New York, New York - Mayor Zohran Mamdani has doubled down on his criticism of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which sparked controversy online.
During an event in front of City Hall on Monday, Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, was asked about members of the Jewish community accusing him of using antisemitic tropes when describing AIPAC as "monsters who move dark money."
Mamdani argued that the organization stands for a "status quo" that includes the war in Gaza, while he does not.
"When I am speaking about AIPAC, I'm speaking about an organization that has been supportive of the status quo, that has fought any attempt to actually deliver safety to people, not just in Palestine, but frankly, through much of the region, and it is a status quo for immorality," Mamdani said.
"And when it comes to the way in which they defend the status quo, oftentimes they defend it through direct contributions, as we are seeing right now in [NYC's 13th District]," he added.
Mamdani, who made the remarks at a rally for New York candidates Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier last week, faced condemnation online.
New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer argued in an X post that Mamdani's comments pushed "the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theory in the books."
The mayor's defense of the comments also came a day before New Yorkers headed to the polls to vote in their party's primaries ahead of the general elections in November.