Top House Dem Hakeem Jeffries demands socialist Zohran Mamdani clarify his defense of intifada chant

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on socialist presumptive Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani to clarify his position on the use of the phrase, “globalize the intifada.”A staunch critic of Israel, Mamdani went viral earlier this month during an interview with The Bulwark  for describing the phrase “globalize the intifada” as an adage that reflects the “desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.”The leading House Dem is now urging the New York socialist to explain his refusal to condemn the chant, which has been associated with violent uprisings against Israel.“Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries (D-NY) told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.The term intifada means uprising.

“He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward,” the Brooklyn Democrat continued.“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development.”During his interview with The Bulwark on June 17, Mamdani refused to denounce the phrase when pressed about whether it made him uncomfortable.The Big Apple mayoral nominee then repeatedly refused to condemn it again in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday — despite many people interpreting it as a call to murder or harm Jews.“That’s not language that I use.The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead this city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights,” he told Kristen Welker on the program.“I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech in the manner.”Welker pressed him on the phrase three times.If elected, Mamdani would become the first Muslim and millenni...