Jewish leaders horrified as Zohran Mamdani – who refuses to condemn ‘globalize the intifada’ – storms to shock victory in NYC mayoral race
A socialist politician who defended the phrase “globalize the intifada” – widely seen as a call to violence against Jews – is on track to become New York City’s next mayor after a stunning primary victory that has left Jewish leaders reeling.
Zohran Mamdani, 33, crushed former Governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s Democratic primary despite – or perhaps because of – his refusal to condemn anti-Israel rhetoric that critics say amounts to incitement to murder.
The Queens assemblyman, who would become the city’s first Muslim mayor, broke down in tears as he defended himself against antisemitism charges, claiming: “I get messages that say: ‘The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.'”
But Jewish leaders aren’t buying it, warning that Mamdani’s victory represents a terrifying new chapter for America’s largest Jewish community outside Israel.
‘It’s code for kill the Jews’
The controversy exploded when Mamdani appeared on The Bulwark podcast last week and was asked about the phrase “globalize the intifada” – chanted at pro-Palestinian protests across America.
Rather than condemn it, Mamdani defended the slogan as expressing “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.
His shocking justification? The Holocaust Museum had once used the Arabic word “intifada” when translating descriptions of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis.
The museum’s response was swift and devastating: “Exploiting the Museum and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to sanitize ‘globalize the intifada’ is outrageous and especially offensive to survivors. Since 1987 Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elisha Wiesel didn’t mince words: “We have a mayoral candidate on the ballot who refuses to condemn the phrase, you know, globalize the Intifada, which is code switching for kill the Jews. The war is here. It’s not something fictional and far away.”
Jewish blood on the streets
The timing couldn’t be worse. Antisemitic incidents in New York surged 18% last year, with 1,437 attacks – 68% of them in New York City alone, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
In the first quarter of 2025, NYPD data shows antisemitic acts made up a staggering 62% of all reported hate crimes citywide.
Just this month, two people were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC by a gunman shouting pro-Palestinian slogans. In Boulder, Colorado, Israeli hostage advocates were attacked and burned.
At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths… we know all too well that words matter,” Cuomo warned. “They fuel hate. They fuel murder.”
From campus radical to City Hall
Mamdani’s journey from anti-Israel activist to mayoral frontrunner began at Bowdoin College, where he founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine – a group notorious for harassing Jewish students on campuses across America.
He’s an outspoken supporter of the BDS movement to boycott Israel and has repeatedly accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza. When asked by interviewer Mehdi Hasan what he’d do if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited New York, Mamdani’s response sent shockwaves through the Jewish community.
The assemblyman has also been accused of refusing to sign New York State resolutions commemorating the Holocaust – charges he denies.
Democrats in panic mode
The Democratic establishment is in meltdown over Mamdani’s victory, with prominent figures warning it signals a dangerous shift in the party’s tolerance for antisemitism.
Lawrence Summers, treasury secretary under President Clinton, said he was “profoundly alarmed” by the “anointment of a candidate who failed to disavow a ‘globalize the intifada’ slogan and advocated Trotskyite economic policies.”
Rep. Dan Goldman, a Jewish Democrat from New York, was unequivocal: “If Mr. Mamdani is unwilling to heed the request of major Jewish organizations to condemn this unquestionably antisemitic phrase, then he is unfit to lead a city with 1.3 million Jews.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called the phrase “explicit incitement to violence,” while Jewish groups across the spectrum united in condemnation.
AOC’s protégé
Mamdani’s victory was powered by a coalition of young progressives and the democratic socialist movement, with a crucial endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez providing rocket fuel to his campaign.
The betting markets now have him as the overwhelming favourite to win November’s general election, with Polymarket giving him odds that suggest near-certain victory in the heavily Democratic city.
His radical platform includes free public transport, government-run grocery stores, and diverting police funding to a new “community safety division” – policies even some Democrats call “Trotskyite.
Tears and defiance
At an emotional press conference, Mamdani wept as he insisted: “I’ve said at every opportunity that there is no room for antisemitism in this city, in this country.”
But in his victory speech, he remained defiant, vowing not to “abandon my beliefs” and promising only to “work with an open mind, and understand the perspectives that some of you hold that I do not agree with.”
For many Jewish New Yorkers, that’s cold comfort. A recent poll found 76% of Jewish voters believe antisemitic hate crimes are a “very serious problem” and that the city must do better protecting Jewish residents.
‘At best insensitive, at worst antagonistic’
Abe Foxman, former head of the Anti-Defamation League, delivered a chilling assessment: “At best Mamdani is insensitive to Jews and their concerns, at worst he harbors an antagonism to Jews. As mayor he won’t be able to hold either position for long.”
Rabbi Marc Schneier of The Hampton Synagogue demanded an immediate apology: “Zohran Mamdani must immediately apologize to New York City’s Jewish community for his offensive claim, in which he equates ‘intifada’ with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
The UJA-Federation of New York and other major Jewish organizations had called on all mayoral candidates to “unequivocally condemn dangerous rhetoric — such as ‘globalize the intifada’ — that has inspired deadly acts against Jews.”
Mamdani refused.
What ‘intifada’ really means
While Mamdani claims “intifada” simply means “struggle” in Arabic, Jewish New Yorkers know better. The Second Intifada of the early 2000s saw Palestinian terrorists murder over 1,000 Israelis in suicide bombings at pizza parlours, nightclubs, and buses.
‘Intifada’ is well understood to refer to the violent terror attacks against innocent Israeli civilians,” Rep. Goldman explained.
Since Hamas’s October 7 massacre in Israel, the phrase “globalize the intifada” has taken on new meaning – a call to bring that violence to Jewish communities worldwide.
November showdown
While Mamdani celebrates his primary victory, the battle for New York’s soul is far from over. Both Cuomo and current Mayor Eric Adams have registered to run as independents in November’s general election.
Adams, notably, is running on ballot lines called “EndAntiSemitism” and “Safe&Affordable” – a clear signal that the fight against Mamdani will centre on Jewish safety.
With New York’s Jewish population of 1.3 million – the largest outside Israel – potentially holding the balance of power, November’s election could become a referendum on whether America’s greatest city will stand with its Jewish citizens or embrace a mayor who can’t even condemn calls for their murder.
As one former Biden aide observed: “The fact that someone could feel empowered to double down on these ideas and win a mayoral race in New York City, that doesn’t happen by accident.
For Jewish New Yorkers watching their city embrace a candidate who defends “globalize the intifada,” that accident feels more like a nightmare.
Image credit: Photo by Bingjiefu He, taken on 27 October 2024 at the “Resist Fascism” rally in Bryant Park, New York City, featuring Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY–SA 4.0)
Image page: View on Wikimedia Commons – “Zohran Mamdani at the Resist Fascism Rally in Bryant Park on Oct 27th 2024”
