New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday rebuffed mounting pressure from Jewish community leaders urging him to apologize for past anti-Israel statements.
The refusal followed Thursday’s attack on the Upper West Side where a man wearing a kippah was stabbed on the fast day of Tisha B’Av by an attacker who yelled “Allahu Akbar" during the stabbing.
On Friday, the suspected stabber, 51-year-old Raul Morales, was charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, attempted murder, assault as a hate crime, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.
Mamdani has long come under fire for his anti-Israel stance. This week, he published a video in which the mayor conceded that he lacked the authority to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City - a pledge he had made repeatedly during his campaign - while maintaining his characterization of Netanyahu as a "war criminal."
Addressing the matter Friday in an interview on NY1, Mamdani insisted his past statements are “critiques of a political leader, not of people of a specific faith or a religion or a background."
He further emphasized his commitment to public safety across all communities regardless of personal ideology, saying, “My responsibility as the mayor of this city is to keep every New Yorker safe, no matter where they come from, what they believe in or frankly, even if they agree with my politics."
Israeli leaders linked Thursday’s stabbing to Mamdani’s past anti-Israel rhetoric.
Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli accused Mamdani of contributing to the atmosphere surrounding the stabbing attack in Manhattan.
“A straight line connects Mamdani’s vile jihadi video to the terror attack that just struck the city," Chikli wrote on social media, referring to Mamdani’s video on Netanyahu.
“When an attacker yells ‘Allahu Akbar’ while stabbing innocent people, you know Mamdani’s message landed," Chikli added.
Chikli argued that Mamdani “would never dare post a video like that against any other state leader," claiming that the video was “a pure manifesto of Jew hatred, thinly coated" as criticism directed only at Israel.
He also accused Mamdani of “dragging the city into decay and bloodshed" and warned that Jewish residents would be the first to suffer.
“The Jews will be the first to pay the price, as always," Chikli wrote. “But make no mistake, New Yorkers: it will not end with the Jews."
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said following the stabbing, "I am appalled by the horrific antisemitic stabbing attack in New York. Appalled but sadly not surprised. This violence did not happen in a vacuum. Months of incitement against the Jewish state from Mamdani have helped create a climate in which Jews are targeted."
He added, "Words have consequences. Mamdani must end the incitement, confront antisemitism with resolve, and act now to protect the city’s Jewish community. Enough is enough."
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, similarly criticized the Mayor, saying, "Zohran Mamdani, your incitement is putting Jewish lives in danger in New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel. You have spent months fueling hatred, demonizing Israel and legitimizing hostility toward Jews. Now take responsibility for the consequences."
He added, "Every time you pour more fuel on this fire, you make violence more likely. Stop the incitement. Before more people get hurt."
(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.)