Zohran Mamdani Defends Calling AIPAC “Monsters” After Jewish Leaders Accuse Antisemitism

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended remarks at a Brooklyn rally for three progressive congressional candidates he has endorsed in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries, after Jewish leaders accused him of antisemitism for describing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as “monsters.”

“Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday defended comments he made about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) after he was asked whether language including “monsters” and “dark money” was dangerous or invoked antisemitic tropes”

amNewYork

At a City Hall press conference, Mamdani said, “We’re talking about a status quo where children are being killed on a daily basis,” and he linked his criticism of AIPAC to Gaza and to super PAC spending in New York’s congressional primaries.

amNewYork

Mamdani also told reporters that when he speaks about AIPAC, he is speaking about “an organization that has been supportive of the status quo,” and he accused the group of defending that status quo through direct contributions and “dark money.”

The dispute followed Mamdani’s rally remarks in Brooklyn, where he said, “Now is the time of monsters,” and he argued that “these monsters take many forms today” including those funding television ads against his endorsed candidates and AIPAC.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, head of the progressive rabbinic human rights group T’ruah, criticized Mamdani’s language in a Substack post, writing, “Calling AIPAC and its backers ‘monsters’ casts them as less than human.”

Rabbi Misha Shulman, a Mamdani supporter who leads the progressive Brooklyn synagogue The New Shul, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “I didn’t like those remarks. It was a little bit of a flag for me.”

CNN

Mamdani responded at a press conference by saying he had been quoting Italian anti-fascist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, whose quote ending “Now is the time of monsters” he cited at the top of his speech.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that Mamdani insisted his use of the term was “a broad use that speaks to the untenable nature of a status quo,” while Shulman said the “dark money” framing was the “tougher knot” and called it a “tactical mistake.”

The controversy is playing out alongside Mamdani’s push for Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primaries, with Mamdani saying his “monsters” framing targeted AIPAC and super PACs spending “millions of dollars” on “deceptive and misleading ads.”

“New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is coming under fire after yet another antisemitic statement, this time taking aim at the pro-Israel group AIPAC and labelling it and its supporters as “monsters"”

Israel National News

Mamdani also pointed to Gaza deaths while defending his remarks, telling reporters, “I think that it is important that when we ask ourselves how such death and destruction is happening overseas, we also name those who allow it to take place,” as CNN reported he cited Israeli strikes killing “more than 1,000 people in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect in mid-October.”

CNN reported that Federal Election Commission filings show AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, made two political contributions last month totaling over $600,000 to BOLD America, which has been funding ads in support of Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th District.

As the backlash continued, Ted Deutch, the AJC’s CEO, said in a post on X, “Mayor Mamdani, referring to fellow New Yorkers as ‘monsters’ is outrageous and dangerous,” while Josh Gottheimer said, “Swap ‘AIPAC’ for ‘Jews’ and it’s the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theory in the books.”