By Sam Barron | Tuesday, 23 June 2026 06:41 PM EDT
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been accused of employing antisemitic tropes after he labeled the American Israel Public Affairs Committee “monsters” at a rally last week.
At the event during his campaign for progressive candidates in New York City’s congressional primaries, Mamdani targeted AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group. He stated that the organization channels “millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal — to preserve their power, so that they can turn us against one another.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., criticized the remarks, noting that replacing “AIPAC” with “Jews” would constitute the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theory. Gottheimer, who is Jewish, said on social media: “This is not criticizing a lobby. This is laundering antisemitism from your podium as Mayor of a city with more than a million Jews. This [expletive] is dangerous.”
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a liaison for the Hasidic Lubavitch sect, expressed horror at Mamdani’s comments. “The bottom line is that the people who hear it see it as a silent endorsement of violence,” Behrman said, adding he had previously met with Mamdani to discuss ways to combat antisemitism. “It’s incredibly dangerous. The mayor has a responsibility to watch the way he speaks, especially if, as he says, he cares about all New Yorkers.”
Moshe Indig, a Hasidic rabbi and leader of Brooklyn’s anti-Zionist Satmar sect, disagreed with the accusations, arguing they are disingenuous.
Mamdani defended his remarks on Monday, claiming he was referencing a quote from Antonio Gramsci, founder of the Italian Communist Party in the 1920s. “We’re talking about a status quo where children are being killed on a daily basis,” Mamdani told reporters. “I’m speaking about an organization that has been supportive of the status quo, that has fought any attempt to actually deliver safety to people.”
Two candidates running in the primaries who were not endorsed by Mamdani declined to condemn his remarks. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a candidate for the 7th Congressional District, stated: “AIPAC is bad — period.”
Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democratic candidate for the 10th Congressional District, declined to comment on the remarks. Goldman and his opponent, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, are both Jewish. Lander has made past support from AIPAC-affiliated groups and donors a central part of his campaign, though no such donations have occurred this cycle.
Sam Barron has nearly two decades of experience covering politics, crime, and business.
