Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani repeatedly refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Host Kristen Welker said, “I want to ask you about an issue that has divided New Yorkers in recent weeks. You were recently asked about the term globalize the intifada makes you uncomfortable. In that moment, you did not condemn the phrase. It is a phrase that many people here use as a call to violence against Jews. So I want to give you the opportunity to respond, do you defend that phrase?”
Mamdani said, “That is not language I use. The language I used to lead this city is that, which is clearly my intent, grounded in the release of human rights. Ultimately, that is the foundation of so much of my politics, the belief that freedom, justice and safety are things that have meaning and have to be applied to all people, including Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
Welker said, “But do you actually condemn it? That is the question and outstanding issue.”
Mamdani said, “I have heard from many Jewish New Yorkers who have shared their concerns, especially in light of the horrific attacks in Washington, D.C. and in Boulder, Colorado about this moment in anti- Semitism in our country. I’ve heard those fears and have those conversations, and they are part and parcel of why, in my campaign, I put forward the commitment to increase funding for anti-hate programming by 800%. I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech, in the manner especially of that of Donald Trump.”
Welker said, “For the people who care about the language and feel very concerned about that phrase, why not just condemn it?”
Mamdani said, “My concern is to start to walk down the line of language and making clear what language I believe is permissible, taking me into a place similar to that of the president who is looking to do those very things, putting people in jail for writing an op-ed, putting them in jail for protesting. Ultimately, it is not language I use.”
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