Mamdani says Israel shouldn’t exist as an ethnostate

In a new interview, Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, has reconfirmed his position that Israel should not exist as an ethnostate.

Karl: Israel is a Jewish state. That’s in the charter. Do you support that?

Mamdani: I’ve said time and again that I support the state of Israel as a state with equal rights.

Karl: As jewish state?

Mamdani: I believe that any state that privileges one religion over another is… pic.twitter.com/WFIqM9PAib

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 28, 2026

He had a lot more to say too.

In full, this is what Mamdani said:

I believe that any state that privileges one religion over another is one that I can’t tell you I support, whether it be Israel or Saudi Arabia or anywhere else. And a lot of that comes back to a fundamental belief that we should all be considered equal, no matter what our faith is.

The problem with Israel is the Zionist ideology that underpins it. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, Zionism is the belief that Israel has the right to exist as an expansionist colonial state that serves as America’s foothold in the Middle East.

If any other country decided it must exist as a supremacist ethnostate which has the right to invade its neighbours, we would all recognise this as a problem. In fact, this very thing happened in the past, and we all know how that turned out.

Mamdani also said:

We saw on Tuesday evening that Democrats turned out in districts across the city to make clear that they were tired of tens of billions of our taxpayer dollars being spent to violate international law and to kill thousands of civilians.

And you and I know that right now, Palestine is described as if there is a ceasefire. That’s the language that’s typically used. More than a thousand Palestinians have been killed during that ceasefire.

And what New Yorkers want to see is a politics of conscience, a politics of clarity, a politics of conviction, and a commitment to follow international law, to believe in the humanity of all people. It shouldn’t be a journey too far.

He previously said this:

It’s not antisemitic to be against genocide. For the millionth fucking time. https://t.co/kvKTbIRFB5

— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) June 28, 2026

Mamdani’s results are winning him haters

At the same time that Mamdani is enjoying broad support from the public, he’s facing increased attacks from the Democrat Party. In part, this is because a number of Mamdani-backed politicians recently beat out their establishment Democrat rivals.

These candidates ran for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — the group Mamdani belongs to — and the signs are that this faction of the Democrat Party is on the rise. No doubt because Mamdani has shown what socialist-leaning politicians can achieve in office.

Mamdani: I think we need to have a platform and a vision that doesn't sound as if it was cooked up by consultants, but instead one that you would say in response to someone who's asking, why can't I afford my rent? Why can't I afford my groceries? Why can't I afford my child care pic.twitter.com/n5T6MTEQFn

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 28, 2026

Zohran using his public office to actually do things he promised must be genuinely bewildering & terrifying to Democratic politicians, consultants, pundits & donors who’ve spent 40 years making excuses for their party almost never fulfilling promises when Dems have been in power. pic.twitter.com/w0WhhkuQaZ

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) June 29, 2026

Republicans are gonna have a problem with Mamdani. Because people genuinely seem to like him and he has results to show. AOC, because she was in congress, has a hard time showing clear results. I heard Fox News stopped airing him because the viewers actually liked/agreed with him https://t.co/xyyUFp6Xwk

— Ladi Dadi (@Loki_013) June 28, 2026

End of the line

In response to all this, establishment Democrats are freaking out.

The Democratic Party’s response to DSA winning elections is not to reconsider its approach and do more to deliver for working people but to do a red scare and float procedural maneuvers to prevent Democratic Party voters from being able to vote for DSA candidates.

Loser shit.

— Portland DSA (@PortlandDSA) June 28, 2026

They’re right to freak out too. Their time is coming to an end, and no one will miss them when they’re gone.

In fact, the further we get away from this era, the more people will loathe the establishment politicians who supported genocide abroad and inequality at home.

Featured image via the Canary