poverty of their victims.

It is legitimate to question whether Mamdani can deliver what he favours, from rent freezes and subsidised child-care to free buses. Trump has threatened to strip NYC of the billions it receives in federal funding, and what might lie ahead remains indeterminate. Perhaps the worst aspect of the Democrats, though, has been their inability to work out an alternative to Trumpism. And far too many of them perish under the weight of their centrism without considering the alternatives.

It would be premature to get too excited about NYC`s first Muslim mayor, even though Mamdani sensibly sees himself as a New Yorker foremost. What might come next is indeterminate, and it would be naive to get too excited about NYC`s possible future. No one should lose sight of the fact that tribulations might follow even if Mamdani wins the November election, and, regardless of how well he might fare in that particular metropolis, it would not necessarily presage the kind of transformative purge that could lead to a very different Democratic Party.

We`ll find out sooner or later. Meanwhile, the genocidal predilections of the IDF are likely to lay bare the sheer absurdity of slammingMamdani,BobVylanorKneecap as antisemitic. m mahir.dawn @gmail.comcare to free buses. Trump has threatened to strip NYC of the billions it receives in federal funding, and what might lie ahead remains indeterminate. Perhaps the worst aspect of the Democrats, though, has been their inability to work out an alternative to Trumpism. And far too many of them perish under the weight of their centrism without considering the alternatives.

It would be premature to get too excited about NYC`s first Muslim mayor, even though Mamdani sensibly sees himself as a New Yorker foremost. What might come next is indeterminate, and it would be naive to get too excited about NYC`s possible future. No one should lose sight of the fact that tribulations might follow even if Mamdani wins the November election, and, regardless of how well he might fare in that particular metropolis, it would not necessarily presage the kind of transformative purge that could lead to a very different Democratic Party.

We`ll find out sooner or later. Meanwhile, the genocidal predilections of the IDF are likely to lay bare the sheer absurdity of slammingMamdani,BobVylanorKneecap as antisemitic. m mahir.dawn @gmail.com