Prominent Jewish leaders and advocacy organizations are criticizing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after comments he made about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee during a campaign rally sparked accusations of antisemitic rhetoric and incitement.
The controversy stems from remarks Mamdani delivered June 18 at a rally in Brooklyn alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders and several progressive candidates ahead of upcoming primary elections.
During the event, Mamdani criticized AIPAC, accusing the pro-Israel lobbying organization of spending heavily to influence elections and support candidates aligned with its priorities.
“Now is the time of monsters,” Mamdani said during the speech.
“In AIPAC, for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and Netanyahu’s wars,” he added.
The remarks quickly drew condemnation from Jewish leaders and organizations.
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Manhattan’s Kehilath Jeshurun synagogue, accused Mamdani of using inflammatory language that could contribute to rising antisemitism.
“Mamdani is accusing AIPAC of being a monster that subverts democracy, supports genocide and wants to divide Americans. This is pure incitement,” Steinmetz wrote on social media.
The rabbi argued that such rhetoric could encourage hostility toward Jewish organizations and their supporters.
“Well, I’m an AIPAC supporter. And Mamdani is inciting hatred against people like me,” Steinmetz said.
Steinmetz also referenced the 2025 killing of two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., arguing that rhetoric targeting Jewish institutions can have dangerous consequences.
“New York already has an antisemitism problem. Right now, you are pouring fuel on the fire,” he wrote.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center also condemned Mamdani’s remarks.
Chief Executive Officer Jim Berk said accusations portraying Jewish organizations as uniquely manipulative or power-seeking echoed longstanding antisemitic themes.
“The suggestion that Jewish political participation is inherently suspect, illegitimate, or secretly manipulative is abhorrent,” Berk said in a statement.
Berk argued that many advocacy groups engage in lobbying and political activity, but criticism of Jewish organizations often takes on a different character.
“But when Jewish organizations alone are portrayed as uniquely divisive or corrosive, we cross into territory where old prejudices take root,” he said.
The Anti-Defamation League similarly called on Mamdani to apologize.
In a statement, the organization said describing members of the Jewish community as “monsters” wielding “dark money” crossed a line beyond ordinary political disagreement.
The ADL argued that such language invoked conspiratorial themes that have historically been associated with antisemitic rhetoric.
ADL Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Greenblatt described the comments as “deliberate, dangerous and disgraceful.”
The controversy comes amid heightened debate over Israel, the war in Gaza and U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Mamdani has been a vocal critic of Israeli government policies and supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel, per the New York Post.
He has previously accused Israel of committing a “genocidal war” in Gaza and has advocated legal action against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mamdani’s office had not publicly responded to the criticism at the time of publication.
The dispute adds to ongoing tensions surrounding Israel-related politics in New York City as candidates continue campaigning ahead of upcoming elections.
