Mamdani on threatening messages: ‘It takes a toll’

He was supposed to be touting an endorsement from former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley. Instead, Zohran Mamdani found himself tearfully describing the challenges that come with running to be New York City’s first Muslim mayor during a time of heightened tensions over Israel and Gaza.

Not for the first time this election cycle, Mamdani was asked about accusations of antisemitism this week.

“Part of it has been colored by the fact that when I speak, especially when I speak with emotion, I am then characterized by those same rivals as being a monster, as being ‘at the gates’ – language that describes almost a barbarian looking to dismantle civilization,” Mamdani said at the Harlem press conference. “It pains me to be called an antisemite.”

Mamdani paused and teared up before talking about some of the Islamophobic messages he’s received, saying that they “take a toll.” Gothamist reported this week that Mamdani had taken the step of hiring security protection in light of recent threats. “I get threats on my life, on the people that I love, and I try to not to talk about it because the function of racism, as Toni Morrison said, is distraction. My focus has always been on making this a city that’s affordable, on making this a city that every New Yorker sees themselves in.”

The Assembly member, who is the farthest left candidate in the Democratic primary field, is second in the polls to front-runner and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been adamant in his support for Israel and made fighting rising antisemitism in the city a central plank of his campaign. Mamdani, who has been critical of Israel’s actions in the ongoing war in Gaza following Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023, has denounced antisemitism and vowed to protect Jewish New Yorkers as mayor. Cuomo, his allies, and another candidate in the race, Whitney Tilson, have pointed to Mamdani’s criticism of Israel, his support for Palestine, and his use of the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s action in Gaza, to cast doubt on that promise.

Mamdani was in that position again on Wednesday, following comments he made during an interview on the Bulwark podcast in which he was asked about whether the phrase “globalize the intifada” made him uncomfortable, and he invoked the Arabic translation of the word, saying it means struggle. “As a Muslim man who grew up post-9/11, I’m all too familiar (with) the way in which Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted, can be used to justify any kind of meaning,” he said on the podcast. “I think that’s where it leads me with a sense that what we need to do is focus on keeping Jewish New Yorkers safe.”

Mamdani added that the word has been used by the U.S. Holocaust Museum in its own Arabic translations – a reference that the museum called outrageous and offensive given its association with violence against Jews, and later led to Cuomo issuing a (mostly unanswered) call for all other mayoral candidates to condemn Mamdani’s comments.

Mamdani faced several questions about the interview at the Wiley endorsement press conference Wednesday morning, including an inquiry from NBC New York about not having as “visceral” a reaction to being accused of antisemitism as some of the other candidates who have also been cast in that light by Cuomo. That question prompted his emotional response.

“Antisemitism is such a real issue in this city, and it has been hard to see it weaponized by candidates who do not seem to have any sincere interest in tackling it,” he added.

Cuomo has dominated in winning endorsements from Orthodox Jewish leaders in the city, though Mamdani also has support among Jewish voters. According to a recent Marist poll that has Cuomo 10 points ahead in the final round of a ranked-choice voting simulation, Cuomo won 40% of Jewish respondents’ support compared to Mamdani’s 20%.