Zohran Mamdani, New York State Assemblyman and mayoral candidate for New York City, speaks at a rally in New York City on May 10, 2025. (REUTERS/Bing Guan)
"Exploiting the Museum and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to sanitize ‘globalize the intifada’ is outrageous and especially offensive to survivors. Since 1987, Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history," the United States Holocaust Museum fired back at Mamdani in a social media post.
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According to the American Jewish Committee, the phrase "calls for people from around the globe to participate in rising up against Israel."
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, widely considered the frontrunner in New York City's mayoral race, called on all candidates to "denounce" Mamdani's comments for claiming THE language is "subject to interpretation."
"That is not only wrong, it is dangerous. At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths in Washington D.C. or their burning in Denver, we know all too well that words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder. As the US Holocaust Museum so aptly said, all leaders or those running for office must condemn the use of this battle cry. There are no two sides here," Cuomo said.
Protesters wave Palestinian flags in Washington Square Park in New York City on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
New York Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi, who has endorsed Cuomo, slammed Mamdani's comments, writing, "In Israel, the first and second intifadas, were terrorist attacks to kill Jews over a sustained period. ‘Globalize the intifada’ is not ‘subject to interpretation,’ it is wrong, dangerous and deadly. This is disqualifying and must be stopped."
Another New York Democrat, Rep. Ritchie Torres, piled on the criticism, saying, "Even if we stipulate—for the sake of argument—that ‘Globalize the Intifada’ is not a call to violence (even though it clearly is), what matters is not the speaker’s intent but how the phrase is received by many in the Jewish community."
An emotional Mamdani addressed accusations that his comments were rooted in antisemitism during a press conference on Wednesday.
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"I get comments that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. I get threats on my life, on the people that I love," Mamdani said, before adding, "Antisemitism is such a real issue in this city, and it has been hard to see it weaponized by candidates who do not seem to have any sincere interest in tackling it, but rather in using it as a pretext to make political points."
But Elisha Weisel, son of Elie and Marion Wiesel, authors and survivors of the Holocaust, told Fox News Digital that "globalizing the intifada is code switching for kill the Jews" and joined Cuomo's call for all candidates to denounce the controversial phrase.
"I can’t see into Zohran Mamdani’s soul, so when he doubles down on saying that globalizing the intifada is a good thing, I genuinely can’t tell whether he’s just completely naive or evil. Neither one of those is a good characteristic for someone in charge of our city. We need to keep antisemites out of the mayor’s office," Weisel added.
Mamdani's campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for further comment.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/globalize-intifada-phrase-stirs-tensions-nyc-campaign-trail-middle-east-conflict-rages