Will New York have an anti-Semitic mayor?

Zohran Kwame Mamdani, current member of the New York State Assembly for Queens and a candidate for mayor of the city in the 2025 election, has emerged as a polarizing figure in the New York political landscape and ranks second in polls for the election with about 18% of voting intention.

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Mamdani has accumulated a history of antisemitic expressions and actions.

Origins and early signs of anti-Semitic activism

Born into a Muslim family in Kampala, Uganda in 1991, the son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran arrived in New York at the age of seven.

His political training began to take shape during his college years at Bowdoin College, where, according to reports, he established a chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization, linked to the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Explicit statements against Israel

Mamdani has repeatedly attacked Israel, using inflammatory language. On October 31, 2024, he claimed in a post on X that the Jewish state was committing "genocide."

Weeks earlier, on September 26, 2024, he wrote: "War criminals are not welcome in our city. Israel’s genocide and now indiscriminate bombing of Lebanon—and our funding of such crimes—must immediately end," in reference to the presence of Israeli officials in New York and US support for Israel in its war against Palestinian terrorism and its counter-offensives against missile launches perpetrated by Hezbollah from Lebanese soil.

These accusations of "genocide" have been particularly controversial. Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have argued that such terms, when applied without nuance to Israel's actions, evoke anti-Semitic historical narratives that exaggerate or decontextualize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Predictably, Mamdani has defended his stance as a legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and denied being anti-Semitic.

Protest actions and arrests

The candidate has also taken his activism to the streets. On October 13, 2023, less than a week after the October 7 massacre, Mamdani was arrested along with nearly 60 people during a protest outside the Brooklyn residence of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish, to demand a ceasefire to the Israeli response following the brutal attack perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups.

Mamdani, who led a traffic blockade, stated, "Tonight we are on the brink of genocide of the Palestinian people ... This is the moment for all people of conscience to call for a ceasefire," reported QNS, a news portal in Queens, New York. It was another of his provocations in which he ignored the Israeli victims of the worst massacre perpetrated against Jews since the Holocaust.

'Defund The Police' and BLM

In 2021, Mamdani organized a protest called Manifestation to Defund State Violence. demanding local divestment from the New York Police Department and that the federal government stop funding the Israeli military, indicated The Free Press. In addition, the US media outlet indicated that he kicked off the demonstration by exclaiming, "When I say BDS, you say BLM (Black Lives Matter)."

Harassment of Tom Homan

More recently, on March 12, 2025, Mamdani attempted to confront border czar Tom Homan in Albany, shouting questions about arrests of anti-Semitic rioters, such as Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who has led a number of violent pro-Hamas demonstrations during which Jewish students were harassed.

In one video, he is heard saying, "How many more New Yorkers will you detain? Do you believe in the First Amendment, Tom Homan?" In a subsequent statement, he victimized himself by accusing the Trump Administration of eroding fundamental rights, linking this to his opposition to Israel, Fox News reported.

Legislative initiatives against Israeli settlements

In 2023, Mamdani introduced a bill to prohibit New York-registered charities from donating to groups that support Israeli communities in the West Bank.

In an interview with The Nation, he stated that charities should not fund "war crimes."

Hunger strike in favor of terrorism

Mamdani has engaged in high-profile symbolic actions. In November 2023, just a month after the October 7 massacre, he joined actress Cynthia Nixon in a five-day hunger strike in front of Washington, DC, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and opposing then-President Joe Biden's support for Israel.

Islam

In 2024, he organized an Iftar (breaking the fast of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan) in support of a ceasefire, strengthening his connection with Muslim and progressive voters.

Socialism

Among the measures he has promised to implement if elected mayor, Mamdani maintained that he wants to open a municipal grocery store in every district, freeze rents on all rent-stabilized housing and offer free child care to children under five, noted The Free Press. He has also pledged to raise the city's minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030 (it is currently $16.50). He further promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should the leader of the Jewish state visit New York City.

"It's the end of New York"

Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf described Mamdani as anti-Semitic and he added that if he becomes mayor, "it's the end of New York."

Sheinkopf said Mamdani has tapped into anger, especially among young people, toward corporations and Israel.