NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel video resurfaces

With just days until Election Day in New York City, a video from July 2023 of Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani calling to “end New York state subsidy of settler crimes” is recirculating online.

The video depicts Mamdani, shouting for the New Yorkers gathered at a “Not on Our Dime!” rally in Manhattan’s Herald Square on July 20, 2023, to pressure their elected officials to support his state assembly bill that would prohibit any “not-for-profit corporations from engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.”

“Are we ready to end New York state subsidy of settler crimes? Are we ready to say, ‘Not on our dime?'” Mamdani shouted.

Last week, prominent New York City rabbis joined more than 650 rabbis nationwide to sign “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future,” affirming that Jewish Americans “cannot remain silent” on discrimination against Jewish people and citing Mamdani’s anti-Israel stances. 

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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa have repeatedly criticized Mamdani’s stances on Israel, arguing that he would not do enough as mayor to protect Jewish New Yorkers, citing his past refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which he now says he discourages others from using. 

If Mamdani wins the mayoral election on Nov. 4, he will become the first Muslim mayor of New York City.

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Religion has become a defining issue in the mayoral race, as Jewish New Yorkers have rejected Mamdani’s positions on Israel, including calling the war in Gaza a “genocide” and his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Mamdani has maintained that he “would not recognize any state’s right to exist with a system of hierarchy on the basis of race, of religion.”

When asked during last week’s mayoral debate if Mamdani has any regrets about his “long-standing” anti-Israel views, the democratic socialist affirmed his commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, as he has throughout the campaign.

“When I grew up in this city, I grew up hearing the term of ‘progressive except Palestine.’ I grew up hearing that it was normal to hold an inconsistency only when it applied to Palestinians. I saw the politicians that I admired speak of universal rights and then draw the line right when it came of Palestinians,” Mamdani said in viral video from 2023.

“And I was told simply that’s how it is, it is how it has been, and it is how it will be,” he continued. “And when I decided to run for office, I was told to keep my thoughts on Palestine to myself if I wanted to win. I want to make it clear. I spoke every day to my constituents about the need for us to stand up in a consistent manner for justice for every single person, whether they are in Astoria or Palestine.”

Mamdani has a long record of supporting the pro-Palestinian movement, including at Bowdoin College, where he founded the Students for Justice in Palestine Chapter.

In the video, a heckler accused Mamdani of “funding the problem” as an elected official. Smiling, Mamdani asked the crowd to chant, “Not on our dime!” with him.

“That is what we are calling for, and we are calling for it because we know that the days of that inconsistency, the days of drawing the line at Palestine, those days are over,” Mamdani shouted.

“What we are calling for is an end to our complicity as New Yorkers, and we know it will be a long battle, but you cannot win if you do not start. This is the beginning of that battle because we have organizations masquerading as charities,” he claimed.

Mamdani’s bill, which was introduced in New York’s committee assembly but has yet to advance, is designed to restrict non-profit organizations from “engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.”

“There is nothing charitable about dispossession. There is nothing charitable about violence. We know that. Every normal person knows that, but when it comes to politics, they want to make an exception. So who is ready to make the exception?” Mamdani asked. 

“Not on our dime!” Mamdani chanted.

“We are told time and again that this country opposes settlements. We are told that international law opposes settlements. It is time that our reality reflects that. We are tired of your rhetoric. We want to see it in reality. We are tired of hearing one thing and subsidizing another. If New York State stands for justice, there must be no exceptions,” Mamdani said.

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Notably, the rally was held months before Hamas’ Oct. 7th terrorist attacks on Israel. Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza triggered pro-Palestinian protests across the U.S., where New York City became the epicenter, particularly at Columbia University.

“I know that we are going to win, and every day we do this, we bring that day much closer.”

The Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about whether the mayoral candidate stands by this legislation, if he would work to pass a similar bill in New York City if elected and if his conversations with Jewish leaders throughout the campaign have changed his perspective.