New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was harshly condemned by Jewish organizations over the weekend after releasing an official video commemorating the "Nakba," a term used by Palestinian Arabs to label the establishment of the State of Israel as a catastrophe.
The video, published on social media, features Palestinian Arab-American and New York resident Inea Bushnaq detailing her family's departure from Jerusalem during the 1948 War of Independence.
The media package concluded with an on-screen caption asserting that "for Palestinians, their displacement and the Nakba continues to this day."
The timing of the mayoral broadcast drew immediate fury from local leadership, as it was intentionally uploaded at 5:40 p.m. on Friday, before the Jewish community commenced the observance of Shabbat.
The UJA-Federation of New York issued a sharp rebuke, highlighting the historical distortions embedded in the Mayor's messaging. The organization noted that Mamdani completely erased the fact that "22 Arab states launched a war to destroy Israel on May 15, 1948" after Arab leadership rejected the United Nations partition plan, an aggressive campaign that ultimately led to the retaliatory expulsion of 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab nations across the region.
Addressing the calculated release time, the UJA-Federation added, "You chose 5:40 p.m. on Friday to post it, as Jewish New Yorkers prepare to light Shabbat candles. We noticed."
Mark Treyger, Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY), emphasized that the Mayor's rhetoric exacerbates an already volatile climate in the city.
"Referencing this chapter of history without acknowledging the full history, including the post-World War II UN partition plan supporting two states for two peoples, which Jews accepted, does nothing to advance understanding," Treyger warned.
Pointing directly to a climate of "rising antisemitism, including a terror threat against a NYC synagogue and hateful protests targeting Jewish families in Brooklyn," the JCRC head implored the administration to provide "leadership that lowers the temperature, brings people together, and makes every community feel seen, respected, and safe, including Jewish New Yorkers."
Mamdani has long come under fire for his anti-Israel views. During his election campaign, he refused to disavow the phrase “globalize the intifada". He was also called out for criticizing Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
He 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.
Mamdani then caused an uproar on his first day in office when he cancelled executive orders related to Israel, which were issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams.
The move cancelled an order signed by Adams in June of 2025 formally recognizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
Another executive order which was cancelled prohibited mayoral appointees and agency staff from boycotting and disinvesting from Israel.
Mamdani has faced multiple antisemitism controversies since taking office. A recent report indicated that Mamdani's wife, Rama Dawaji, liked several social media posts that praised or appeared supportive of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.
More recently, Mamdani was introduced at a Ramadan event by a man who called for Hamas to bomb Tel Aviv.