Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander spent several minutes discussing their views on Israel and antisemitism on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Monday night, the night before New York City’s closely watched Democratic mayoral primary.
Colbert dedicated about six minutes out of the full 21-minute segment to questions about the progressive mayoral candidates’ views on Israel and antisemitism in New York City, giving most of that time to Mamdani. The 33-year-old Democratic Socialist, who is polling second behind former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary race, has been the target of allegations of antisemitism due to his stalwart pro-Palestinian record, which dates back to his founding of his college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.
Lander, the city’s comptroller, who is Jewish, is polling in third. Earlier this month, Mamdani and Lander cross-endorsed each other, looking to boost their chances under the city’s ranked-choice voting system.
To start, Colbert asked both candidates if they believe that Israel has a right to exist. Lander repeated his usual stance, that he envisions Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state.”
In line with previous comments, Mamdani said, “Yes, like all nations, I believe it has a right to exist and a responsibility also to uphold international law.” He did not mention his views on whether it has the right to exist as a Jewish state; in previous comments he has said that he is “not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else.”
Throughout the segment, Mamdani referred to the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 as a “war crime” — a phrase he has also used in mayoral debates. The State Assembly member had received criticism for not using the phrase earlier, and the first statement he gave after Oct. 7 primarily placed the blame for the attack and ensuing violence on the Israeli government.
“Just a few days after the horrific war crime of Oct. 7, a friend of mine told me about how he went to his synagogue for Shabbat services and he heard the door open behind him and a tremor went up his spine as he turned around, not knowing who was there and what that meant for him,” Mamdani shared with Colbert. “I spoke to a Jewish man in Williamsburg just months ago who told me that the door he left unlocked for decades is now one that he locks. And ultimately, this is because we’re seeing a crisis of antisemitism.”
Part of his platform, he said, is a proposal to create a Department of Community Safety that would increase anti-hate programming.
“Antisemitism is not simply something that we should talk about — it’s something that we have to tackle,” he said. “We have to make clear there’s no room for it in this city, in this country.”
The segment received some backlash on social media for the amount of time devoted to Israel-related questions, in relation to the amount of time given to the candidates’ visions for New York. Some also pointed out that Lander was given less time to discuss Israel or Islamophobia in New York.
“He’s becoming the mayor of New York not the mayor of Tel Aviv,” the top comment on the YouTube clip of the segment said. “This israel stuff is ridiculous.”
On Monday’s episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert asked Mamdani whether he thought there was “justification for violence of any kind.”
“No,” Mamdani replied. “There is no room for violence in this city, in this country, in this world.”
He then quoted former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who was Jewish, saying, “‘If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. Twelve out of 12, see a psychiatrist.’” (Mamdani also used this phrase in May at a mayoral candidate town hall geared toward the Jewish community, as did trailing Jewish candidate Scott Stringer.)
Mamdani added that his views on the situation in Gaza are shared by some prominent Jews and Israelis, such as former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who recently wrote in a Haaretz column that Israel is committing war crimes.
At that point, Lander chimed in, saying, “No mayor is going to be responsible for what happens in the Middle East, but there is something quite remarkable about a Jewish New Yorker and a Muslim New Yorker coming together to say, ‘Here’s how we protect all New Yorkers. Jewish New Yorkers and Muslim New Yorkers are not going to be divided from each other. We build a city where you have affordable housing and good schools and safe neighborhoods for everyone.’”
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