Opinion

The deeper story is not only about this latest exchange of missile fire. It’s about the moral exhaustion that much of the world demands from a single small country in the Middle East.

(Jun. 9, 2026 / JNS) As the father of a terror victim, as a Zionist and as an Israeli citizen, I quake with the report of every missile strike or terror attack against the Jewish state.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul stood before leaders of the Met Council and other major Jewish organizations and signed a bill creating 50-foot buffer zones around houses of worship, a move that NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently vetoed. The timing was no accident — hours before the Israel Day on Fifth parade. “Enough is enough,” she declared, positioning herself as a defender against post-October 7 antisemitism.

On Tuesday, May 26, more than 300 New Yorkers stood across the street from Gracie Mansion to protest the anti-Semitic policies and rhetoric of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Those who attended felt empowered to stand alongside neighbors from all walks of life in a nonviolent display of dissent. As they dispersed to their homes, the question was whether it was a one-off event or the beginning of momentum against socialists in elected office. The answer will emerge on Tuesday, June 23, when Democratic voters will choose the direction of their party.

President Donald Trump announced this weekend that a comprehensive agreement with Iran is “largely negotiated,” signaling a potential end to months of conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. According to details in the emerging draft memorandum of understanding (MOU), the pact would begin with a 60-day ceasefire extension during which Iran would clear mines it deployed in the strait, eliminate tolls, and allow unrestricted shipping. In return, the United States would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and provide initial sanctions waivers enabling Iran to sell oil on the global market.

The broad cross-section of Jewry present at the Israel Day Parade on Sunday defied social media naysayers, as participants attended in defiance of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s boycott of the event and Jewish voices in prominent media distancing themselves from Zionism.

New Yorkers are witnessing the clearest evidence yet that Governor Kathy Hochul is simply not equipped to lead the Empire State. The shutdown of the nation’s largest commuter railroad, disrupting more than 300,000 daily riders, is not just a labor dispute—it is a predictable consequence of political gamesmanship, fiscal mismanagement, and a glaring inability to negotiate in good faith. Hochul’s handling of this crisis reveals a governor more focused on short-term political gain than on actual governance.