Mamdani says ‘I don’t really have opinions’ on whether Hamas should lay down arms

NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani, the leading candidate in the New York City mayoral race, declined to say Hamas should lay down its weapons and leave the leadership in Gaza in a Wednesday interview.

Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, is a longtime anti-Israel campaigner who has made pro-Palestinian activism central to his politics. His views have split Jewish voters in New York, both winning supporters and alarming many Jews.

Asked in a Fox News interview if Hamas, a US-designated terrorist group, should “lay down their arms and give up leadership in Gaza,” Mamdani declined to take a position.

“I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure that’s affordable for all, and as it pertains to Israel and Palestine, that we have to ensure that there’s peace,” he said.

Pressed on whether Hamas should relinquish its weapons and step down from its leadership role, Mamdani declined again.

“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 and that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military,” he said.

When asked whether Hamas should lay down its arms, Mamdani says he has no opinion.

Can’t make this up. Suddenly he has no opinion? The mask is off, this was never about ceasefire now. pic.twitter.com/zqP4ekMhSh

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— Simcha Eichenstein (@SEichenstein) October 16, 2025

Mamdani also said Hamas should return the bodies of Israeli hostages, including the Israeli-American soldiers Itay Chen and Omer Neutra.

“I have no issue with critiquing Hamas or the Israeli government because my critiques all come from a place of universal human rights,” he said.

Mamdani, a state assemblyman representing part of Queens, is leading the pro-Israel former New York governor Andrew Cuomo by double digits ahead of next month’s mayoral race.

A July poll focused on Jewish voters by the New York Solidarity Network, a pro-Israel political group, found that Mamdani was the leading candidate among New York Jews, with 37% support, with that support based among younger and less observant Jewish residents.

At the same time, 51% believed Mamdani was antisemitic, and 58% said the city would be less safe for Jews with Mamdani as mayor.

More recent polls, with smaller Jewish sample sizes, have reported varying results for Jewish support for Mamdani.

Polls have shown that New York City Jewish voters, like other voters, are primarily motivated by everyday issues like crime and affordability, although Jewish issues are also factors in their voting choices. Mamdani has centered his campaign on affordability and housing.

New York City is home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel. Jews are targeted in hate crimes in the city far more than any other group, according to NYPD data.

During the primary campaign, Mamdani caused outrage when he declined to condemn the phrase, “Globalize the intifada.” He has since said he would “discourage” the use of the slogan, which many Jews view as a call for anti-Zionist violence.

Mamdani has also said he would roll back the city’s use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which covers some examples of anti-Israel criticism, and has declined to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

In a statement last week on the Gaza ceasefire, Mamdani welcomed the agreement, while focusing his criticism on Israel, accusing the Jewish state of genocide, a charge he began to level at Israel in the weeks after the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion. His statement the day after the Hamas attack focused on criticism of Israel.

On the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Mamdani called the Hamas attack a “horrific war crime” and accused Israel of launching a “genocidal war” against the Palestinians.

In the Fox News interview, Mamdani declined to give US President Donald Trump credit for brokering the ceasefire, saying it was “too early,” but that “if it proves to be something that is lasting, something that is durable, then I think that that’s where you give credit.”

He also reiterated his vow to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Netanyahu visits the city while Mamdani is mayor. Legal experts have said the mayor does not have the authority to order such an arrest.

Mamdani cites the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Netanyahu, but the court does not have jurisdiction in the US, and federal law bars local governments from cooperating with the court.

“This is a city that believes in international law and this is a city that wants to uplift and uphold those beliefs,” Mamdani told Fox News. “I’m going to exhaust every legal option in front of me, not make any new laws to do so.”

.@ZohranKMamdani I do not speak for all Jews, but I do represent the views of the large majority of the NY Jewish community, which is increasingly concerned about your statements about Israel and the Jewish people. I urge you to reconsider your long-held rejection of Israel’s… pic.twitter.com/jYNnBvlX3C

— Ammi Hirsch (@AmmiHirsch) October 16, 2025

On Thursday, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a national leader in the Reform movement, called on Mamdani to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and decried his recent statements marking the October 7 anniversary and accusing Israel of genocide.

“These are not political disagreements; they are rigid ideological commitments that delegitimize the Jewish community and encourage and exacerbate hostility toward Judaism and Jews,” Hirsch said in a public statement.

“Rather than bringing New Yorkers together, you are fanning the flames of intolerance. I urge you to reconsider your long-held views of Israel’s right to exist. These views are profoundly immoral,” he said.