The consul general of Israel in New York has called on all New York City mayoral candidates to condemn antisemitism and protect the Jewish community in the largest US city, where Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani gained key endorsements from prominent Democrats this week despite being accused of harboring antisemitic views and promoting anti-Israel animus.

Akunis told The Algemeiner in an interview on Thursday that Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a policy of not getting involved in and commenting on local races outside of Israel. Still, the diplomat said he has “expectations” for how the future mayor, whoever it may be, should protect New York’s Jewish population — the largest of any city outside of Israel — against antisemitism and violence.

“I call to all the candidates who want to be mayor of New York, condemn [the antisemitism]. Say, ‘This is not our way,’” he said. “We can disagree and even criticize the state of Israel from time to time. [But] be based on truth and facts, not on dreams or blood libels.”

While Akunis did not mention any specific candidate, the mayoral race’s current frontrunner, Mamdani, has stirred controversy and raised alarm bells among the city’s Jewish community over his fierce criticism of Israel.

“My expectation is that all the candidates will condemn violence, will say that they are against the idea of ‘globalize the intifada’ — and not just say ‘I’m not using those words’ as their response. No, they need to condemn it — and say clearly that they will protect the Jewish communities, Israeli institutions and students, Israeli and Jewish businesses here in New York, and that they will be safe during their four years of mayor,” Akunis added, without naming Mamdani or any other specific candidate.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career, recently came under fire for defending use of the slogan “globalize the intifada” — which references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israels and has been widely interpreted as a call to expand political violence — by invoking the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during World War II.

Following backlash, however, Mamdani said he would “discourage” use of the phrase, adding it’s “not language that I use” but he “[doesn’t] believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech.”

Local Jewish leaders have expressed alarm over Mamdani’s open support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination, and repeated refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. He has also promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York.

On Oct. 8, 2023, 24 hours following Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel and the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, Mamdani published a statement condemning “Netanyahu’s declaration of war” and suggesting that Israel would use the massacre to justify committing a second “nakba,” the Arabic term for “catastrophe” used by Palestinians and anti-Israel activists to refer to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.

This week, two US lawmakers condemned Mamdani after he pledged to abandon the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which has been widely adopted around the world and, according to many civil rights groups, is a key tool for fighting a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes sweeping across the US.

Akunis’s comments came as key Democrats openly endorsed Mamdani this week, strengthening his status as the current frontrunner.

Carl Heastie, the speaker of the New York State Assembly, endorsed Mamdani for mayor on Wednesday, saying that he believes his fellow assemblyman has a “romantic view of what the city can be and should be. And, you know, sometimes people want to be romanced.” Heastie and Mamdani have served together for nearly five years in the state legislature.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has also endorsed Mamdani, writing in a New York Times essay published on Sunday that she is “confident that he has the courage, urgency, and optimism New York City needs to lead it through the challenges of this moment.”

“We discussed the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally,” added Hochul, who is running for a second full term next year. “I’ve been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly. I look forward to working together to make sure New Yorkers of all faiths feel safe and welcome in New York City.”

Heastie’s counterpart in the Senate, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, previously endorsed Mamdani.

Meanwhile, among the 10 Democrats in the US House who represent districts located entirely or partially within New York City, four have already endorsed the mayoral candidate, who won the Democratic primary by a significant margin. Rep. Pat Ryan, whose district contains some of the northern suburbs and exurbs of New York City, has also endorsed Mamdani, and Rep. Yvette Clark, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, is reportedly expected to endorse him om Monday.

Despite the wave of endorsements, however, several key New York Democrats have been reluctant to endorse the far-left candidate. The chair of New York’s state Democratic Party, Jay Jacobs, said on Thursday he will not back Mamdani, noting his disagreement with Mamdani’s views on Israel. He also said the far-left Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani is a member, does not represent “the principles, values, or policies of the Democratic Party.”

A Marist poll released this week showed Mamdani with a comfortable lead in the race. According to the data, 45 percent of likely voters said they would support Mamdani over his opponents: Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. Cuomo and Adams are both running as independents. The poll showed that Mamdani’s chief rival, Cuomo, received 24 percent of support, followed by Sliwa with 17 percent and Adams with nine percent. Five percent were undecided.

Recent polling has shown similar results, despite the results finding that Jewish voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Mamdani.