‘Jewish and Muslim Safety Are Intertwined’ - Comedian Ilana Glazer on Mamdani’s Victory and the Weaponization of Antisemitism

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On the day after Zohran Mamdani’s historic election win, what better ‘We’re Not Kidding’ guest could we ask for than New York City icon Ilana Glazer? The Jewish-American comedian, activist, and ‘Broad City’ creator joined Mehdi in midtown Manhattan to talk about what Mamdani’s victory means for the future of US politics.

The two also discuss the recent failures of the Democratic party and whether Mamdani’s win has the power to finally push party leadership to embrace its populist flank. “Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries were not there celebrating last night,” Ilana says. “A Democratic mayor won. They should be there celebrating.” They also talk about someone else who was definitely not celebrating on election night — Debra Messing and her very public Instagram crash out.

Ilana opens up to Mehdi about her feelings around the modern Jewish identity, particularly since Oct. 7. The two also discuss the weaponization of antisemitism by figures like Jonathan Greenblatt (who has already announced the Anti-Defamation League’s ‘Mamdani Monitor’ to purportedly “keep Jewish New Yorkers safe”), while simultaneously ignoring the dangers of right-wing antisemitism espoused by people like Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson. Finally, Mehdi asks Ilana about speaking out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the risks of receiving backlash or being censored.

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Credits:

Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan

Guest Host: Ilana Glazer

Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi

Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello

Music: Andy Clausen

Design: Alicia Tatone

Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera

Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali