permtemp t1_j26rkl2 wrote
Reply to comment by No_Recommendation929 in List of Eric Adams Allies Hired to High-Paid Government Posts Keeps Growing by Eurynom0s
Serious question, but why does anyone need to meet with Jewish organizations? Does anyone meet with Mongolian, Indian, Guatemalan, or Cambodian organizations?
lilleff512 t1_j27hze3 wrote
There are 1.6 million Jewish people in NYC which has a total population somewhere between 8 and 9 million people in total.
Technically speaking, nobody ever needs to meet with any minority groups. But if you're trying to win an election for public office, it's probably a good idea to do so if that minority group is significant enough in size. Like looking at your list, I would say that someone should meet with an Indian organization (200,000+ in NYC), but probably not a Guatemalan (70k in the whole state), Mongolian, or Cambodian (can't find population figures for those groups) organization. In lieu of a Guatemalan, Mongolian, or Cambodian organization, they should meet with a Hispanic/Latino or Asian organization.
No_Recommendation929 t1_j26sw1q wrote
From a civics point of view, no, there is no obligation to meet with these organizations. I do think that candidates should meet with all of them. I’ve also recently heard a good argument that to some extent, Native American tribes get better representation because they actually have elected leaders who are politically accountable ( through the elections) to the communities they claim to represent—-as opposed to a patchwork of self-appointed “leaders”
Nevertheless, public snubs determine whose concerns are to be taken seriously and who should be shunned or scapegoated. Jews have been kicked out of practically every European and middle eastern country—-and many of us are sensitive to pogroms coming to America ( we’ve already seen pogroms in Newark and South Boston, where the Jewish communities were ethnically cleansed in the late 60s)
For example of how snubbing Jewish leaders contributes to anti-semitism, you have the example of CUNY which is a hotbed of harassment for Jewish students and faculty. When the city council called the CUNY president for a meeting, he just snubbed them ( https://nypost.com/2022/06/30/cuny-boss-a-no-show-as-jewish-students-decry-anti-semitism/ ) tacitly allowing harassment of Jewish students at cuny.
permtemp t1_j26tm09 wrote
I'm not trying to say that the Jewish community doesn't have legitimate concerns (as does every community), but the idea that if a candidate doesn't kow-tow to a minority community means that they're all of a sudden "anti" said community just doesn't sit right with me. I don't think Andrew Yang is anti-Jewish (the same way I don't think he's anti Cambodian or anti Indian or anti Nepalese)....I just think he's a buffoon with half-baked ideas.
NetQuarterLatte t1_j27hu64 wrote
Meeting Jewish organizations would be going above and beyond.
If AOC and the likes just stopped with the antisemitism, that would be a great start. Not a very high bar, but it’s a start.
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