What a week. Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayor’s race in a landslide that could reshape U.S. politics for generations. Michael Arria calls it a real loss for Zionism. It is that, and also a signal that the generational shift inside the Democratic Party has truly begun. His campaign has already inspired many young people who lean democratic socialist to consider running for office across the country. His victory will accelerate that movement. A few days later, Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement, a decision many expect will prompt other elderly leaders to follow.
Mamdani won by a wide margin without compromising his position on Palestine. He did not run from his record opposing Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and genocide. He owned it, and he explained it with patience in terms that younger voters understood. At the same time, he centered affordability, the core theme of his campaign, and it resonated with voters who may have disagreed with him on Palestine. That is the lesson for Democrats who want to win. Focus on improving the material conditions of people’s lives, and maintain your integrity by standing firm on human rights and democratic values.
Elsewhere in our coverage, Writers Against the War on Gaza argue for a boycott of the New York Times, naming the paper’s role in laundering a genocide. Trump’s team is now hunting for a UN fig leaf to cover its “20-point plan” for Gaza, but Mitchell Plitnick shows why the Security Council is unlikely to bless a blueprint built on coercion and fantasy. Michael Arria tracks how Trump’s widening crackdown on the left took shape by first criminalizing Palestine solidarity. Abdalrahim Abuwarda writes from Wyoming about living in two worlds at once, studying for a degree while his home is unraveling. On the ground, a “Yellow Line” cutting Gaza in two is being sold as temporary but is designed to make partition feel inevitable. Jonathan Ofir’s piece on Israeli soldiers’ rape video points to a moral rot in Israeli society.
Mitchell Plitnick: As Trump’s administration struggles to find ways to implement its fatally flawed “20-Point Plan” for Gaza, it has taken the surprising step of trying to obtain the approval of the United Nations Security Council. Here’s why that’s unlikely to work.
President Donald Trump is introduced by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi before delivering remarks at the Tonino Lamborghini International Convention Center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, October 13, 2025, during a summit of world leaders on ending the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Genocide in Gaza
🟨 Mondoweiss Palestine Bureau and Qassam Muaddi: The “Yellow Line” splitting Gaza in two is meant to be temporary according to Trump’s “peace” plan. However, the fact that those terms were intentionally left vague suggests that the partition of Gaza was the real goal all along.
🧑🎓 Abdalrahim Abuwarda: As a graduate student from Gaza studying in Wyoming, I live in two dimensions: one where life moves peacefully forward, and another where everything I love is collapsing. I live in both worlds at once, holding grief and strength in the same breath.
Catch-up
📰 Writers Against the War on Gaza: The New York Times is the paper of record and has played a key role in enabling the Gaza genocide. To hold the newspaper accountable, we must sever our ties —not only as subscribers or advertisers, but also as writers who lend the paper legitimacy.
🗽 Nihad Awad: For American Muslims, November 4, 2025, was a long time coming. Zohran Mamdani’s victory serves as a rebuke to those who claim American Muslims have no place in their own country and to those standing in the way of Palestinian freedom.
🍎 Michael Arria: Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in New York City shows that the Gaza genocide has permanently shifted Israel’s role in U.S. politics.
🇮🇱 Jonathan Ofir: There’s outrage in Israel over the leaked video of Israeli soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian prisoner. However, the outrage isn’t about the rape itself but the fact that the video was leaked in the first place.
🇮🇳 SALAM: South Asian Left: By sportswashing its reputation through events like the New York City Marathon, the Indian conglomerate Tata Group has built a multi-billion-dollar brand name as it directly profits from Israel’s occupation and genocide.
🇺🇸 Michael Arria: The Trump administration’s recent efforts to target left-wing groups started with attacks on the Palestine movement, following the strategy established by pro-Israel organizations that worked for decades to pave the way for such repression.