Zohran Mamdani: “I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech.”
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Democratic New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, known for his ardent anti-Israel views, once again refused to denounce the slogan “globalize the intifada” on ABC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.
“That’s not language that I use,” Mamdani responded to moderator Kristen Welker.
“The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead the city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights.”
When pressed about the Jewish community’s concern about the slogan resembling a call for violence against Jews, Mamdani responded, “I’ve heard those fears, and I’ve had those conversations, and I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech,” he added.
The mayoral candidate added that, if elected, his task would not include “making clear what language I believe is permissible or impermissible.”
He then criticized Donald Trump for censoring speech supporting Hamas and added, “Ultimately, it’s not language that I use,” he stated, “It’s language I understand there are concerns about, and what I will do is showcase my vision for the city through my words and my actions.”
Mamdani called antisemitism “a real issue in our city,” but added that he would not police speech and claimed he is focused on action.
He had received criticism from the Jewish community in New York for refusing to criticize the chant in the mayoral debate against former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
During the debate, Mamdani defended the quote as expressing “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.”
He claimed the a similar Arabic term for “uprising” was usedto describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis. This comment earned Mamdani criticism from the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC.
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