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

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Thursday night declined to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state amid pressure from anti-Israel activists.

During an event hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York, moderators peppered Mamdani with questions regarding his views on Israel, the ongoing war in Gaza, and antisemitism. When pressed, Mamdani refused to support the notion that Israel should maintain its Jewish character and seemingly suggested that all of its citizens do not have equal rights.

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

Mamdani’s response came nearly a week after he said last Friday, “I do support [Israel’s] right to exist as a state,” in response to a question.

Following his comment last week, the mayoral candidate faced backlash from anti-Israel activists for not outright opposing the Jewish state’s right to exist.

While speaking on Tuesday at the launch party for Acacia Magazine, a new pro-Palestinian publication, an irate attendee screamed at Mamdani for voicing support for Israel’s existence when questioned by a reporter while simultaneously presenting himself as an advocate for the Palestinian cause. Mamdani also received widespread backlash from other anti-Israel activists for not taking a harsher stance against the Jewish state.

At Thursday night’s event for Democratic primary candidates running for New York City mayor, the moderators also pressed Mamdani on whether he would attempt to implement the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) initiative, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward its eventual elimination. Mamdani stood by his previous support for BDS and dismissed allegations that the movement is antisemitic.

“My support for BDS is consistent with my core politics, which is non-violence. And I think that it is a legitimate movement when you are seeking to find compliance with international law, and I think we have seen the Israeli government be out of compliance with international law,” Mamdani said. 

Mamdani, a representative in the New York State Assembly, argued that Israel has violated international law through not only its defensive military operations in Gaza but also its presence in the West Bank. 

He added that his support for the BDS movement against Israel is based on a “shared sense of humanity” and that those who condemn the boycott efforts against the Jewish state are engaging in “bigotry.”

In 2021, Mamdani issued public support for BDS, claiming that support for the anti-Israel movement is growing within New York City. “The tide is turning. The fight for justice is here. The moment is now,” he posted on X/Twitter. That same year, he also called for prohibiting New York lawmakers from visiting Israel, asserting that “every elected [official] must be pressured to stand with Palestinians.”

The left-wing firebrand on Thursday also defended his previous promise to arrest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if elected mayor. He accused Netanyahu of making military decisions while in New York that “killed many innocent people” and cited the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrant against the Israeli leader.

In the famous photo Mamdani referred to, Netanyahu approved a strike on top leaders of Hezbollah — a terrorist group that operates out of southern Lebanon.

The moderators also grilled Mamdani for appearing on the podcast of Hasan Piker, a popular streamer who has defended the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel and argued that the mass rapes of Israeli women were justified. Mamdani defended his decision to appear on Piker’s podcast, saying that the Democratic Party has made “mistakes” by refusing to engage with popular internet personalities with controversial views. He dismissed criticism over his decision to appear on Piker’s podcast as mere political “purity” testing.

“I think it is part of a broader discussion about politics as a matter of purity when I think politics should also be an avenue to engage as many people as possible. And so, to me, I do not have any regrets of speaking to any interviewer, to any journalist, to any podcaster,” Mamdani said. 

Piker has an extensive history of repudiating Israel as an “apartheid state” and defending atrocities committed against its civilians. In a 2024 livestream, Piker minimized sexual assaults committed against Israeli women at the hands of Hamas, saying “it doesn’t matter if rapes f—king happened on Oct. 7.” He has also defended violence from the Hamas and Houthi terrorist groups as legitimate “resistance” and said he doesn’t “have an issue with” Hezbollah, which had pummeled Israel with an unremitting barrage of missiles and rockets from southern Lebanon in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks. He has also praised Yahya Sinwar, the later leader of Hamas, for his terrorism against Israel. 

Mamdani’s political ascendance comes amid a spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes within New York City and across the country. On Wednesday, two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. were gunned down in a targeted antisemitic terror attack.

New York City specifically has been ravaged by a surge in antisemitic incidents in the 19 months following the Oct. 7 onslaught. According to police data, Jews were targeted in the majority of hate crimes perpetrated in the city last year. Pro-Hamas activists have held raucous — and sometimes violent — protests on the city’s college campuses, oftentimes causing Jewish students to fear for their safety.

Mamdani has made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career. A self-described democratic socialist, he has both advanced state legislation seeking to punish Israel and labeled the Jewish state’s defensive military operations in Gaza a “genocide.”

On Oct. 8, 2023, 24 hours following 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 terror attacks to justify committing a second “nakba.” Many Palestinians and anti-Israel activists use the term “nakba,” or “catastrophe,” to refer to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. Mamdani then said that Israel can only secure its long-term safety by “ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.”

Five days later, he further criticized Israel’s response to the Hamas-led massacres, saying that “we are on the brink of a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza right now.”

In January 2024, Mamdani called on New York city to cease sending funds to Israel, saying that “voters oppose their tax dollars funding a genocide.”

The post NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Refuses to Acknowledge Israel’s Right to Exist as a Jewish State first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Tens of thousands of French people march in Paris to protest against antisemitism. Photo: Screenshot

France has increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following the antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC, this week as the country’s local Jewish community calls for stronger government action amid mounting fears of escalating violence.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau ordered local law enforcement to “step up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community” after a gunman fatally shot two Israeli embassy staffers in the US capital on Wednesday night. The 30-year-old suspect who was charged with murdering the victims shouted “Free Palestine” as he was being taken into custody and said at the scene of the shooting, “I did it for Gaza,” according to court documents.

Shortly after the attack, prominent Jewish groups and leaders worldwide quickly decried the act of violence, expressing deep concern over the global rise in antisemitism. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned the deadly assault as “an abhorrent act of antisemitic barbarity.”

On Thursday, Retailleau called for increased patrols around synagogues, as well as Jewish schools, shops, and events, with additional support from soldiers assigned to France’s domestic anti-terror unit. He also emphasized that security measures must be “visible and dissuasive.”

Local law enforcement has been stationed to secure the Israeli embassy in Paris, with increased patrols maintaining a strong presence around the area.

Ahead of the upcoming Jewish holidays, the French diplomat also called for “extreme vigilance” and urged local officials to closely monitor identity checks, bag inspections, and vehicle searches.

The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) — the main representative body of French Jews — welcomed the latest security measures and government response following the deadly shooting.

Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, France has seen an alarming surge in antisemitic incidents, with 1,570 recorded last year, according to a report by CRIF.

In late May and early June, antisemitic acts rose by more than 140 percent, far surpassing the weekly average of slightly more than 30 incidents.

The report also found that 65.2 percent of antisemitic acts last year targeted individuals, with more than 10 percent of these offenses involving physical violence.

Following the antisemitic attack in Washington, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused European governments of spreading “toxic antisemitic incitement,” which he said contributed to the hostile climate that led to the fatal shooting.

“There is a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder,” the top Israeli diplomat said at a press conference, referring to the two Israeli embassy staffers killed on Wednesday night.

“This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe,” Saar continued.

French authorities rejected such an accusation, calling it “outrageous and unjustified.”

“France has condemned, France condemns, and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of antisemitism,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said in a statement.

European governments have strongly criticized Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, as well as its management of humanitarian aid to the enclave.

On Monday, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada issued a joint statement calling for a ceasefire and supporting the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. The statement also accused Israel of causing starvation in Gaza — a claim that Israeli leaders have vehemently denied.

The three countries warned that “concrete measures” would be taken if the Israeli government does not end its renewed military offensive and significantly ease restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the leaders of France, the UK, and Canada, accusing them of rewarding terrorism with their threats and condemning their stance as being on “the wrong side of history.”

“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed, and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa, and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, while inviting more such atrocities,” the Israeli leader said in a statement, referring to the Hamas onslaught on Israel that started the current war.

“The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled, and Gaza is demilitarized. No nation can be expected to accept anything less, and Israel certainly won’t,” the statement continued. “This is a war of civilization over barbarism. Israel will continue to defend itself by just means until total victory is achieved.”

The post France Boosts Security at Jewish Sites Amid Rising Antisemitism Following Washington Embassy Shooting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Bono poses on the red carpet during arrivals for the screening of the documentary film “Bono: Stories of Surrender” presented as part of Special Screenings at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

U2 lead singer Bono urged the Hamas terrorist organization to release the remaining hostages abducted from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and “stop the war” with Israel during an acceptance speech at the annual Ivors Novello Awards ceremony on Thursday, held at Grosvenor House in London.

At the 70th year of the awards ceremony, which recognizes achievements in songwriting and screen composition, U2 became the first Irish songwriters to be inducted into The Ivors Fellowship Academy, which hosts the award ceremony and is the leading organization representing songwriters and composers. The band accepted the award from pop star Ed Sheeran.

Before performing an acoustic rendition of U2’s 1983 hit song “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” Bono pleaded for peace, while also criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership of the Israeli government. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” references the Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry, Ireland, in January 1972, where members of the British army opened fire on protesters and killed 14 unarmed demonstrators.

“I used to introduce this next song by explaining that it wasn’t a rebel song,” Bono, whose real name is Paul David Hewson, began by saying. “Believing in the possibilities of peace was then and is now a rebellious act, and some would say a ridiculous one. To believe peace was attainable between your country and ours, between our country and itself was a ridiculous idea that we’re pleased we hold on to very tightly right now. Peace creates possibilities in the most intractable situations. And Lord knows, there’s a few of them out there right now.”

“Hamas, release the hostages,” the Irish singer added. “Stop the war. Israel, be released from Benjamin Netanyahu and the far-right fundamentalists that twist your sacred texts. All of you protect our aid workers, they are the best of us.”

At a Las Vegas concert in October 2023 — one after the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7 in Israel – Bono offered his condolences and dedicated a song to the hundreds of music lovers who were murdered by Hamas-led terrorists at the Supernova music festival during the terror group’s deadly rampage across southern Israel.

“In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence,” Bono told the audience at the U2 concert. “But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So, sing with us … and those beautiful kids at that music festival.”

The band then proceeded to perform “Pride (In the Name of Love).” Bono changed the track’s closing lyrics to “Early morning October 7, the sun is rising in the desert sky, Stars of David, they took your life, but they could not take your pride.”

“We sing for our brothers and sisters, who they themselves were singing at the Supernova Sukkot festival in Israel,” Bono further told the crowd at the concert. “We sing for those. Our people. Our kind of people. Music people, playful, experimental people. Our kind of people. We sing for them.”

U2 has performed in Israel only once before, in 1997 at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. They were scheduled to perform in the Jewish state in 2011 but eventually canceled the show following pressure from the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Bono visited Israel in 2012 and U2 dedicated a song to the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres during a 2015 concert in Canada.

The post Bono Calls for Hamas to Free Hostages, Israel to be ‘Released’ From Netanyahu During Award Acceptance Speech first appeared on Algemeiner.com.