New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani slammed Andrew Cuomo for signing up for Netanyahu’s legal team, accusing him of ignoring the illegal occupation in Gaza. Mamdani, one of the first U.S. elected officials to call for a full ceasefire, emphasized the urgent need for humanitarian aid and condemned the ongoing violence.
“I have denounced Hamas again and again, and it will never be enough for Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani said, highlighting the divide between the mayoral candidates on foreign policy and human rights.
This video breaks down Mamdani’s bold statements, the criticism of Cuomo, and the broader debate over Gaza, Hamas, and U.S. political response.
00:00So we have questions for all of you, but first for Mr. Mamdani, because of something you said that's been generating headlines in the news today as we come into the debate yesterday on Fox News.
00:10You were asked if Hamas should lay down its weapons, key to the peace plan and cease fire.
00:15And some say they found your answer confusing.
00:18You said, quote, I don't really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international law.
00:28And that applies to Hamas and that applies to the Israeli military.
00:32So for the voters tuning in tonight, Mr. Mamdani, what do you believe about Hamas and how lasting peace will be achieved?
00:40We know it's a complicated matter, but we'd like you to keep your answer to a minute if you could.
00:44Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms.
00:47I'm proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire.
00:51And calling for a ceasefire means seizing fire.
00:54That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons.
00:58And the reason that we call for that is not only for the end of the genocide, but also an unimpeded access of humanitarian aid.
01:06I, like many New Yorkers, am hopeful that this ceasefire will hold.
01:11I'm hopeful that it is durable.
01:12I'm hopeful that it is just.
01:14And for it to be just, we also have to ensure that it addresses the conditions that preceded this.
01:19Conditions like occupation, like the siege and apartheid.
01:23And that is what I'm hopeful for.
01:24Yeah.
01:25If I may, that means from the river to the sea.
01:29Excuse me, I'm being marginalized out of this.
01:31I'm sorry.
01:31We'll give you a second.
01:32Excuse me, Andrew.
01:34It's a debate of three.
01:35Do we acknowledge that, three people?
01:36Mr. Sliver, go ahead, and we'll give you a second.
01:38Go ahead, Mr. Sliver.
01:38The president of the United States should have been applauded by you, Zohan Mandami, and you, Andrew Cuomo, on the day that he brought together that international coalition that met in Egypt that came from the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.
01:52I certainly applauded him for bringing peace to Gaza and trying to end the hostilities in the war between the Israelis and Hamas so there can be peace between the Israelis and peace between the Palestinians.
02:07But you seem, Zohan, to be incapable of praising our president.
02:11And, Andrew, you were incapable of praising our president.
02:14Gentlemen, gentlemen, we have other...
02:14Give credit where credit is due.
02:16He's brought peace to Gaza.
02:17Gentlemen, we want to hear everything you have to say.
02:19We have other questions that doesn't matter.
02:20Mr. Cuomo, please, brief response, because we do have other questions on this issue that you may be able to address.
02:24Go ahead.
02:25I did applaud President Trump and his administration.
02:28I think it was a great accomplishment.
02:29I hope the peace holds.
02:31The assemblyman will not denounce Hamas.
02:34The assemblyman will not denounce Hassan Piker, who said America deserved 9-11.
02:40The assemblyman just said in his response, well, it depends on occupation.
02:45That is code, meaning that the Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state, which he has never acknowledged.
02:54That is from the river to the sea.
02:56That's why he won't denounce globalize the Intifada, which means kill all Jews.
03:01Let's give Mr. Mamdani a chance to respond to that.
03:03I want to be very clear.
03:05The occupation is a reference to international law and the violation of it, which Mr. Cuomo has no regard for since he signed up to be Benjamin Netanyahu's legal defense team during the course of this genocide.
03:17And I find the comments that Hassan made on 9-11 to be objectionable and reprehensible.
03:23And I also think that part of the reason why Democrats are in the situation that we are in of being a permanent minority in this country is we are looking only to speak to journalists and streamers and Americans with whom we agree of every single thing that they say.
03:36We need to take the case to every person.
03:39And I'm happy to do that, which is why I was on Fox News yesterday talking about how I wish it was more like NASCAR so we could see all the billionaires who are sponsoring you right on your suit jacket.
03:47Melissa has another question.
03:48We're going to turn it to Sally, actually.
03:49Yeah, actually, this kind of flows, and then we'll go back to Melissa.
03:52Mr. Mamdani, you told NBC's Meet the Press that you don't believe it's the role of the mayor to police speech.
03:58Your words about this war have comforted many New Yorkers, but they've troubled others.
04:03And I want to ask about some of this.
04:04There is your recent refusal, as we just discussed, to condemn the slogan, Globalize the Intifada, which many view as a call to arms.
04:12In 2017, you rapped lyrics praising the Holy Land Five.
04:16These are men who were convicted of supporting terrorism.
04:19How would you assure New Yorkers, especially Jewish residents who might be concerned about this, that you would be a mayor for all?
04:25You have one minute to answer this.
04:27Thank you for this opportunity.
04:28When I am speaking about the responsibility of leading this city, I mean leading not just those who voted for me.
04:39Leading not just those who vote, but leading every single person who calls this city home.
04:43And that includes Jewish New Yorkers.
04:45And I have been so thankful for the opportunity I've had to sit with so many Jewish New Yorkers over the course of the primary and through the general.
04:52And it's in those conversations that I learned that this phrase evokes many painful memories.
04:57Memories of bus attacks in Haifa, of restaurant attacks in Jerusalem.
05:02And I heard from a rabbi about their roommate who was killed on one of those buses.
05:05And in hearing that and the distance between that impact and the rationale that some use of saying it, of speaking about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, is why I said that I would discourage this language, language that I do not use.
05:18And what I'm looking to do as the first Muslim mayor of this city is to ensure that we bring every New Yorker together.
05:24Jewish New Yorkers, Muslim New Yorkers, every single person that calls this city home.
05:28That they understand they won't just be protected, but they will belong.
05:31Mr. Sliwa, we will get to you.
05:32First, I'm going to ask a question of Mr. Cuomo.
05:34While you are a strong supporter of Israel, you have also been slow to develop a relationship with the city's Muslim community.
05:43You have called Mr. Mamdani a terrorist sympathizer.
05:46How do you assure those New Yorkers, especially Muslims and Arabic New Yorkers, that you will be a mayor for all?
05:54You'll have one minute.
05:55Well, first, I think the Assemblyman created the perception himself.
06:00Why wouldn't he condemn Hamas?
06:02Why wouldn't he condemn Hassan Piker?
06:05Why did it take us here tonight for the first time for him to say it?
06:08He still won't denounce, globalize the Intifada, which means kill all Jews.
06:13Just say, I denounce it.
06:15He won't do it.
06:17That's the issue.
06:18And his divisiveness is chronic.
06:18Mr. Cuomo, can you address the question that we'll bring to you?
06:21I think you've made the point.
06:22But can you please answer about your own relationship with the Muslim community?
06:25You did not visit mosques for many years.
06:28More recently, you have been.
06:29Yeah, I don't think I don't think in any way the Assemblyman is representative of the Muslim community, which is a vital community in New York City.
06:38And I am very fond of and I've been working with.
06:43I think he's playing his own politics.
06:46Many of his positions don't even follow the Muslim faith.
06:51So I see them as two totally separate things.
06:53Mr. Mamdani, you want to respond?
06:55You know, it took Andrew Cuomo being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the Democratic primary for him to set foot in a mosque.
07:01He had more than 10 years and he couldn't name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited.
07:06And what Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves.
07:10They want equality and they want respect.
07:12And it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city.
07:17And that, frankly, is something that is shameful and is why so many New Yorkers have lost faith in this politics.
07:22Yeah, except that is totally false.
07:25I've worked with the Muslim community for many, many years.
07:28Name a single mosque you went to when you were the governor.
07:30Can you name a single mosque you went to in 10 years?
07:33Before you were ever here.
07:35Before I was here.
07:36Before you were even in state government.
07:38I worked with the Muslim community.
07:40Imams presided over state of the states.
07:43We worked in religious working groups, tolerance groups, anti-Semitic groups, etc.
07:48All right, gentlemen, Mr. Slewa, Rosarito has a specific question for you, but I'll give you a second.
07:52This is what disturbs me about you.
07:55You will be celebrating your birthday this weekend.
07:58In 1991, I was in the streets of Crown Heights with the Guardian Angels for 30 days and 30 nights when the first Democratic Socialist mayor of New York City.
08:10That's right.
08:10David Dinkins was a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
08:13Abandoned the Jews for three days.
08:17They were left to their own means.
08:18And we protected them for 30 days and 30 nights.
08:22Then your favorite mayor, Bill de Blasio, in 2019 abandoned the Jews again when they were being attacked in Williamsburg and Pearl Park and Crown Heights.
08:30And I had to bring the Guardian Angels in for 30 days and 30 nights.
08:34Jews don't trust that you are going to be there for them when they are victims of anti-Semitic attacks.
08:41Okay.
08:41Brief response, Mr. Mamdani.
08:43We have a specific question for you from Rosarito, but Mr. Mamdani, please.
08:46I agree, by the way.
08:47One of the most meaningful experiences I've had over the course of this campaign has been the conversations I've had with Jewish New Yorkers.
08:55Jewish New Yorkers who've told me about the door that they've had to lock that they had kept open for 40 years.
09:01Jewish New Yorkers who've told me on the M57 about an apartment the speech therapist was trying to sell when a realtor told her, put the Jewish books off the table.
09:09Jewish New Yorkers who've told me about their fear in living in this city.
09:13And I will be a mayor who finally addresses that, not through the theatrics of the politics on this stage, but through action.
09:20I'll do that by ensuring that we have police officers outside of synagogues in the high holy days.
09:24Gentlemen, we have a lot to get to, and we do have a specific question for Mr. Sliwa.
09:28Rosarito.
09:29Thank you, David.
09:30Mr. Sliwa, you've called for tougher policing of pro-Palestinian protests, and you've suggested that Mr. Mamdani uses languages that is anti-Semitic.
09:39How do you assure New Yorkers that you'll be the mayor for all?
09:45Well, I've been there for all people in all times for 46 years as leader of the Guardian Angels here and around the world.
09:51Whether it is a religious violation of people's rights to worship as they choose in a mosque, in a church, in a synagogue or a shul, whether it's because of racial identity.
10:04Remember, in the summer of 2020, Asians were under constant attack because of the lockdown and pandemic.
10:12I don't remember Governor Cuomo coming to their aid.
10:15You were the governor then.
10:15I was out there going into all the neighborhoods, Flushing, Bayside.
10:20We were in, down in Bensonhurst.
10:24We were in Chinatown itself, where Asians were being attacked indiscriminately because they were thought to be carrying COVID.
10:32We protected them then.
10:34Governor, you were not there for them.
10:36de Blasio was not there for them.
10:38We understand hate.
10:39And in order to counteract hate, you have to get the community involved, along with the police, to protect people when they're under siege.
10:48Jews are under attack now more than ever before.
10:51And I don't believe either of you have the capabilities of protecting them with increased anti-Semitism.
10:57That is pure fiction.
10:59I passed the no hate in our state, the strongest hate crime law in the United States of America.
11:05We tolerate no hatred, no discrimination.
11:08We are from every place on this globe.
11:12Unless it's you that's perpetrating it.
11:14Excuse me.
11:14And we're tolerant and we accept.
11:17If you notice, the Assemblyman still won't say he believes that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state.
11:23He is a divisive personality all across the board.
11:26NYPD a racist.
11:28Barack Obama is evil liar.
11:30And he gave the finger to the Christopher Columbus statue.
11:33By the way, your laws, with no cash bail, turn the haters right back in the street to violate and attack again and again and again.
11:43You're the reason for that.
11:44No cash bail.
11:46There have been a number of absolutely unfounded lies that have been said by Andrew Koma.
11:51I would just like a moment to address them directly.
11:54I've said time and again that I recognize Israel's right to exist.
11:57I've said that I will not recognize any state.
11:59I said that I will not.
12:01As a Jewish state.
12:02If I would be allowed to finish, that I would not recognize any state's right to exist with a system of hierarchy on the basis of race, of religion.
12:10I have made that very clear.
12:11And part of that is because I'm an American who believes in the importance of equal rights being enshrined in every single country,
12:17whether we're speaking about Israel or whether we're speaking about Saudi Arabia.
12:20You can stand here and you can lie all you want, but New Yorkers...
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