Jewish Democrats on Capitol Hill are raising concerns about New York Assembly member Zohran Mamdani\u2019s victory in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, arguing his refusal to condemn the phrase \u201cglobalize the intifada\u201d or recognize Israel as a Jewish state could be dangerous during the current moment of rising antisemitism in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, bested a crowded field of Democratic mayoral hopefuls last month on a message largely focused on affordability in the city. But his ascension has been accompanied by intense scrutiny of his statements related to Israel, including his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, accusing Israel of apartheid after Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7, 2023, attack and stopping short of denouncing the saying \u201cglobalize the intifada\u201d or calling Israel a Jewish state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latter two have sparked worries among Jewish Democrats in Congress \u2014 especially with Mamdani having a path to lead the city with the largest Jewish population in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a source familiar with the matter, the situation has been a topic of discussion among the small group on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo not be willing to condemn the term \u2018globalize the intifada,\u2019 it just demonstrates his callous disregard for antisemitism, terrorist activity. \u2026 Anyone that I care about couldn\u2019t possibly distance themselves from him more,\u201d said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Fla.), who was the first Jewish woman elected to represent Florida in Congress. \u201cIt\u2019s really terribly disturbing and potentially dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you have a prominent candidate who is giving permission to use dangerous rhetoric that potentially incites violence and incites people and creates a permission structure to fan the flames of violence? That\u2019s just completely unacceptable,\u201d she added. \u201cAnd how he doesn\u2019t understand that shows me that he isn\u2019t ready for prime time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Brad Schneider\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Ill.), another prominent Jewish Democrat, said Mamdani is \u201ceither ignoring or gaslighting the public\u201d when he said the phrase \u201cglobalize the intifada\u201d is \u201ca peaceful call.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think he\u2019s wrong on all those things,\u201d echoed Rep. Jared Moskowitz\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Fla.), who represents a part of Florida with a large population of Jewish individuals. \u201cIf he can\u2019t tell people \u2018globalizing the intifada\u2019 \u2014 if he can\u2019t say that that\u2019s antisemitic, then obviously he\u2019s going to continue to add to the problem, not deflate it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The response from New York\u2019s Jewish Democrats on Capitol Hill was more tepid, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Jerry Nadler\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-N.Y.), the dean of New York\u2019s congressional delegation in the House, endorsed Mamdani the day after the primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2002<\/u><\/a>and Rep. Dan Goldman,<\/u><\/a> meanwhile, issued carefully worded statements that stopped short of endorsing Mamdani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goldman, however, specifically said he, during a recent meeting with Mamdani, urged the candidate to make protecting Jewish individuals in New York City a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZohran and I share a desire to lift up vulnerable New Yorkers and make the city more affordable and safe,\u201d Goldman wrote in a\u2002statement<\/u><\/a>. \u201cTo that end, I explained why Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe in the City and that, as he continues this campaign, he must not only condemn anti-Jewish hate and calls for violence, but make clear that as Mayor he would take proactive steps to protect all New Yorkers and make us secure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hill reached out to Mamdani for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mamdani responded to the criticism at a press conference before the election, saying, \u201cThere\u2019s no room for antisemitism in this city and this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt pains me to be called an antisemite. It pains me to be painted as I\u2019m somehow in opposition to the very Jewish New Yorkers that I know and love and that are such a key part of this city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His supporters have also noted Mamdani and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is Jewish, cross-endorsed one another in the mayoral race, since the Big Apple uses ranked-choice voting for the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mamdani, who is Muslim and was born in Uganda, set off a stir in New York City in mid-June when, during an interview on The Bulwark\u2019s podcast, he refused to condemn the phrase \u201cglobalize the intifada,\u201d which supporters view as Palestinians fighting for their rights and opposing Israeli occupation, but pro-Israel activists see as<\/u><\/a> endorsing violence against the country, with a signal toward Palestinian attacks on Israel in the late 1980s and early 2000s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the interview, Mamdani recognized antisemitism as \u201ca real issue in our city\u201d but said he was \u201cless comfortable with the idea of banning the use of certain words,\u201d comparing such a move to tactics utilized by President Trump. Pressed again, he recognized the want among many to stand up for Palestinian human rights, later adding: \u201cWhat we need to do is focus on keeping Jewish New Yorkers safe, and the question of the permissibility of language is something that I haven\u2019t ventured into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During an interview on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d after his campaign victory, Mamdani stuck to the same response when asked about the phrase by moderator Kristen Welker\u2002<\/u><\/a>three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a poll\u2002released earlier this month<\/u><\/a> by American Pulse, 30 percent of respondents said they were more likely to vote for Mamdani after learning of his position on BDS and the \u201cglobalize the intifada,\u201d phrase while 52 percent said they were less likely. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mamdani has also drawn some criticism for declining to call Israel a Jewish state. When asked if he believed in the Jewish state of Israel during the Democratic mayoral debate, Mamdani responded, \u201cI believe Israel has the right to exist,\u201d adding \u201cas a state with equal rights\u201d when pressed to be more specific. He stuck by that message during a subsequent interview on \u201cGood Day New York.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge problem,\u201d Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), who has a tattoo written in Hebrew, said of Mamdani\u2019s stances. \u201cIt is happening in the context of a violent surge in antisemitism. Two Jews murdered here in Washington, D.C., at an event that some of us would have gone to had we not been voting, and then in Boulder, where Jews were set on fire. And now this. It\u2019s definitely something that we\u2019re worried about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) called Mamdani\u2019s refusal to denounce \u201cglobalize the intifada\u201d as \u201cinsane and unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Globalize the Intifada\u2019 refers to a horrific wave of terror \u2014 attacks that left more than a thousand Jews dead. It\u2019s insane and unacceptable to me that Zohran Mamdani\u2002<\/u><\/a>refuses to condemn language so clearly rooted in violence and hate, especially as antisemitic violence is at record highs,\u201d Gottheimer told The Hill in a statement. \u201cAs Democrats, there should be no room in our party for antisemitism or hate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concerns, to be sure, are not universal. In addition to Nadler\u2019s endorsement, Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), another prominent Jewish Democrat, urged his party to coalesce around their nominee, arguing Mamdani should not be penalized for a slogan that he does not use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur position is we\u2019ve got to globalize human rights and peace and security for every nation and every people, and everything I\u2019ve heard from him was consistent with that,\u201d Raskin said. \u201c\u2019Globalize the intifada\u2019 is not his slogan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Jewish individuals in the party are still raising alarm, warning such stances are not satisfactory, especially for a prominent politician in a city with such a large Jewish population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJewish Americans in New York and beyond are concerned about his position on Israel and his continued defense of this phrase, which we hear as a call to violence,\u201d Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told The Hill in an interview. \u201cAnd at a moment of rising antisemitism, frankly it\u2019s unacceptable for him to continue to defend this phrase if he wants to be mayor of the largest Jewish population of any city in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n