Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Democratic socialist and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was pressed on his views concerning Israel and combating antisemitism during a Monday night interview on “The Late Show” with host Stephen Colbert.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, another Democratic mayoral candidate, was also on the show and engaged in the discussion, which occurred one day before New York City voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary.

Colbert did not waste time getting to the heart of the matter, asking, “Does the State of Israel have the right to exist?” Lander affirmed that Israel does have such a right “as a Jewish and democratic state,” while Mamdani paused before saying, “Yes … like all nations, I believe it has a right to exist and a responsibility also to uphold international law.”

Colbert’s question was likely prompted by public backlash that Mamdani received for declining on multiple occasions in recent weeks to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

Colbert then asked the candidates about mounting fears within the Jewish community over a record spike in antisemitism across the US following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. The host pressed Mamdani about his past remarks regarding Gaza and Israel, pointing out that many Jewish New Yorkers worry his leadership might increase antisemitism. 

New York City, which is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, has experienced a major spike in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, with police data showing Jews were targeted in the majority of hate crimes perpetrated in the city last year.

“These are not abstract statistics,” Mamdani said. “They’re lived experiences.”

He announced his proposal to boost anti-hate crime funding aimed at combating antisemitism by 800 percent through a reconstituted Department of Community Safety.

When Colbert asked directly, “And no justification for violence of any kind?” Mamdani replied, “No,” adding, “There’s no room for violence in this city, in this country, in this world.” The candidate added that disagreement over Israel’s policies shouldn’t equate to condoning violence.

Mamdani’s defense of the phrase “globalize the Intifada” has ignited backlash from Jewish organizations and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which urged leaders to condemn its violent connotations.

In the closing stretch of the Democratic primary, Mamdani’s views on Israel and antisemitism have been increasingly scrutinized. Mamdani, a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organization, has made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career.

The progressive representative in the New York State Assembly has also sparked outrage after engaging in a series of provocative actions, such as appearing on the podcast of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas influencer Hasan Piker and vowing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During an event hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York last month, Mamdani also declined to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

“I believe that Israel has a right to exist with equal rights for all,” Mamdani said in a carefully worded response when asked, sidestepping the issue of Israel’s existence specifically as a “Jewish state.”

Then during a New York City Democratic mayoral debate, he once again refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, sparking immediate backlash among the other candidates. 

In 2023, while speaking at a DSA convention in New York, Mamdani encouraged the audience to applaud for Palestinian American community activist Khader El-Yateem, saying “If you don’t clap for El-Yateem, you’re a Zionist.”

During that same speech, Mamdani touted his longstanding anti-Israel activism.

“I was somebody who began my journey in organizing and in politics by co-founding my school’s first Students for Justice in Palestine. The struggle for Palestinian liberation was at the core of my politics and continues to be,” Mamdani said.

Students for Justice in Palestine has been at the forefront of the wave of pro-Hamas demonstrations that have engulfed college campuses during the Gaza war.