Mamdani, Fuentes, Tucker, and Mainstreaming Antisemitism: Jonathan Greenblatt on the Growing Threat from the Left and the Right (268)

November 10, 2025

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5 min read

The Three D's and the Mainstreaming of Anti-Semitism

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, sat down with Scott Kahn to diagnose a moment when anti-Semitic figures are being normalized on both the American left and right simultaneously. The conversation, recorded the day before New York City's mayoral election, took as its starting point Zoran Mamdani's likely victory—a candidate who once said that "when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it's been laced by the IDF." Greenblatt called that comment "twisted fear-mongering and conspiratorial thinking" and used it to open a wider analysis of how anti-Zionism functions as anti-Semitism, why college presidents freeze under pressure, and what the Jewish community has failed to teach its own young people.

Why Anti-Zionism Cannot Be Separated from Anti-Semitism

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Episode Introduction & Host Scott Kahn's Framing** - Scott sets up the episode's core tension: the mainstreaming of anti-Zionism on the left (Zoran Mamdani) and white nationalist anti-Semitism on the right (Tucker Carlson/Nick Fuentes).
2 (06:16) **Defining Zionism and Anti-Zionism** - Greenblatt establishes a foundational definition of Zionism before explaining why anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism.
3 (07:09) **Why Mamdani's "Boot Laced by the IDF" Comment is Anti-Semitic** - Greenblatt dissects the specific conspiracy theory from Zoran Mamdani to illustrate the link between anti-Zionism and classic anti-Jewish tropes.
4 (14:26) **The Moral and Legal Basis for Jewish Self-Determination** - Greenblatt responds to a hypothetical challenge about why the Jewish people's ancient claim to the land should be considered valid by others.
5 (23:09) **The Practical Dangers of a Mamdani Mayoralty** - Greenblatt outlines the concrete, non-hypothetical risks to the Jewish community if an anti-Zionist controls the levers of city government.
6 (31:59) **Data on Anti-Jewish Discrimination in Labor Markets** - Greenblatt presents ADL research demonstrating that bias against Jews and Israelis is already a measurable reality.
7 (34:59) **Confronting Jewish Anti-Zionists (Peter Beinart, Mandy Patinkin)** - Greenblatt addresses the argument that anti-Zionism can't be anti-Semitism because some Jews hold that view.

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Guests on this episode

Scott Kahn

Show Notes

In recent weeks we have watched something many of us hoped we would not see in the United States: openly anti-Zionist and even openly antisemitic voices moving from the margins into the mainstream. Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York raises the chilling possibility that hostility to Israel is now an electoral asset. At the same time, parts of the American right are flirting with figures like Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier who says Jews do not belong in Western civilization.

To make sense of this moment, I spoke with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti Defamation League. We discussed why anti-Zionism is, in most cases, antisemitism; what Mamdani's rise should signal to American Jews; why some university leaders defend the indefensible; where the Jewish community itself has made mistakes in fighting antisemitism; how to confront hatred coming from both sides of the political spectrum without turning it into a partisan game; and more.

This is a blunt, timely, and deeply important conversation for anyone who cares about Jewish security and moral clarity in public life.

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