Mamdani Wins NYC Mayoral Primary, Alarms Jewish Voters with ‘Intifada’ Rhetoric
Zohran Mamdani’s win in the NYC Democratic mayoral primary has raised alarms due to his refusal to denounce “globalize the intifada” multiple times, and his anti-Israel activism, going with his anti-Semitic stance and promotion of violence. Jewish leaders fear his leadership could exacerbate hate crimes in a city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel.
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and New York State Assemblyman, won the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo with 56% of the vote to Cuomo’s 44%. Mamdani’s victory, propelled by 99,069 redistributed ranked-choice votes from candidates like Brad Lander (115,105), Eric Adams (42,747), and Scott Stringer (17,085), has ignited concerns among New York’s Jewish community due to his history of antisemitic rhetoric and promotion of terrorism. His refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and his anti-Israel activism have been labeled dangerous, particularly for the city’s 1.3 million Jews, the largest Jewish population outside Israel.
Mamdani’s defense of “globalize the intifada” during a June 2025 podcast with The Bulwark, where he called it an expression of “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights,” drew sharp condemnation. The phrase, tied to the violent Palestinian uprisings of the 1980s and 2000s that killed over 1,000 Israelis, is a call to violence against Jews globally, often by violent means including murder. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum rebuked Mamdani’s comparison of the phrase to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, stating, “Exploiting the Museum and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to sanitize ‘globalize the intifada’ is outrageous and especially offensive to survivors.” Rabbi Diana Fersko warned, “The Jewish community has seen time and again how violent rhetoric has transformed into actual violence.” On NBC’s Meet the Press, Mamdani sidestepped condemning the phrase, saying, “That’s not language that I use,” and insisting mayors shouldn’t “police speech.”
His long-standing anti-Israel activism, including founding a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, supporting BDS, and vowing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alarms critics. Andrew Cuomo stated, “At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews… words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder.” Mamdani’s victory speech promised inclusivity, saying, “I will be the mayor for everyone, every New Yorker,” but Rabbi Shimon Hecht noted congregants’ fears, hoping Mamdani loses to Adams or Sliwa in November. With antisemitic hate crimes surging, over 50% of NYC’s hate crimes target Jews, Mamdani’s rhetoric makes him a dangerous choice for mayor, potentially emboldening violence against Jews.