Linda Sadacka
The morning after Zohrán Mamdani’s stunning mayoral victory, New York woke to a nightmare that felt more symbolic than spontaneous: swastikas scrawled on our schools and cemeteries, as if evil itself had been waiting for permission to step back into the daylight. Within hours, what had been whispered in anxious corners became visible across the city. Parents wondered aloud if their children were still safe in schools, and our community was reeling as though the ground beneath New York had shifted overnight. It wasn’t merely that a radical had won an election; it was that his victory seemed to give hatred a green light.
Mamdani, celebrated by extremists abroad and socialists at home, has made no secret of his agenda: defund the police, replace officers with social workers, dismantle the structures that protect ordinary families. And his sympathies with Muslim extremism leave no doubt that his Jewish constituents will take a backseat. It is a social experiment dressed up as compassion, and the cost will be counted in fear. To pretend otherwise is to ignore history.
A City That Once Stood for Something
For generations, New York symbolized the best of the Western ideal – faith, family, freedom, and the grit to rise by meritocracy, not mandate. It was the city of immigrants who believed that through effort and decency one could achieve greatness. It was the beating heart of Judeo-Christian civilization in America, where every culture could thrive under one flag and one moral code.
Those who seek to rewrite that code understand exactly what they are doing. Capture New York and you capture the symbol of liberty itself. Undermine the city that never sleeps and the rest of the nation will begin to doze. That is why radicals, political, ideological, and religious, target this city with missionary focus. For them, New York is not just geography, it is the trophy of Western collapse.
How We Got Here
This moment did not arrive overnight. It is the result of a long and deliberate campaign.
For years, the radical left followed a simple, ruthless formula drawn straight from the “father of community organizing” Saul Alinsky’s playbook: infiltrate from the ground up. (Alinsky wrote Reville for Radicals (1946) and Rules for Radicals (1971).) Win seats on local school boards. Redefine curricula. Populate city agencies and social-service offices. Control language and you will control thought. Control thought and you will control law.
At the same time, open-border policies changed the electorate’s makeup. Thousands of new arrivals, many with little attachment to New York’s history or values, gained not only residence but political influence. The data from this election prove it – long-time New Yorkers rejected Mamdani’s platform overwhelmingly. His margin came from those who have lived in New York fewer than five years.
From Stigma to Strength
For too long, many community members treated public service as a stigma. To be in politics was to invite gossip or suspicion. But we now see that abstention is not purity. It is abdication. The vacuum we left was quickly filled by ideologues who neither understand nor respect our values.
That mindset is finally shifting. We now have leaders who are both capable and faithful – Senator Sam Sutton and District Leader Joey Saban are men rooted in our community who understand that serving the public is serving Hashem’s people. Their victories are not accidental. They are signs of awakening.
I have long believed that engaging in civic life with sincerity and humility is an act of devotion. When you help your community obtain resources, safety, and representation, you are performing hesed. You are shielding families from harm, defending education, and giving a voice to the voiceless.
The Anatomy of a Takeover
To understand what we face, we must be honest about how it happened. Radical activists did not seize New York overnight. They worked methodically, often under the banner of justice or diversity, to replace faith with ideology and moral courage with fear of offending others.
In schools, they removed history because a generation that knows its past cannot be manipulated. In politics, they reframed law and order as oppression. In the media, they mocked religion as ignorance and normalized the inversion of right and wrong.
This is how civilizations fall, not by invasion but by infiltration. The enemy no longer storms the gates. He campaigns for office. They have learned to weaponize our own virtues, our democracy, our compassion, our political correctness, and turn them against us. It is conquest without armies, collapse by consent. Mamdani’s win is not the beginning of that story, it is its midpoint. Whether it becomes the end depends on what we do now.
The Governor’s Race – A Chance to Reverse Course
The upcoming governor’s race is not just another election. It is the hinge on which New York’s future will turn. A strong, values-aligned conservative governor could begin to undo the damage that Mamdani’s administration is already poised to unleash.
Unlike a mayor, the governor controls the state’s purse and its priorities. He can veto reckless city policies, direct funding to protect private and religious schools, strengthen law enforcement, and restore accountability. He can appoint commissioners who value order over chaos and merit over ideology. In short, a moral governor can serve as the firewall between New York’s families and City Hall’s fantasies.
This is why the next election matters more than ever. It is not about party labels. It is about preserving civilization. When the city drifts toward socialism and moral confusion, the state must anchor it in sanity. When leadership glorifies dependence, the governor must defend capitalism, responsibility, and reward for honest work.
If we secure that kind of leader, one grounded in faith, law, and common sense, we do more than balance the political scales. We begin the repair of a moral order.
A Communal Awakening
Thank Gd, our community is mobilizing. The awareness so many of us worked to build online is now turning into real-world engagement, voter registration drives, civic meetings, and coordinated advocacy. The graphic circulating across our neighborhoods tells the story. Our numbers are growing, our resolve is solidifying, and we are finally speaking the language of influence.
Our opponents understood this long ago. For over a decade, Muslim preachers and progressive organizers alike have taught their followers that real power comes from local positions, school boards, council seats, and agencies that shape daily life. They built networks, trained candidates, and normalized activism as virtue. While we debated whether involvement was proper, they secured the levers of power. Now they hold them, but not for long – if we act.
We Lost an Election, Not Our Mission
Evil always declares victory too soon. The radicals celebrating Mamdani’s rise believe they have conquered New York. They have not. They have only awakened the community that will outlast them.
We are the inheritors of a tradition that has survived every empire, ideology, and demagogue. Our ancestors rebuilt after destruction because they believed in something higher than politics. They believed in Divine Providence and human duty.
We will do the same.
We will organize, vote, educate, and stand firm, not because we crave power but because we are commanded to protect life, liberty, and truth.
The ballots may have favored Mamdani, but Heaven still favors those who believe in redemption. We have faced darker times and have risen higher. With Hashem’s help, this too will become a chapter of awakening – a time when good people found their voice, stood tall, and brought light back to the city that never sleeps.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s Call to Civic Responsibility
Below is Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s October 1984 letter urging American Jews to fulfill their civic duty and show gratitude for America’s freedoms by voting.
On reaching the shores of the United States, Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live as Jews in accordance with our tradition.
A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakoras hatov – recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which guards the freedoms we enjoy.
The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote. Therefore, I urge all members of the Jewish community to fulfill their obligations by registering as soon as possible and by voting. By this, we can express our appreciation and contribute to the continued security of our community.