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Controversial comparison between law enforcement and the Israeli army (IDF) leads to the nomination of a socialist candidate for mayor of New York Zoran Mamdani into hot water after an unearthed clip from a 2023 socialist conference went viral on social media.
“We need to make it clear that when the NYPD boot is on your neck, it is on the IDF,” said Mamdani, who was the keynote speaker speaking on a panel during the 2023 Democratic Socialists of America national convention.
The comments add fuel to the fire of critics who have criticized Mamdani's past statements and opinions on law enforcement. Mamdani was forced to go on Fox News and apologize amid backlash over past comments in which he said the NYPD should be defunded and that it is “racist, anti-queer and a serious threat to public safety.”
“Sorry, I just wanted to — before we move on to the next questions — I just wanted to answer a couple of questions,” Mamdani said during a panel at the 2023 DSA conference, drawing an analogy to the NYPD and the IDF. “The first question was about creating a context in which this idea of hyperlocal and international—and I think in order for anyone to care about these issues, we have to make them hyperlocal, we have to make it clear that when the NYPD boot is on your neck, it's laced by the IDF.”
MAMDANI TENSIONED BY PAST RHETORIC ABOUT DEFUNDING THE POLICE
Resurfacing comments at the 2023 Socialist Conference about the NYPD's ties to the Israeli military sparked backlash against Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani. (Nicholas Economou via Getty Images and Democratic Socialists of America)
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign for comment on this story but did not receive a response. However, he addressed the issue during a Hell's Kitchen press conference on Tuesday night.
“You know, I've said repeatedly that from a public safety standpoint, I look forward to working with police officers here in New York to get this done,” Mamdani said during an event Tuesday in Hell's Kitchen after video of his remarks began circulating. “I look forward to truly addressing the current retention crisis where we currently have approximately 350 officers leaving the department every month. And we will put an end to this by ensuring that police officers are only tasked with doing the work of the police department and not the work of social services, which is what they do.”
Meanwhile, Mamdani was also asked what he thought about keeping the NYPD's liaison office in Israel, to which Mamdani responded that it was “focused” on the NYPD in New York and not abroad.
MAMDANI 'DRAWS A STRAW IN THE BEST WAY,' SAYS FORMER NYPD Lt.
Mamdani said he wants to reorganize the NYPD and “trust” 911 dispatchers to “determine whether there were any signs of violence” and that law enforcement needed to respond. (REUTERS/Gina Moon and AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Social media exploded after the clip was posted on X, with several prominent accounts on both sides of the aisle criticizing Mamdani.
“This guy is truly terrible,” Outkick.com founder Clay Travis wrote on X.
“People rightly point out that this is textbook anti-Semitism (all your problems are caused by Jews!), but my question is, when Mamdani made his general apology to the NYPD, did that apology extend to the people who laced their shoes?! Inquiring minds want to know!” NewsNation anchor Batya Ungar-Sargon posted on X.
“There’s a word for this kind of twisted fear-mongering and conspiratorial thinking: anti-Semitism,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on X.
“Sick. Zoran Mamdani denigrated Israel and the NYPD in the same breath, saying “the boot on your neck is laced by the IDF,” Rep. Claudia Tenney, RN.Y, wrote on X. “It is anti-Semitic, divisive and dangerous.”
In addition to Mamdani's past remarks about policing, his proposed plans for how to approach policing if elected mayor have also raised concerns among some.
For example, Mamdani was criticized for suggesting social workers and other non-police professionals for example, “transit ambassadors” would handle certain 911 calls, which Mamdani said would lighten the NYPD's workload and improve officer retention. Mamdani defended this proposal back in 2020.
Meanwhile, during the mayoral debate earlier this month, Mamdani added that he wants to reorganize the NYPD and “trust” 911 dispatchers to “make a decision about whether there were any signs of violence” and that law enforcement should respond.
Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor of criminal justice at Penn State Lehigh Valley, called Mamdani's plan “the worst idea” he's heard in a long time.
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has publicly apologized for past comments against law enforcement, including that the NYPD should be defunded and that it is “racist, anti-queer and a serious threat to public safety.” (iStock)
“I have no idea what he’s talking about, and neither does he,” Giacalone said. “My question is what happens when the dispatcher is wrong and someone dies? Is this oops? The responsibility that the city will take on with this idea will be enormous.”
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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Mamdani “divisive on all fronts” and criticized his New York mayoral opponent for “calling[ing] racist NYPD.”
“You cannot be a divisive leader in this city. You must be united,” Cuomo added at a campaign event. “Because all day long in this city, people run into each other, and one of the main responsibilities that you learn as a governor, mayor or chief executive is that you have to constantly work to keep people together, because they will naturally divide and fight. You are the force that holds them together.”
Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
