New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has drawn criticism for his stance on Israel's status as a Jewish state. In an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl, Mamdani stated he could not support Israel if it privileges one religion over another, advocating instead for a state with equal rights for all inhabitants. He extended this view to other nations, including Saudi Arabia.
Mamdani's remarks have been characterized by critics as disingenuous and hypocritical, with arguments that his position selectively targets Israel while overlooking similar or more pronounced religious distinctions in other countries.
According to the source, Israel does not have an official state religion, but rather is defined as the homeland for Jewish people. Its Basic Law asserts it is "the nation-state of the Jewish people, in which it realizes its natural, cultural, religious and historical right to self-determination." The Israeli Declaration of Independence also states the country will "ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex" and guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture.
While Israel recognizes various religions and grants their religious courts authority over matters such as marriage and divorce, a practice inherited from the Ottoman Empire, critics argue this is not comparable to the situation in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is described as an absolute monarchy with no political rights and an official state religion of Islam, with the Koran serving as its constitution.
Critics contend that if Mamdani's principle of not supporting states that privilege one religion over another were applied universally, it would extend to many Muslim-majority countries that make Islam their official religion and often discriminate against minorities, as well as Nordic countries with established churches, England's Anglican Church, and Greece's Eastern Orthodox Church.
The criticism further points to Mamdani's past actions, noting that he reportedly skipped New York City's Israel Day parade but attended its Pakistan Day parade, despite Pakistan's status as an Islamic state where religious minorities face discrimination. The argument is made that Mamdani's purported commitment to universalism serves as a pretext to express animus toward Israel, demanding that Jews, unlike other national groups, cannot have a homeland.