The first Muslim Mayor of New York? Israeli settlers threaten a Christian village in the West Bank, and The Pope's Peruvian experience

When New Yorkers gave Zohran Mamdani close to half the votes in the Democratic primary for mayor, they turned a local race into contest with global impact. Mamdani is of Indian Muslim background. As a state assemblyman, he’s been an outspoken critic of Israel. About nine percent of New Yorkers are Muslim but 12 per cent are Jewish. So has this election reflected these differences? 

The small Palestinian town of Taybeh is one of the few villages in the West Bank where almost all the residents are Christian. In recent weeks, radical Israeli settlers have stepped up attacks on residents and properties, as part of their plan to occupy the entire West Bank territory. 

If Pope Leo XIV decides to take on some of the world’s most powerful leaders, he can rely on the nerves of steel he developed while leading the Catholic Church in his adopted homeland of Peru. When he was archbishop, he found himself in the middle of a conflict between the leftist guerilla movement, known as the Shining Path, and the right-wing Catholic group Opus Dei, which supported the authoritarian government. 

GUESTS:

• ETAN NECHIN is New York correspondent for Ha’aretz newspaper.
• SANAD SAHELIA is a freelance journalist in Ramallah who reports for Catholic media.
• MATTHEW CASEY-PARISEAULT of Arizona State University is based in Lima, where he studies the relationship between the church and state.