Top House Dem Hakeem Jeffries demands socialist Zohran Mamdani ‘clarify’ his defense of ‘intifada’ chant
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on socialist presumptive Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani to clarify his position on the use of the phrase, “globalize the intifada.”
A staunch critic of Israel, Mamdani went viral earlier this month during an interview with The Bulwark for describing the phrase “globalize the intifada” as an adage that reflects the “desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.”
The leading House Dem is now urging the New York socialist to explain his refusal to condemn the chant, which has been associated with violent uprisings against Israel.
“Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries (D-NY) told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. The term intifada means uprising.
“He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward,” the Brooklyn Democrat continued.
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development.”
During his interview with The Bulwark on June 17, Mamdani refused to denounce the phrase when pressed about whether it made him uncomfortable.
The Big Apple mayoral nominee then repeatedly refused to condemn it again in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday — despite many people interpreting it as a call to murder or harm Jews.
“That’s not language that I use. The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead this city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights,” he told Kristen Welker on the program.
“I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech in the manner.”
Welker pressed him on the phrase three times.
If elected, Mamdani would become the first Muslim and millennial mayor of New York City. The socialist had shocked the Democratic establishment by edging out former Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the first round of voting.
He is heavily favored to win the Democratic nod once the primary gets certified next month.
Jeffries, who has so far declined to endorse Mamdani, stressed the need to be more forceful in defense of Jewish New Yorkers against the scourge of antisemitism.
“Any mayor, whether you’re a Democratic mayor, a Republican mayor, an independent mayor, has got to commit to the safety and well-being of all of the people of the city of New York,” the House minority leader said.
“And when there are moments of crisis and a rise in anti-Jewish hate, that’s a threshold, of course, that needs to be crossed.”
The Brooklyn Democrat also defended his decision not to endorse Mamdani — for now.
“I have not,” Jeffries replied when asked about endorsing Mamdani. “We had a conversation on Wednesday morning where I congratulated him on the campaign that he ran, a campaign that clearly was relentlessly focused on the high cost of living in New York City.”
“We don’t really know each other well. Our districts don’t overlap. I have never had a substantive conversation with him,” he added. “That’s the next step in terms of this process, to be able to sit down.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the country, has also refrained from endorsing Mamdani.
Several Democrats, such as Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Laura Gillen (D-NY) have ripped into many of Mandani’s far-left positions.