Socialist Mamdani Tells Business Leaders He’ll ‘Discourage’ Use Of ‘Globalize The Intifada’

Zohran Mamdani, the self-described Democratic socialist running for New York City mayor, quietly agreed to “discourage” people from using the phrase “globalize the intifada,” widely seen as a call to violence against Jews, in a private meeting with influential New York City business leaders on Tuesday.

The Democratic nominee made the commitment to about 150 business executives, including real estate moguls, high-powered lawyers, and several billionaires who peppered him with questions about his controversial far-Left positions, according to multiple reports.

At the private event, Mamdani was reportedly confronted on his refusal to condemn the phrase by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who is the son of Holocaust survivors. He said he doesn’t use the phrase and told the group that many people use it to express support for Palestinian human rights.

The 33-year-old has not made any public remarks discouraging the phrase or condemning the terrorism of Hamas.

Last month, Mamdani was pressed three times to condemn “globalize the intifada” during an appearance on NBC, and each time he refused to do so but said, “it’s not language that I use.”

“But do you actually condemn it?” NBC’s Kristen Welker pressed, noting that many people hear it as a “call to violence against Jews.”

“I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech,” Mamdani said.

Tuesday’s private business event was held in Rockefeller Center and hosted by the Partnership for New York City, an influential group representing banks, law firms, and corporations.

Many of the business leaders did not leave the event more comfortable with Mamdani’s ideas, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Some left even more unhappy.

“Today’s meeting made it clear to me that I need to do everything in my power to make sure Zohran Mamdani does not become mayor of New York City,” Jon Henes, founder and CEO of C Street Advisory Group, a communications consulting firm, told The New York Times.

“His complete lack of executive experience, his naïve understanding of how the world works and his rigidly ideological views, including socialism, would be dangerous for the city’s future,” Henes said.

Mamdani has proposed raising both income and corporate taxes, and spending taxpayer dollars on a multitude of services, including government-run grocery stores, free buses, free childcare, and a rent freeze for more than two million New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments.

As he heads into the general election, Mamdani is working to win support from the city’s business leaders despite their concerns. Meanwhile, his opponents see this as an opportunity to draw influential supporters away from the Democratic nominee.

The New York state assemblyman representing parts of Queens won the Democratic primary last month in an upset that threw the New York City mayor’s race into chaos.

Current Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo are both running as independents, and both have been actively seeking support from the same business leaders.

The general election for mayor will be held on November 4, and Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, will face them all as the Republican candidate.