New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew sharp criticism after a weekend speech in which he attacked Israel and the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC using openly antisemitic language. Speaking to a cheering crowd, he said AIPAC was “monsters” and claimed the group was trying to divide Americans in order to preserve its power.
Mamdani said AIPAC feared “nothing more than allowing democracy to proceed as usual” except “the end of genocide and Netanyahu’s wars.” He alleged that the lobby is spending “millions in dark money” for one goal, to keep its influence so it can “pit us against each other.” He then linked AIPAC to the economic hardship faced by his voters and said there is “no need to be afraid of monsters.”
The remarks came at a rally featuring Jewish progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent critics of Israel. Sanders also took aim at the pro-Israel lobby, saying, “The American people understand that a large part of our terrible foreign policy is influenced by AIPAC’s funding.”
The article says Israel is a major issue in many U.S. midterm races, and that AIPAC, once widely courted by politicians from both parties, has faced unprecedented criticism in recent years. Some candidates have tried to distance themselves from the lobby while attacking rivals who received its support. The report adds that anti-AIPAC rhetoric has even fueled real-world violent attempts, citing an investigation into a foiled large-scale terror plot against the White House that found the group behind it sought to target lawmakers who had received AIPAC backing.
