“Our city shouldn’t invest in Israel bonds; we don’t buy bonds from any other nation’s debt,” argued Mayor Zohran Mamdani, attempting to present his anti-Israel stance as a neutral policy decision.

Mamdani’s response to city Comptroller Mark Levine’s statement about potentially investing city pension funds in Israeli bonds veils a distorted narrative. While New York City doesn’t engage in direct purchases of foreign bonds, it does allocate billions through bond funds that include substantial foreign debt investments.

According to Levine’s office, the city holds “millions in sovereign debt across various countries, managed by our asset managers.”

This is merely Mamdani’s latest evasion. On his first day in office, he rescinded a series of Mayor Eric Adams’ executive orders, citing their association with a federal prosecution. In reality, this was a guise to implement Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) policies against Israel.

It’s only Mamdani’s latest dodge; his first day in office, he canceled a pack of Mayor Eric Adams’ executive orders with a story about how they were tainted by his federal prosecution; in fact, that was pseudo-legalese cover so the new administration can adopt anti-Israel Boycott, Disinvest, Sanction policies.

He pretends to be consummately rational, when he’s actually so biased it’s a wonder he doesn’t topple over.

During the transition, after protesters mobbed an Upper East Side synagogue, blocking the entrance and screaming at congregants, Mamdani’s spokesperson issued a bland statement blaming the victims as well as the perps: The then-mayor-elect “believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation,” but “these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

What activities in violation of international law? The synagogue was hosting an informational session about moving to Israel, which the protesters characterized as a “sale of stolen land.”

No land was for sale at the event, and even if some had been, it’s not up to mayors to interpret international law, much less enforce it: All hizzoner need worry about is police protection of a house of worship, period.

The same overstep underlies Mamdani’s vows to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to town, in defiance of US law; it’s just a skin of justification for what he’s already decided to do.

The word games may let the mayor’s fans pretend he’s being neutral, but the dishonesty only adds to the fears of those who distrust him.

And building a reputation for telling transparent lies about your policies can only undermine everything you hope to do.