House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) formally endorsed Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani on Friday, following months of public ambiguity surrounding his position.
“Despite our areas of principled disagreement... Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries said in a statement to The New York Times. “In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.”
Jeffries had previously declined to endorse Mamdani, who stunned the party in June by defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo for the nomination. Cuomo has since launched an independent campaign, joining Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the race for mayor.
On Friday, speaking from the US Capitol, Jeffries rejected claims that he had refused to endorse anyone. “I have not refused to endorse. I have refused to articulate my position, and I will momentarily, at some point in advance of early voting,” he told reporters, as quoted by NBC News.
In June, Jeffries said he wasn’t ready to endorse Mamdani, noting, “We don’t really know each other well.” He also addressed concerns raised by Jewish community members over Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada”.
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” Jeffries said at the time.
Mamdani has faced heavy criticism due to his anti-Israel stance, which includes his criticism of Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
He also recently declared that he would stop using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism.
In addition, Mamdani has repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes in its battle against Hamas in Gaza, and has vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City, citing the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu - even though the US is not a member of the ICC.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)