‘Not Acceptable’: Dem Leader Jeffries Says Zohran Mamdani Still Has to ‘Clarify His Position’ on Intifada Slogan

KARL: “You mentioned the diversity of your district, including a lot of Jewish constituents. Mamdani has made comments that some have said veer towards anti-Semitism. His initial statement after October 7th, he criticized the Israeli government but didn’t criticize Hamas. He defended the use of the word ‘globalize’ — or the phrase ‘globalize intifada.’ And he even said that the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu should be arrested — or he would if he were mayor, he would arrest Netanyahu if he visited New York City. Do these things concern you?”
Jeffries: “Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrasing. 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. And 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. 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.”