Middle East tensions spill into NYC mayoral race over Mamdani comments

Middle East tensions seeped onto the New York City campaign trail this week as President Donald Trump considers striking Iran. 

When asked by The Bulwark podcast host, Tim Miller, if the phrases “Globalize the intifada” and “From the river to the sea” make him uncomfortable, mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani explained he doesn’t support banning language, comparing that leadership style to Trump. 

“The very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, which is a word that means ‘struggle.’”

The clip has since gone viral, as Jewish advocacy groups and influencers slammed Mamdani for what they say is a refusal to condemn the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” a rallying cry that has been used by pro-Palestinian protesters resisting the war in Gaza. 

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“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. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history,” the United States Holocaust Museum fired back at Mamdani in a social media post. 

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According to the American Jewish Committee, the phrase “calls for people from around the globe to participate in rising up against Israel.”

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, widely considered the frontrunner in New York City’s mayoral race, called on all candidates to “denounce” Mamdani’s comments for claiming THE language is “subject to interpretation.”

“That is not only wrong, it is dangerous. At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths in Washington D.C. or their burning in Denver, we know all too well that words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder. As the US Holocaust Museum so aptly said, all leaders or those running for office must condemn the use of this battle cry. There are no two sides here,” Cuomo said. 

A young Jewish couple who worked at the Israeli Embassy were killed while leaving the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington last month. The suspect shouted, “Free Palestine!” while in police custody. Colorado police also responded to a terror attack at a pro-Israel event that left multiple people injured in Denver last month. 

Mamdani, who is vying to be New York City’s first Muslim mayor, has been criticized by his competitors, including Cuomo, for his views on Middle East politics, which reached a boiling point this week amid ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran. 

During the mayoral debate, Mamdani said, “Israel has a right to exist,” he but refused to agree that Israel has the right to exist as a “Jewish state” but rather “as a state with equal rights.”

New York Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi, who has endorsed Cuomo, slammed Mamdani’s comments, writing, “In Israel, the first and second intifadas, were terrorist attacks to kill Jews over a sustained period. ‘Globalize the intifada’ is not ‘subject to interpretation,’ it is wrong, dangerous and deadly. This is disqualifying and must be stopped.”

Another New York Democrat, Rep. Ritchie Torres, piled on the criticism, saying, “Even if we stipulate—for the sake of argument—that ‘Globalize the Intifada’ is not a call to violence (even though it clearly is), what matters is not the speaker’s intent but how the phrase is received by many in the Jewish community.”

An emotional Mamdani addressed accusations that his comments were rooted in antisemitism during a press conference on Wednesday. 

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“I get comments that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. I get threats on my life, on the people that I love,” Mamdani said, before adding, “Antisemitism is such a real issue in this city, and it has been hard to see it weaponized by candidates who do not seem to have any sincere interest in tackling it, but rather in using it as a pretext to make political points.”

Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.