Mamdani

London- Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race has inflamed passions for and against him, from pride in his birthplace, Uganda, and the applause of his counterpart in London to the ire of Israel’s top diplomat in the United States.

Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist and will be the city’s first Muslim mayor, and his victory left some people in Africa beaming with pride at having a local son. Mamdani was born in the East African nation of Uganda 34 years ago, then lived in South Africa for two years before moving with his family to New York as a child.

“What a moment! It was beautiful! I’m excited!” cheered Joseph Beyanga, executive director of the Uganda National Association of Broadcasters, throwing his hands in the air as he spoke to News themezone.

Beyanga said he mentored Mamdani when the now mayor-elect interned at one of Uganda’s leading newspapers, the Daily Monitor, during a vacation when he was in high school.

“Whatever he wanted to do, there was no middle ground. He always wanted to get to the top,” remembers Beyanga. “Then I realized that I wasn’t just interested in current affairs. I was interested in how current affairs affect people. If you’re talking about a lot of money, the budget and all that, how does this affect the last person? I was interested in how it affects people.”

“When it came time to interact with people, he talked to people looking them directly in the eyes,” he said.

Beyanga added that even 17 years after meeting Mamdani, he still sees the same person in the New York City politician.

“Nothing has changed. His heart goes out to the people and I don’t think that’s going to change,” he said. “I’ve seen other media calling him a populist and his opponents calling him all kinds of names. I see a man with the heart of serving the people, the oppressed in society. And well, that’s not far from who he is. He’s a Ugandan boy, and the Ugandan boy cares about the people.”

Beyanga compared the current enthusiasm in Uganda to the exuberance among many Kenyans and Indonesians when former President Barack Obama was first elected.

“Ugandans are having their Mamdani moment,” Beyanga told News themezone, “and yes, we say if he did it, yes we can!”

In the United Kingdom, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who became the British capital’s first Muslim leader when he was first elected in 2016, expressed solidarity with his new counterpart. Khan is currently serving his third consecutive term.

“New Yorkers were faced with a clear choice, between hope and fear, and just as we’ve seen in London, hope won,” Khan said in a social media post. “Many congratulations to Zohran Mamdani for his historic campaign.”

Following Mamdani’s election victory, Time magazine published an article by Khan, who called it “extraordinary” that two of the most influential cities in the world are led by people of the same faith.

“But, in two of the most diverse cities on Earth, that’s beside the point,” Khan said. “We didn’t win because of our faith. We won because we addressed voters’ concerns, rather than playing on them.”

“Mayor Mamdani and I may not agree on everything. Many of the challenges facing our cities are similar, but not identical. However, if we put political differences aside, it is clear that we are united by something much more fundamental: our belief in the power of politics to improve people’s lives.”

Mamdani, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, has been accused of anti-Semitism and being pro-Hamas, which he denies.

He has also been criticized for refusing to condemn the phrase “globalizing the intifada.” Intifada is an Arabic word that means uprising, but is widely considered a slogan inciting violence against Israel. However, during his campaign he said he would “discourage” others from using the phrase and that “it is not language I use.”

“Mamdani’s inflammatory comments will not deter us,” Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Dannon said in a social media post on Wednesday. “The Jewish community in New York and throughout the United States deserves safety and respect. We will continue to strengthen our ties with Jewish community leaders to ensure their safety and well-being.”

The News themezone team in Israel said national media reports and editorials covering Mamdani’s victory were largely divided along ideological lines. Left-wing comments generally called for Mamdani to be given a chance, while more right-wing outlets leaned the other way.

On Wednesday morning, the Times of Israel’s front-page headline read: “Far-Left Anti-Israel Candidate Zohran Mamdani Wins New York City Mayoral Race.”

The Jerusalem Post’s main editorial said: “Mamdani’s victory in New York means that anti-Semitism can win the election and would affect Jews globally.”