Mamdani said he had planned to appear in the video himself, but he “did fall sick” and did not want to “create any kind of complications.”
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani defended a video marking “Nakba Day” during a press conference Monday, while facing criticism from the UJA-Federation and questions about Jewish organizations boycotting an event he is hosting for American Jewish Heritage Month and Shavuot.
Mamdani said he stood by the video, which commemorated what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba.
“I was proud to commemorate Nakba Day, which is an annual day on May 15th that commemorates the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from 1947 to 1945 during the creation of the State of Israel and for the year that followed,” Mamdani said, incorrectly stating the years connected to Israel’s establishment.
The UJA-Federation criticized the presentation, saying it omitted the wider regional war surrounding Israel’s founding.
“Twenty-two Arab states launched a war to destroy Israel on May 15, 1948,” the UJA-Federation said. The organization added that the conflict also led to the expulsion of “800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab nations across the region.”
The video included testimony from a Palestinian resident who described her family’s departure from Jerusalem. It also characterized the Nakba as an ongoing experience for Palestinians.
Mamadani continued, “We wanted to ensure that the focus of this is just to hear from a New Yorker herself, on her own memories, of what it means to be expelled, what her life has been like, and she has found home in New York City,” Mamdani says.
He adds that he had planned to appear in the video himself, but he “did fall sick” and did not want to “create any kind of complications” for the subject of the video.
Mamdani was also asked during the press conference about Jewish organizations that are boycotting an event he is hosting Monday night in connection with American Jewish Heritage Month and the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
“My message to Jewish leaders across this city is that my door is always open,” he said.
The dispute unfolded as demonstrations marking “Nakba Day” took place in Manhattan.
Protesters marched through the streets carrying Hezbollah flags and chanting slogans calling for the destruction of Israel.
The comments by Mamdani and the reaction from the UJA-Federation added to public debate surrounding the mayoral candidate’s positions on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as events connected to “Nakba Day” were held across New York City on Monday.
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