A report by the NGO Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released this Monday (22) pointed out that, of the employees appointed by the elected mayor of New York, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, at least 20% have links to anti-Zionist groups – that is, those opposed to Israel.
According to information from The Times of Israel, which had access to the ADL report, the NGO investigated the political ties of around 400 employees appointed by Mamdani, elected in November and who will take office on January 1st.
Among the anti-Israel groups with which these nominees have ties are the Nation of Islam (whose leader, Louis Farrakhan, is known for anti-Semitic statements), to which at least four nominees are related, and Students for Justice in Palestine.
According to the Times of Israel, the report noted that one of Mamdani’s appointees said Palestinian “resistance” was “justified” the day after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, on October 7, 2023.
Another shared a statement on social media that claimed that Zionists are worse than Nazis and that “Zionists are never really Jews.”
At a press conference on Monday, Mamdani was asked about the report. “We must distinguish between anti-Semitism and criticism of the Israeli government, and ADL reports often ignore this distinction, diverting attention from the very real crisis of anti-Semitism,” he said.
Mamdani will be New York’s first Muslim mayor. During the campaign, he stated that Israel committed genocide in the war in the Gaza Strip and said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), will be detained if he travels to New York during his term in office.
