Discussion on NYC Mayoral Candidate Zoran Mamdani

On Monday, Fox News host Harris Faulkner, along with former Obama administration official Marie Half, talked for two minutes about the Jewish community’s perspective on Democratic mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani.

During an interview with Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” Sunday, Mamdani declined to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which followed his comments about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If he were to come to New York City, he suggested he would push for action against Netanyahu related to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. Faulkner indicated that some Democrats might overlook anti-Semitic sentiments to preserve their political standing, while Half defended prominent Democrats like Jerry Nadler and former mayoral candidate Brad Lander, who backed Mamdani.

Half posed a question to Faulkner: “Are you questioning Jerry Nadler and Brad Lander’s commitment to Judaism?” Faulkner decisively answered, “100%. Hundred percent. Yes.”

Half contested this, saying, “Wow, I’m not questioning who’s committed to their faith. Just as I work against my people’s interests and against the interests of politics, that’s what they’re doing here.”

Mamdani claimed the Democratic nomination in the primary held on June 24, defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Half mentioned that a well-known Jewish New Yorker believes Mamdani could improve conditions in the city, stating, “They hate anti-Semitism and believe he’ll help New York get better.” However, she added, “I think he should be more sensitive to the context in which a lot of people hear the language, and I think he should blame it, but he doesn’t slam it into words.”