House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said Zohran Mamdani, the winner of New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, must prepare to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York.”
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Jeffries criticized Mamdani’s use of the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which fueled his detractors’ accusations of antisemitism.
“Globalizing the intifada by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in anti-Semitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he added.
The meaning of the phrase has caused significant debate, particularly since Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Many pro-Palestinian activists and many Arab people have said the phrase means Palestinians fighting for their rights and liberation from Israeli occupation.
However, many pro-Israel activists and many Jewish people view it as calling for violence against Jews. They say it references the first and second intifadas, an Arabic word meaning uprising, that took place in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, during which Palestinians in both Palestinian territories and Israel engaged in an uprising in which significant violence occurred. Many on both sides were killed.Â
Since the start of his campaign, Mamdani has faced criticism on both sides of the aisle over his stances on Israel and accusations of antisemitism over some public statements he’s made. He’s been a sharp critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and was challenged earlier this month over his unwillingness to say definitively that he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.Â
“Any mayor, whether you’re a Democratic mayor, a Republican mayor, an independent mayor, has got to commit to the safety and well-being of all of the people of the city of New York,” Jeffries said. “And when there are moments of crisis and a rise in anti-Jewish hate, that’s a threshold, of course, that needs to be crossed. “
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