CAIR Defends Mamdani as Jewish Groups Warn His Rhetoric Fuels Hatred

CAIR and its New York chapter issued a July 24 statement defending New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and accusing Israel advocacy groups of dishonestly conflating criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with attacks on Jews. The statement did not mention Thursday’s stabbing of a visibly Jewish man on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. B’nai B’rith, the Zionist Organization of America, the Combat Antisemitism Movement and StandWithUs said Mamdani’s rhetoric about Israel contributes to a climate of hatred targeting Jews. New York Jewish leaders separately said repeated efforts to hold Jewish communities responsible for Israeli policy make Jews targets.