NYC mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo clashed over the Indian-origin assemblyman’s connection with the Muslim community and his prior repeated defence of the “globalise the intifada” slogan on Thursday (US time).
Taking the stage for the first mayoral debate ahead of the November election, the former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development not only attacked Mamdani for his Democratic socialist stance, he also suggested that many Jewish voters were against him. On top of that, Cuomo, who previously lost to his front-running rival in the Democratic primary, viciously asserted that Mamdani was not “representative of the Muslim community.”
Cuomo attacks Mamdani over ‘antisemitic’ allegations
“There are a lot of New Yorkers who support me — and there are a lot of Jewish New Yorkers who support me because they think you’re antisemitic,” Andrew Cuomo said during the first New York City mayoral debate at Rockefeller Centre.
When asked of his personal views on the matter, Cuomo said, “I don’t make those judgments about people — are you a racist, are you an antisemite.” Also alluding to the Indian-origin politician having backed the pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel slogan ‘Globalise the Intifada,’ Cuomo added, “I know there are many Jewish people who believe he is antisemitic.”
In the aftermath of behind heavily criticised for his alignment with the slogan, Zohran Mamdani had said that he would not be using it anymore in addition to discouraging others from doing the same, according to July reports, including one from The New York Times. Nonetheless, Cuomo hit back at him for not fully condemning the controversial admission.
In a clarification of his own side, Mamdani said that he had ultimately gotten better insight into the problems associated with the phrase through Jewish New Yorkers, adding it “evokes many painful memories, memories about bus attacks in Haifa, restaurant attacks in Jerusalem” during violence in Israel. Although he reiterated that he no longer stood by the slogan, Cuomo again took aim at him, saying Mamdani “still won’t denounce ‘globalise the intifada,’ which means kill all Jews.”
Their Republican contender Curtis Sliwa further chimed in, “Jews don’t trust you are going to be there for them when they are victims of antisemitic attacks,” turning to Mamdani.
These comments at the NYC debate come days after the Democratic socialist was booed out of Lower Manhattan, with an enraged protestor – ID’d as Raul Rivera – branding him an “antisemite.”
“Antisemite! Denounce Sharia law! Denounce Hezbollah! You can’t do it!” the man shouted at the assemblyman while he approached an SUV. The mayoral hopeful ultimately ignored the curses and got into a vehicle, according to the footage shared on X.
Mamdani’s past has become a central driving factor for much of the backlash directed at him. Having once rapped under the alias “Mr Cardamom,” the mayoral candidate released a much-criticised track called “Salaam” in 2017. Often called out as a terrorist sympathiser, Mamdani praised the Holy Land 5 in the years-old song. The five leaders of the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development were convicted in 2008 of funding Hamas.
At Foley Square, counter-protesters chased Zohran Mamdani, shouting "antisemite" and demanding he denounce Hezbollah and Sharia. His security intervened. Politics is turning ugly in NYC. pic.twitter.com/ruGMGppub5
— The US Ledger (@The_US_Ledger) October 11, 2025
Cuomo targets Mamdani over Muslim faith
Mounting yet another fiery attack, Cuomo first claimed that he was quite fond of the Muslim community, given his history with the constituents. Thereafter, he made his intentions clear and again attacked Mamdani, saying, “I don’t think, in any way, the assemblyman is representative of the Muslim community, which is a vital community in New York City.”
Suggesting the Democratic mayoral candidate was “playing his own politics,” he went on, “Many of his positions don’t even follow the Muslim faith.”
On the other hand, Mamdani countered that Cuomo had never actually “set foot in a mosque” before he defeated him in the June primary. “He had more than 10 years, and he couldn’t name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited.”
He added. “What Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves. They want equality, and they want respect. And it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of the city, and that, frankly, is something that is shameful and is why so many New Yorkers have lost faith in this politics.”
If elected, Mamdani will become NYC’s first Muslim mayor. Having already called himself a “proud Muslim” previously, Mamdani’s roots trace back to India as well. Born to Indian parents in Uganda, he came to the US when he was 7 years old, according to NewsNation. His mother is the much-praised Indian filmmaker Mira Nair (a Hindu), while his father is a Columbia University professor (a Muslim).