Will someone please play the clip where Mamdani actually says he supports “globalizing the intifada”? I’ve listened to 3 Bulwark podcasts, including the interview itself where they say his answer to questions about this “were terrible”. I have yet to hear Mamdani say anything of the kind.
Will someone please play the clip where Mamdani actually says he supports “globalizing the intifada”? I’ve listened to 3 Bulwark podcasts, including the interview itself where they say his answer to questions about this “were terrible”. I have yet to hear Mamdani say anything of the kind.
I haven’t listened to the FYPod Bulwark interview with Mamdani, but here’s what I read in the NYT about it per M Gessen.
M Gessen has a very interesting take on antisemitism and the NYC mayor’s race.
“… Last week, Mamdani was interviewed on “FYPod,” a podcast aimed at a young political audience. One of the hosts asked Mamdani to comment on the slogan “Globalize the intifada,” which, the host acknowledged, means different things to different people. “Antisemitism is a real issue in our city,” Mamdani responded. “It’s one that can be captured in statistics,” he continued. “It’s also one that you will feel in conversations you will have with Jewish New Yorkers across the city.”
He talked about a Jewish man who told him about being at services at his synagogue, hearing a door creak open behind him, and feeling terrified. Mamdani talked about a Jewish man in Williamsburg who had started locking a door he’d always kept open. Then Mamdani said he would fight antisemitism not by banning words but by increasing funding for anti-hate-crime programming by 800 percent.
His response showed deference to the American tradition of free speech, evidenced commitment to tackling the issue at hand and showcased his remarkable talent for articulating the feelings behind the politics. More accusations of antisemitism followed...”
It's academic at this point, and I can't find a transcript of the FYPod with Tim, Cam and Mamdani where this came up (I was a bit stunned by it myself when I listened to it, and thought Tim did an uncharacteristically poor job following up on it), but here's what the NY Times said about it:
"The tension escalated on Tuesday, after Mr. Mamdani, a critic of Israel, was asked during a podcast interview [the FYPod] if the phrase “globalize the intifada” made him uncomfortable, and he declined to condemn it. Palestinians and their supporters have called the phrase a rallying cry for liberation, but many Jews consider it a call to violence invoking resistance movements of the 1980s and 2000s.
In the interview with The Bulwark, Mr. Mamdani said he believed the phrase spoke to “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.” He said the U.S. Holocaust Museum used a similar Arabic term for “uprising” to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis, and stressed his own commitment to nonviolence and fighting antisemitism."
FWIW the US Holocaust Museum criticized Mamdani for that comparison, stating: "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."
I read the M. Gessen piece when it came out and thought Gessen was disingenuous and underplayed what Mamdani actually said. I do not think Mamdani is an anti-semite in the classical sense of hating Jews for being Jews. I do think (and think the evidence supports) that Mamdani is an anti-Zionist in that he is against the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish-majority nation.
Will someone please play the clip where Mamdani actually says he supports “globalizing the intifada”? I’ve listened to 3 Bulwark podcasts, including the interview itself where they say his answer to questions about this “were terrible”. I have yet to hear Mamdani say anything of the kind.
I haven’t listened to the FYPod Bulwark interview with Mamdani, but here’s what I read in the NYT about it per M Gessen.
M Gessen has a very interesting take on antisemitism and the NYC mayor’s race.
“… Last week, Mamdani was interviewed on “FYPod,” a podcast aimed at a young political audience. One of the hosts asked Mamdani to comment on the slogan “Globalize the intifada,” which, the host acknowledged, means different things to different people. “Antisemitism is a real issue in our city,” Mamdani responded. “It’s one that can be captured in statistics,” he continued. “It’s also one that you will feel in conversations you will have with Jewish New Yorkers across the city.”
He talked about a Jewish man who told him about being at services at his synagogue, hearing a door creak open behind him, and feeling terrified. Mamdani talked about a Jewish man in Williamsburg who had started locking a door he’d always kept open. Then Mamdani said he would fight antisemitism not by banning words but by increasing funding for anti-hate-crime programming by 800 percent.
His response showed deference to the American tradition of free speech, evidenced commitment to tackling the issue at hand and showcased his remarkable talent for articulating the feelings behind the politics. More accusations of antisemitism followed...”
“The Attacks on Zohran Mamdani Show That We Need a New Understanding of Antisemitism”, NYT, June 24, 2025, (gift link): https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/opinion/antisemitism-new-york-city-mayor.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RU8.OAxH.8sftyW-TGbjV&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
It's academic at this point, and I can't find a transcript of the FYPod with Tim, Cam and Mamdani where this came up (I was a bit stunned by it myself when I listened to it, and thought Tim did an uncharacteristically poor job following up on it), but here's what the NY Times said about it:
"The tension escalated on Tuesday, after Mr. Mamdani, a critic of Israel, was asked during a podcast interview [the FYPod] if the phrase “globalize the intifada” made him uncomfortable, and he declined to condemn it. Palestinians and their supporters have called the phrase a rallying cry for liberation, but many Jews consider it a call to violence invoking resistance movements of the 1980s and 2000s.
In the interview with The Bulwark, Mr. Mamdani said he believed the phrase spoke to “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.” He said the U.S. Holocaust Museum used a similar Arabic term for “uprising” to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis, and stressed his own commitment to nonviolence and fighting antisemitism."
FWIW the US Holocaust Museum criticized Mamdani for that comparison, stating: "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."
See my reply above yours to Rich Whiting re: M Gessen’s reaction to that FYPod interview with Mamdani. Here’s the gift link:
“The Attacks on Zohran Mamdani Show That We Need a New Understanding of Antisemitism”, NYT, June 24, 2025, (gift link): https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/opinion/antisemitism-new-york-city-mayor.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RU8.OAxH.8sftyW-TGbjV&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
I read the M. Gessen piece when it came out and thought Gessen was disingenuous and underplayed what Mamdani actually said. I do not think Mamdani is an anti-semite in the classical sense of hating Jews for being Jews. I do think (and think the evidence supports) that Mamdani is an anti-Zionist in that he is against the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish-majority nation.