New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on his recent verbal broadsides against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Monday, pushing back against prominent Jewish leaders who have accused him of trafficking in antisemitic rhetoric.
Speaking last week during a rally held with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and progressive candidates, Mamdani labelled AIPAC and its supporters as “monsters".
He further claimed that AIPAC moves “millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal, to preserve their power so that they can turn us against one another instead of our leaders turning towards the moral change we all know to be necessary."
During a City Hall press briefing on Monday, Mamdani addressed his criticism of the influential pro-Israel lobbying organization by connecting its political activities to ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip.
“When I am speaking about AIPAC, I’m speaking about an organization that has been supportive of the status quo, that has fought any attempt to actually deliver safety to people, not just in Palestine, but frankly, through much of the region, and it is a status quo for immorality," Mamdani argued, as quoted by CNN.
“And when it comes to the way in which they defend the status quo, oftentimes they defend it through direct contributions, as we are seeing right now in New York."
The mayor's comments last week drew swift condemnation from the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, with both organizations warning that deploying antisemitic tropes is particularly reckless for the chief executive of a city home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel.
“Mayor Mamdani, referring to fellow New Yorkers as ‘monsters’ is outrageous and dangerous, and the impact of your words extends far beyond politics," AJC Chief Executive Officer Ted Deutch posted on X.
On Sunday evening, New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat, issued a scathing rebuke on the same platform.
“Swap ‘AIPAC’ for ‘Jews’ and it’s the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theory in the books," Gottheimer wrote. “That’s not criticizing a lobby. That’s laundering antisemitism from your podium as Mayor of a city with more than a million Jews. This bulls--t is dangerous."
Mamdani remained unapologetic on Monday, highlighting the ongoing casualties in Gaza despite a fragile, American-brokered truce. He pointed to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicating that Israeli military actions have claimed over 1,000 lives in Gaza since the mid-October ceasefire took effect. Those figures have often been disputed.
“I think that it is important that when we ask ourselves how such death and destruction is happening overseas, we also name those who allow it to take place," the mayor told reporters.
When questioned about his decision to use the word “monsters," Mamdani claimed he was channeling Italian Communist Party founder Antonio Gramsci to critique broad campaign spending by political action committees in New York.
“I used the term to describe all those who are preventing the birth of a new world, not solely AIPAC, but frankly super PACs at large, who are spending millions of dollars in deceptive and misleading ads that are blanketing airwaves, not just in the case of Darializa Avila Chevalier, but also we see that kind of PAC spending when it comes to oppose Brad Lander, who’s running for Congress, as well as Claire Valdez, as well as a number of other races," Mamdani explained.
“And I also use the term to describe a politics that, for far too long, has asked working people to lower their expectations," he added. “My use of the term is a broad use that speaks to the untenable nature of a status quo that is quite literally starving people in the city, all in the name of sustaining something that we simply cannot defend any longer."
Mamdani has become notorious for his antisemitic and anti-Israel statements and actions. During his election campaign, Mamdani 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. Most recently, Mamdani boycotted the annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, becoming the first mayor to boycott the event.