Democratic Socialists of America’s demands to Mamdani for how to lead Israel-hating NYC

 The Democratic Socialists of America’s Big Apple chapter will push Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to implement a virulently anti-Israel agenda, leaked documents show.

Included in the NYC-DSA’s “Anti-War Working Group” list of a dozen “demands” for the incoming mayor is an end to all city contracts with companies doing business with Israel, and withdrawing all funds from banks lending money to the Jewish state, according to a planning document first exposed by Just The News.

The five-page screed was distributed at the group’s Nov. 2 public meeting, and reveals the DSA’s NYC chapter has been plotting since at least late September on how to best to ensure the pro-Palestine, Israel-hating Mamdani fully supports its anti-Israel agenda once he’s sworn in as mayor in January — and doesn’t buckle to political pressure.

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The Democratic Socialists of America have big plans for card-carrying NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani – especially when it comes to pushing its extreme, Israel-hating views on New Yorkers.NYC-DSA/ Instagram

Other demands include:

• Divesting city pensions from Israeli bonds and securities.
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• Banning Israeli products from the city-run grocery stores Mamdani wants to open.

• Investigating real estate agents “hosting illegal sales of stolen lands in the West Bank.”

• Stripping tax-exempt nonprofit status from entities that raise funds for the Israel Defense Forces.

• End the NYPD’s training with Israeli Occupation Forces.

•  Arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and active IDF soldiers for “war crimes” if they enter the Big Apple.
• Dismantle an NYC-Israel Economic Council formed by outgoing Mayor Adams.  

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Mamdani refuses to budge on his longtime stance that Israel shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state or condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” that calls for the destruction of Israel.Dennis A. Clark

“Well at least the DSA mask is off,” said state Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, a conservative Brooklyn Democrat and Orthodox Jew. “This was never about affordability, free buses or anything else. This was always about Jew hatred.

“With every municipal issue facing New York City’s government, the DSA doesn’t care about the state of our schools, streets, parks, subways, city budget or anything else. They care about Israel — Israel and only Israel.

“At least now they can stop trying to deny their antisemitism; most New Yorkers aren’t stupid,” said Yeger.

Mamdani — a longtime supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement whose father Mahmood Mamdani sits on advisory group that routinely accuses the Jewish state of committing “genocide” – condemned antisemitism on the campaign trail while meeting with some Jewish leaders to drum up political support.

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NYC-DSA’s “Anti-War Working Group” listed a dozen “demands” for the incoming Mamdani administration.

Alicia Singham Goodwin, niece of the China-based Marxist tycoon Neville “Roy” Singham, serves as political director of lefty nonprofit Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, which launched a “Jews for Zohran” campaign in January— giving the Israel-bashing Mamdani cover from antisemitism accusations, The Post reported in July.

However, he’s refused to budge on his longtime stance that Israel shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state or condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” that calls for the destruction of Israel.

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“Well at least the DSA mask is off,” said state Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, a conservative Brooklyn Democrat and Orthodox Jew. “This was never about affordability, free buses or anything else. This was always about Jew hatred.”Stefan Jeremiah for New York Pos

Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) said she expects “Comrade Zohran” to be nothing more than a “radical DSA puppet” after seeing the DSA papers.

“It was always obvious that he would carry the will of the most radical among us to the highest seat of power in our city,” she said. “Now we will see what happens when the insane run the asylum.”

Mamdani and the NYC-DSA did not return messages.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/08/us-news/heres-the-democratic-socialists-of-americas-demands-to-mamdani-for-how-to-lead-an-israel-hating-nyc/

Trump urges GOP end Obamacare, send funds straight to ‘the people’ as gov’t shutdown drags on

 President Trump urged Senate Republicans Saturday to end Obamacare and send federal health care spending “directly to the people,” as the federal government shutdown stretched into its 38th day.  

“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social.

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President Trump urged Senate Republicans to end Obamacare and send federal health-care spending funds “directly to the people” as the federal government shutdown stretched into its 38th day.REUTERS

“In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare,” he wrote. 

Trump weighed in on a day the Senate is holding a rare Saturday session after a deal collapsed that would have reopened at least three federal agencies while temporarily extending government funding.

Obamacare insurance subsidies are a top negotiating point of Senate Democrats, who have refused to vote for a House-passed bill to reopen the government without heading off subsidies set to balloon at the start of the year.

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The current federal government shutdown is now the longest in history.AFP via Getty Images

Democrats on Friday rejected a new Republican idea to fully fund three agencies while passing short-term temporary funding for the rest of the government.

The latest gambit by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was a proposal to temporarily reopen the government while extending existing government health care subsidies for a year. But Senate Republicans refused to go along with that idea, saying they will negotiate on the subsidies only after the government opens.  

Trump also called to “terminate the Filibuster!” The Senate rule requires a 60-vote supermajority for legislation including a bill to reopen and fund the government. That idea is meeting resistance from within Republicans in the Senate, who fear Democrats would use it against them if they took control.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed to temporarily reopen the government while extending health care subsidies for a year.AP

The president’s posts come as the shutdown’s effects are becoming more acute. Americans are bracing for airport chaos and airlines are cancelling hundreds of flights amid problems scheduling air traffic controllers, who are going unpaid during the shutdown.

The government’s plan to partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance SNAP payments remains snarled in the courts amid a Monday Supreme Court pause. The administrative order by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson allows the Trump administration to temporarily withhold benefits.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/08/us-news/trump-urges-republicans-to-end-obamacare-send-funds-straight-to-the-people-as-govt-shutdown-drags-on/

Hochul insists doesn’t ‘support’ DSA, fends off relentless criticism over mayor-elect endorsement

 Gov. Kathy Hochul insisted Saturday she’s no fan of the Democratic Socialists of America while fending off relentless criticism from Republican gubernatorial hopeful Elise Stefanik over her endorsement of card-carrying DSA member Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor.

“I don’t support them. I’ve made that clear,” Hochul told reporters at the annual SOMOS political retreat in Puerto Rico, hours after she attended an event with the mayor-elect, who was not present when she made the remarks about the DSA.

Gov. Kathy Hochul with NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mandani Thursday at the annual SOMOS political retreat in Puerto Rico. On Saturday, Hochul insisted she’s no fan of the Democratic Socialists of America — despite endorsing the DSA member for mayor.AP

Stefanik in a video kicking off her gubernatorial campaign Friday accused Hochul of having “cozied up” to a “defund-the-police, tax-hiking, antisemitic Communist” in Mamdani. She’s also repeatedly branded Hochul the “worst governor in America.”

“I really don’t care what she says,” snipped Hochul,

Hochul – who was heckled off the stage two weeks ago to chants of “tax the rich” during a Mamdani campaign rally in Queens – also insisted she doesn’t plan to raise state income taxes to support any of Mamdani’s pie-in-the-sky campaign pledges like free bus service.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) announced Fridays she’s running for governor in 2026.REUTERS

“If you look at the history of people who’ve run multi-million dollar ad campaigns to try and get me to change my position, I don’t change my position,” said Hochul, ignoring how she previously flip-flopped to support NYC’s congestion-tolling scheme and on other policy matters.

“What is doable is the question,” she said. “It’s kind of a collision course right now.”

“Our ambitions are big, and I believe in them, and I want to accomplish them. We also have to figure out like, okay, ‘now I’m in the hole $3 billion already on Medicaid cuts — $750 million this year I had to make up on Medicaid cuts.’ So if Republicans would stop doing that, and I got back to my normal budgeting cycle, it looks a lot easier.”

https://nypost.com/2025/11/08/us-news/mamdani-backing-hochul-i-dont-support-the-democratic-socialists-of-america/

Immigrants With Health Conditions May Be Denied Visas Under New Trump Admin Guidance

 Foreigners seeking visas to live in the U.S. might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, including diabetes or obesity, under a Thursday directive from the Trump administration.

The guidance, issued in a cable the State Department sent to embassy and consular officials and examined by KFF Health News, directs visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the U.S. for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits. The guidance says that such people could become a "public charge" -- a potential drain on U.S. resources -- because of their health issues or age.

While assessing the health of potential immigrants has been part of the visa application process for years, including screening for communicable diseases like tuberculosis and obtaining vaccine history, experts said the new guidelines greatly expand the list of medical conditions to be considered and give visa officers more power to make decisions about immigration based on an applicant's health status.

The directive is part of the Trump administration's divisive and aggressive campaign to deport immigrants living without authorization in the U.S. and dissuade others from immigrating into the country. The White House's crusade to push out immigrants has included daily mass arrests, bans on refugees from certain countries, and plans to severely restrict the total number permitted into the U.S.

The new guidelines mandate that immigrants' health be a focus in the application process. The guidance applies to nearly all visa applicants but is likely to be used only in cases in which people seek to permanently reside in the U.S., said Charles Wheeler, a senior attorney for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, a nonprofit legal aid group.

"You must consider an applicant's health," the cable reads. "Certain medical conditions -- including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions -- can require hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of care."

About 10% of the world's population has diabetes. Cardiovascular diseases are also common; they are the globe's leading killer.

The cable also encourages visa officers to consider other conditions, like obesity, which it notes can cause asthma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure, in their assessment of whether an immigrant could become a public charge and therefore should be denied entry into the U.S.

"All of these can require expensive, long-term care," the cable reads. Spokespeople for the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the cable.

Visa officers were also directed to determine if applicants have the means to pay for medical treatment without help from the U.S. government.

"Does the applicant have adequate financial resources to cover the costs of such care over his entire expected lifespan without seeking public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization at government expense?" the cable reads.

The cable's language appears at odds with the Foreign Affairs Manual, the State Department's own handbook, which says that visa officers cannot reject an application based on "what if" scenarios, Wheeler said.

The guidance directs visa officers to develop "their own thoughts about what could lead to some sort of medical emergency or sort of medical costs in the future," he said. "That's troubling because they're not medically trained, they have no experience in this area, and they shouldn't be making projections based on their own personal knowledge or bias."

The guidance also directs visa officers to consider the health of family members, including children or older parents.

"Do any of the dependents have disabilities, chronic medical conditions, or other special needs and require care such that the applicant cannot maintain employment?" the cable asks.

Immigrants already undergo a medical exam by a physician who's been approved by a U.S. embassy.

They are screened for communicable diseases, like tuberculosis, and asked to fill out a form that asks them to disclose any history of drug or alcohol use, mental health conditions, or violence. They're also required to have a number of vaccinations to guard against infectious diseases like measles, polio, and hepatitis B.

But the new guidance goes further, emphasizing that chronic diseases should be considered, said Sophia Genovese, an immigration lawyer at Georgetown University. She also noted that the language of the directive encourages visa officers and the doctors who examine people seeking to immigrate to speculate on the cost of applicants' medical care and their ability to get employment in the U.S., considering their medical history.

"Taking into consideration one's diabetic history or heart health history -- that's quite expansive," Genovese said. "There is a degree of this assessment already, just not quite [as] expansive as opining over, 'What if someone goes into diabetic shock?' If this change is going to happen immediately, that's obviously going to cause a myriad of issues when people are going into their consular interviews."

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF 

https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/118372

The Push for More Nutrition Education Is Spot On

 In August, the Trump administration announced a major initiative urging medical schools and medical-education organizations to implement "comprehensive nutrition education and training" as part of its Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda. The proposal requires U.S. medical schools, residencies, and licensing boards to integrate nutrition education into their programs or risk losing federal funding.

I fully support this effort -- there is never enough nutrition education. My hope is that the administration will engage registered dietitians (RDs), the true experts in the field, to help train the next generation of physicians.

For 16 years, I have been a registered dietitian at a teaching hospital in Boston, where I've had the privilege of training many medical residents and fellows. Nutrition is highly valued at our institution, with a team of over 50 dietitians specialized across different areas. Yet, even with this level of support, I often feel we could be doing more. I've long wished that physicians had more nutrition education built into their training.

Many people are unaware that medical students receive very little nutrition instruction. According to a 2014 survey, only 27% of U.S. medical schools met the recommended minimum of 25 hours. Nutrition and diet are intrinsically linked to health; the Center for Science in the Public Interest estimates that unhealthy diets contribute to approximately 678,000 U.S. deaths each year from conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Unfortunately, physicians often lack the time or training to deliver meaningful nutrition counseling during short office visits. One of my patients recently shared that their doctor's only advice for high cholesterol was "just eat less" -- a common and unhelpful refrain. Many patients feel lost trying to make dietary changes without expert guidance.

When the administration's initiative was announced, my mother asked if it worried me -- whether it might reduce demand for dietitians.

My answer was simple: impossible.

We can't begin to meet the full need for nutrition support. Barriers such as insurance coverage, time, cost, geography (even with telehealth), and technology all limit access. The growing use of GLP-1 medications, and the associated risks of malnutrition and muscle loss, further underscore the need for wide-reaching nutrition education. Every person should have access to a dietitian, and nutrition should be part of all school health curriculums. We eat three times a day, yet nutrition remains absent from most education systems.

Last week, the Association of American Medical Colleges issued a call to action for U.S. medical schools and academic health systems to strengthen nutrition education. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics also strongly supports integrating comprehensive nutrition education into medical training and recommends collaboration with registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) to ensure content is evidence-based. Some critics argue that this mandate duplicates the work of dietitians, but I believe collaboration only expands access to quality nutrition care.

My main concern lies in how the Trump administration's initiative will be implemented. Who will deliver the education? My deepest hope is that registered dietitians will take the lead. I envision registered dietitians working with medical school administrators on nutrition curriculum development, in addition to actually delivering the education in medical school classrooms. Dietitians and physicians already work closely together on patient care. We collaborate to make sure that our recommendations are supportive of one another and reinforced when we see the patient. The same logic should apply to medical education.

In the U.S., RDs (or RDNs) are licensed healthcare professionals who complete accredited coursework, a yearlong supervised practice -- mostly in hospitals -- and a national exam regulated by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. We provide medical nutrition therapy and work across clinical, community, and research settings. The term "nutritionist," by contrast, is unregulated in many states and can be used by anyone without formal training. Becoming a RD is both an educational and financial commitment. Nutrition education should therefore be delivered to medical students by us, the experts, as opposed to nutritionists or physicians.

More nutrition education for physicians can only strengthen our healthcare system. We are long overdue for a model that values food and nutrition as much as medication and procedures. My hope is that this initiative fosters collaboration -- with RDs leading the way. We have dedicated our careers to understanding both the science and the human side of nutrition, and our voices must be part of the conversation.

If this effort helps even a few more patients receive accurate, compassionate, and practical nutrition guidance, it will be a step toward real change -- one that puts credible, evidence-based nutrition care at the heart of health.

Skylar Griggs, MS, RD, LDN, is the owner of Newbury Street Nutrition and a senior-level dietitian for the cardiology division at Boston Children's Hospital.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/118367