Deep divisions in NYC over Israel and Gaza prove thorny political ground for Cuomo, Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani stepped into a simmering political quagmire earlier this week when he was asked on a podcast about a term seen as deeply offensive by many Jews — the word “intifada.”

Mamdani explained during the interview with The Bulwark Tuesday that pro-Palestine protest chants like “globalize the intifada,” to him signify a call for Palestinian human rights. He noted the word has been used by the U.S. Holocaust Museum when translating into Arabic the history of a Jewish uprising against the Nazis.

It might seem a perplexing position: For decades, anyone with hopes of leading New York City, which has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, has seen strong support of Israel as a given.

But the ground has shifted in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, particularly among younger voters.



https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/20/deep-divisions-in-nyc-over-israel-and-gaza-prove-thorny-political-ground-for-cuomo-mamdani/