It’s the pluck of the Irish.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday compared the plight of the Irish to the “genocide” in Palestine — as he used a St. Patrick’s Day celebration to rip the “deafening silence from so many” on the Israel-Hamas war.
The Democratic socialist dropped the Gaza-related remarks as he hosted Ireland’s former President Mary Robinson for breakfast at Gracie Mansion to kickstart the Big Apple’s annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
The Irish have persevered through oppression and spread the cause of “solidarity” through the world, Mamdani said – without mentioning the struggle of Iranians under brutal theocratic rule.
“Who can better understand those who weep than those who have been made to weep for so long? The story of the Irish, both in Ireland and in New York City, is at one time a story of oppression, of subjugation, and of discrimination,” Mamdani said.
Hizzoner went on to laud Robinson, who was the first female president to lead Ireland in the ’90s, for her human rights record and history of standing with the Palestinian people.
“I say this as over the past few years, as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many,” he said.
“For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence, however, is nothing new, for Palestinians are so often left to weep alone. Yet, former President Robinson has never been silent.”
Mamdani also thanked Irish New Yorkers for helping to take up the “fight for a future of justice.”
The remarks drew criticism from Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, who rapped Mamdani for politicizing St. Patrick’s Day.
“Mamdani is a master of the politics of victimization. He delighted his left-wing Irish friends by saying, ‘The story of the Irish, both in Ireland and in New York City, is at one time a story of oppression, of subjugation, and of discrimination,’” Donohue said in a statement.
“This is the mentality of the Left. He sees oppression everywhere, nicely teeing it up for guys like him to rescue victims from their oppressors.”
Neil Cosgrove, political education chair of The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America, said that while it’s important to advocate for peace in the Middle East, “Irish America doesn’t get half the recognition it deserves.”
“Today is a day to celebrate the Irish-American community. There are 364 other days to go into areas of other politics,” he told The Post.
“I think the world needs to hear the message of Saint Patrick — they need to hear it and heed it everyday but certainly we shouldn’t lose that message with other messages on Saint Patrick’s day.”
Robinson, for her part, listed off the wave of ongoing global conflicts as she noted Ireland’s ability to recognize the plight of many.
“We know others are living under the shadow of war and suffering in Iran, in Lebanon, in Palestine, in Ukraine, in Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo, and in too many other places,” she said as she briefly addressed the breakfast event attended by about 50 people.
“For many Irish people, these realities resonate deeply, as the mayor has said, our own history holds memories of famine, exile, and conflict. Perhaps because of that, many recognize echoes of Ireland’s past within the suffering of others today, in the pain of displacement and the enduring human longing for dignity, justice, and self-determination.”
“What is called for now is community, not the division and domination we are seeing far too often. What is needed instead is the deeper moral courage to stand on the side of peace, defend human dignity, and resolutely refuse despair,” she added.
“That courage lives in ordinary people. It lived in those in Ireland, through long years of conflict, refused and fell fast to the belief still possible now in those of people, those who keep faith, but have ever more just world is still possible.”
The next morning, Mamdani sounded off on the Israel-Palestinian conflict before he attended Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, smiling as New York’s new archbishop, Ronald Hicks, passed by him at the beginning of the service inside the famed Manhattan house of worship.
He then marched up Fifth Avenue, alongside NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, in the city’s iconic St. Patrick’s Day parade – before leaving early for a lunch with Hicks.
When Mamdani was asked after Mass to elaborate on his comparison between the Irish and Palestinian people, he contended that he drew personal inspiration from the Emerald Isle’s history.
“What we’ve seen time and time again is that it has been the Irish who have been standing up whenever there’s been a person or people oppressed, whether it has been being the first Western government to ban South African goods during apartheid, or it has been this very former president (Robinson) that we honored today standing up in support of Palestinian freedom,” he said.
Mamdani said many Irish who arrived in America often had solidarity withheld from them, noting “Irish Need Not Apply” signs.
“It is truly a testament to the Irish spirit of perseverance, of struggle and solidarity that we are here in the city today,” he told reporters.
“I always take inspiration from the Irish.”
A day earlier, the mayor was stumped by a question about whether he supported a unified Ireland — the political push for all 32 Irish counties to be governed as one independent nation — after confirming he would be marching in the parade.
“I gotta be honest, I haven’t thought enough on that question,” he said.
The diehard socialist’s stance ultimately proved considerably more wishy-washy than that of Gov. Kathy Hochul, hardly a lefty firebrand.
“I believe in unifying the Irish people, of course,” Hochul told The Post while marching in the parade.
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