Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a call from more than 700 rabbis to apologize for recent remarks he made disparaging the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The rabbis argue that the mayor's remarks amounted to an act of "dehumanization" that endangers Jewish Americans and their allies.
During a June 18 rally ahead of New York City's Democratic primaries, Mamdani referred to AIPAC as "monsters" who use "millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal — to preserve their power, so that they can turn us against one another."
The remarks sparked backlash, with a letter signed by hundreds of rabbis expressing concerns that Mamdani's rhetoric could contribute to increased antisemitism.
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The letter noted that the rabbis who signed it represented congregations with various views on Israel, American politics and the war in Gaza. It said, "By casting pro-Israel civic participation as monstrous, conspiratorial and anti-democratic, Mr. Mamdani has put a target on the backs of American Jews and their allies."
"Mr. Mamdani’s words matter because they were spoken by the leader of the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel. They matter because antisemitism in America is rising," the letter reads.
The letter called the comments "beneath the office he holds." The signers included dozens of rabbis from New York City but also hundreds more around the country.
Mamdani defended his remarks on Monday when answering questions after signing an executive order. In response to Fox News Digital's request for comment, Mamdani's team pointed to that statement.
"We're talking about a status quo where children are being killed on a daily basis," Mamdani said in response to a reporter's question regarding criticism of his remarks.
"And 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. It is one that I will not accept," he added.
At the same event, Mamdani was asked about his use of the word "monsters" and said that he was quoting philosopher Antonio Gramsci.
"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 the airwaves," he said.
In response to Fox News Digital's question regarding critics' concerns about antisemitism, Mamdani's office shared a statement from an event in May.
"Jewish New Yorkers have worked to cultivate a city that is safe and open to all," Mamdani said at the time. "You should be accorded the same security and the same peace of mind."
He added that the city would invest $26 million annually to expand hate crime prevention efforts, emphasizing that responding to antisemitism is not enough and that deterrence is key.
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Mamdani's remarks on AIPAC also drew criticism from major Jewish leaders outside the group of rabbis who signed the letter.
"Swap 'AIPAC' for 'Jews' and it’s the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theory in the books. 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 bull---- is dangerous," Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., wrote on X.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said Mamdani's remarks amounted to "prejudice" and that they were "deliberate, dangerous and disgraceful."
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"This is the kind of bigoted conspiracy mongering that you expect from unhinged streamers or white supremacists. It’s not the language that we should expect from the mayor whose jurisdiction suffers from the highest levels of antisemitism of any city in America," Greenblatt wrote.
The rabbis ended their letter by calling on the mayor to apologize, retract his remarks and make it clear that "Jews and pro-Israel Americans are full participants in our democracy."
"We can debate policy. We can argue about money in politics. We can disagree passionately about Israel and the Middle East. But no elected leader should demonize Jews or those who stand with the Jewish state. Criticizing Israeli policy is not antisemitic. Treating millions of Zionist Jews as morally suspect, politically illegitimate or less deserving of equal participation in public life is," the letter read.