NYC Mayor Mamdani Defends 'Genocide' Accusation Against Israel Amid Backlash

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Thursday reiterated his accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, pushing back against criticism following his initial statement. Mamdani made these remarks while speaking to reporters at an event unrelated to the conflict.

Mamdani's comments came in response to questions about anger within the Jewish community over his statement made on the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks. He had briefly acknowledged the atrocities of that day before accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians.

"I believe that there must be room to mourn every single life," Mamdani stated. "There must be room to mourn the lives of the more than 1,100 that Hamas killed three years ago; there must be room to mourn the 74,000 Palestinians that the Israeli government has killed since."

He continued, "There must be room to reckon with the ways in which so many New Yorkers' lives have been shattered," noting that a vigil he attended highlighted testimonies from those affected by the events of October 7 and what he described as the "genocide since."

Mamdani further justified his focus on Palestinian deaths by stating, "This is something that is ongoing, as opposed to something that simply happened three years ago."

His initial statement had condemned Hamas’ attack as a "horrific war crime" while also characterizing Israel’s subsequent military operation as genocide, writing, "The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians — including more than 21,000 children."

Israel has consistently rejected accusations of genocide, asserting that its military operations are aimed at Hamas and other terrorist groups, with efforts made to minimize civilian casualties.

The mayor's remarks have drawn bipartisan criticism. Representative Dan Goldman, a Democrat from New York, called the statement "egregious and insulting." Goldman, who is Jewish, told Politico, "There are 364 days of the year to focus on that. This is a day that should just be focused on what was by all agreement a horrific terror attack." He added that Mamdani's statement "blame[d] Israelis for the attack that they suffered three years ago." Mamdani, however, repeatedly declined to state that he would change anything about his remarks.