Mamdani reportedly says he’ll ‘discourage’ use of term ‘globalize the intifada’ but still doesn’t condemn it

In a meeting of top New York City business leaders, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani says he’ll “discourage” the use of the phrase “globalize the intifada” but did not condemn it, according to reports in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

The far-left candidate was reportedly pressed by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, the son of Holocaust, survivors about the phrase, a common refrain for protest groups calling for Israel’s destruction and the ostracization of Zionists in the US. Mamdani’s repeated refusal to condemn the term has emerged as a key controversy for his campaign and been cited as a concern among leading New York Democratic politicians who have refrained from endorsing him.

The New York Times says Mamdani told the group he would not use the phrase, and that he understood Jewish New Yorkers concerns about antisemitism. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mamdani said for him personally the phrase means to protest against Israel’s alleged occupation of Gaza.