Jewish group slams Democratic NYC mayoral hopeful over 'sick' mockery of 'sacred' traditions
The organization, Stop Antisemitism, says Mamdani posted the "sick" video to his X account last year. The video is originally from the Geeta Brothers Duet Group, a satirical and comedic duo who dressed themselves in stereotypical Jewish garb for the performance.
"Zohran Mamdani posts Indian men cosplaying Jews, spinning dreidels and lighting the menorah," Stop Antisemitism wrote in a statement on X.
"Our holidays and traditions are sacred and not for your comedic pleasure, Zohran Mamdani – this is sick," the group added, tagging the mayoral candidate.
Mamdani had posted the video in December 2024, adding the caption, "Happy 3rd night of Hanukkah from Astoria and Long Island City."
The video originates from the 2015 parody album "Punjabi Christmas Album Hits" from the Geeta Brothers.
Mamdani posted another video from the same album on Christmas Eve, this one based on "Jingle Bells."
"Wishing you all a very merry Christmas from Astoria and Long Island City," he wrote at the time.
Mamdani's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Accusations of antisemitism have harried Mamdani's campaign from its outset. The self-proclaimed democratic socialist has refused multiple times to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and he has supported the BDS movement against Israel.
"I believe Israel has a right to exist," he said during a mayoral primary debate in June.
"As a Jewish state?" the moderator pressed.
"As a state with equal rights," Mamdani said.
He later elaborated on his opposition to Israel being a Jewish state in an interview with Fox 5.
"I'm not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else," he said.
Mamdani, a Muslim, has also faced criticism for refusing to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada."
StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez argued last week that electing Mamdani mayor would not only be "catastrophic" for Jewish residents, but all who reside in the city.
"If Zohran Mamdani was elected as mayor, it would be hands down catastrophic for Jewish residents of New York City," Rez told Fox News Digital. "And we would even take it a step further where citizens of New York City in general, due to his very troubling stances on socialism, would greatly suffer as well."
"I think individuals who are concerned that Zohran Mamdani is antisemitic have every single right to be concerned considering his past behavior," Rez added. "We can list dozens of examples of his past antisemitic adjacent and direct antisemitic actions."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Fighter jets protect Trump during NJ weekend stay as 11 aircraft violate restricted airspace
Fighter jets intercepted at least three aircraft on Sunday, which violated temporary flight restriction (TFR) airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, where President Trump was spending the holiday weekend, according to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). With one aircraft being intercepted in the morning, and two others being intercepted later in the day, NORAD said there were a total of 11 unauthorized aircraft incursions in the TFR airspace over the weekend. At about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, a civilian plane violated the TFR and was safely escorted out of the area by a NORAD aircraft. "NORAD and the [Federal Aviation Administration] aim to keep the skies over America safe, with close attention paid to areas with Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President," Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, NORAD and US Northern Command said. "TFR procedures are mandatory, and the excessive number of TFR violations this weekend indicates some civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA." Guillot said the NORAD armed fighter jets intercept and guide offending aircraft out of the TFR. "Should the pilot of an aircraft happen to find itself intercepted by either fighters or helicopters, they should immediately come up on frequency 121.5 or 243.0 and turn around to reverse course until receiving additional instructions on one of those frequencies," Guillot added. In another instance on Saturday, an aircraft was safely escorted out of the TFR airspace just before 2:40 p.m., after a standard "headbutt" maneuver was used to get the pilot's attention. The maneuver involves a military jet flying directly in front of a civilian aircraft at a close but safe distance to visually signal the pilot to either follow or change course. Officials warned private pilots to do their homework before takeoff. "It is critically important for North American flight safety that Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) violations are avoided," NORAD said in a message to pilots. "All pilots must familiarize themselves with updates to restricted airspace, including reviewing new and existing FAA NOTAMs [Notice to Airmen] that impact their flight plans and activities. Adhering to FAA restricted airspace protocols is mandatory, regardless of geographical region, airframe, or aircrew."
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Metals Drift Lower as US Trade Uncertainty Dims Risk Appetite
Copper fell for a third day and other base metals declined as US President Donald Trump's push for sweeping new trade deals with multiple countries reaches a critical stage. Trump is sending letters to as many as 15 trade partners on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Sunday interview with CNN. He also added that revised tariffs will kick in on Aug. 1 and indicated that some countries may be able to negotiate beyond the president's original deadline of July 9.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Several options presented to transition Luzerne County Council to nine members
Jul. 6—Now that a Luzerne County Government Study Commission majority has settled on a recommendation to reduce the 11-member county council to nine members instead of seven, it must decide how the downsizing will be implemented if the revised home rule charter is approved by voters in November. Voters currently elect council members on a rotating schedule of five or six every two years, and the next future election in 2027 would be a six-member selection. Three options have been proposed to transition to nine members: —Choose six in 2027 and three instead of five in 2029. This keeps council at 11 members until the start of 2030. —Elect six members in 2027, with four-year seats for the top five vote recipients and a two-year seat for the sixth highest vote-getter. Four members would be elected in 2029 instead of five. This option also keeps council at 11 until the start of 2030. —Pick four members instead of six in 2027, which means the reduction to nine would take effect at the start of 2028. Commission members debated the pros and cons of these options last week. A vote on the matter is expected at the next regular commission meeting July 17. Commission hearing Although only one study commission public hearing was required and held, the commission agreed to hold a second one on Wednesday in Hazle Township, particularly to accommodate southern county residents. The hearing will be at 6 p.m. in the Hazle Township Commons Building, 103 W. 27th St. in the township. Instructions for the remote attendance option are posted in council's online meetings section (scroll down) at Voting system demonstration Also on Wednesday, from 5 to 7 p.m., the county election bureau will hold a public demonstration of county voting system options at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Attendees may complete a brief feedback survey to assist the election bureau with its recommendation of a voting system to be used in the county starting in 2026. Reconsideration of the voting system is appropriate at this time because the five-year maintenance and support contract with the supplier, Dominion Voting System, expires at the end of this year, county Manager Romilda Crocamo has said. In consultation with the county election board, the administration will eventually present county council with options on systems and pricing in case it wants to change, Crocamo has said. Another option for council would be negotiating a new maintenance and support contract to continue using the Dominion system for a set number of years. Four vendors responded in February to the county's request for proposals to provide a new voting system, and all have been invited to participate in the public demonstration: Dominion, Clear Ballot Group Inc., Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and Hart InterCivic. Ethics commission The county ethics commission will meet at 3:30 p.m. Monday in the county courthouse. Chaired by county Controller Walter Griffith, the commission is set to vote on the appointment of Attorney William Lawrence as commission solicitor and discuss the topic of proposing ethics code revisions to council, among other matters, the agenda said. Council meeting Council will hold a voting meeting and work session at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the courthouse, with remote attendance instructions posted in the online meeting section at Position posting The county has publicly advertised a new consolidated GIS/Planning and Zoning Director position at $92,000, according to a posting in the human resources department career opportunities section at Council voted earlier this year to merge the county Mapping/GIS Department and Planning and Zoning, with the administration saying the change will enhance decisions related to planning and development. Staff for both departments will remain the same with the exception of reducing department heads from two to one, officials had said. County GIS/Mapping Director Dan Reese has been serving as acting planning/zoning executive director since Matthew Jones resigned last May. Applications are due July 15. Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
