Mamdani’s Closed-Door Meeting Raises Concerns Over Education Policy
The socialist mayor Zoran Mamdani’s campaign recently held a private roundtable with a group of leftists critical of traditional academic approaches. One participant notably referred to standardized testing as akin to “eugenics.”
Critics are alleging that the discussion excluded groups advocating for academic rigor, instead prioritizing those who oppose gifted programs and have faced accusations of anti-Semitism.
“It seems like a gateway for radical ideology to infiltrate our classrooms,” commented Karen Feldman, who co-founded the New York City Public School Alliance, a group dedicated to combating anti-Semitism in public education.
The meeting included members of the Education Council Consortium (ECC), which has previously described New York City’s gifted program as “unique” but also accused it of unfairly segregating black students.
The ECC has hosted rallies featuring Linda Sarsour, an activist known for making several anti-Semitic remarks and a supporter of Mamdani.
Shino Tanigawa, the ECC’s head of accounting, took to social media disparaging “toxic whiteness.”
Also present at the meeting was the Alliance for Quality Education, which shares a stance against gifted programs, as well as Cariris Salas Ramirez, a former member of the Manhattan Council on Education Policy.
Salas-Ramirez, affiliated with the Opt Out movement against standardized testing, has asserted that such testing emerged from early eugenics movements. She has also been accused of anti-Semitism.
In a recent post, she stated, “Israel is a terrorist state.”
Mamdani has expressed intentions to eliminate gifted education programs beginning in kindergarten.
Notably absent from the meeting were Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, an organization that pushes for higher standards in New York City schools, and the New York City Public Schools Alliance.
Iatin Chew, co-president of PLACE, expressed concerns, saying, “From all indications, this could be worse than de Blasio 2.0.”
Attendees also included Jamal Bowman, a former squad member rumored to be in line for a high position in Mamdani’s administration. Bowman’s history includes various accusations of anti-Semitism.
Once a principal himself, Bowman has labeled high-stakes standardized testing as “a form of modern-day slavery” back in 2015.
He previously drew attention when he triggered a fire alarm at the Capitol during a Democratic effort to stall a spending vote, leading to a censure from the House.
Chew raised a question about how Bowman could guide children in responsible behavior when he himself sparked such a chaotic event.
The Mamdani campaign has yet to respond to any inquiries about these recent developments.
