New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani called Israel’s war in Gaza “genocidal” in his statement on the two-year anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
“Two years ago, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more,” Mamdani wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
“In the aftermath of that day, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and the Israeli government launched a genocidal war: A death toll that now far exceeds 67,000, with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble.”
Mamdani 'stands with Jews only when they are dead'
The Foreign Ministry responded to Mamdani’s message in a post on X, writing that “two years after Hamas launched its barbaric massacre against Israel and the Jewish people, Mamdani has chosen to act as a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda, spreading Hamas’s fake genocide campaign.”
“By repeating Hamas’s lies, he excuses terror and normalizes antisemitism,” it continued. “He stands with Jews only when they are dead. Shameful.”
Mamdani accused of antisemitism by competitors, New Yorkers
Mamdani’s competitor in the race, mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, called on him to explicitly condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” ahead of the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
Although Mamdani has discouraged the phrase, saying that it “meant something different to the Jewish community,” he has not condemned its use nor those who have used it.
Mamdani, who practices Islam, has been accused of being antisemitic.
He has also previously stated that he plans to cancel New York City’s investments in Israeli government bonds over claims of “violations of international law.”
“His past words reveal his extreme bigotry toward police, his authentic commitment to communism, his antisemitic obsessions, and his sympathies for terrorists,” former opponent Jim Walden said of Mamdani.