Asked three times if he condemns the phrase “globalize the intifada,” Democratic New York City mayoral primary winner Zohran Mamdani declined, telling NBC News on Sunday that it is not his job to “police language.”

Mamdani, an anti-Israel activist, has faced pressure to denounce the phrase, which many Jews see as a call for violent attacks on Jews and Israelis, after earlier this month he refused to condemn it while participating in a podcast.

“Intifada” literally means “uprising” or “shaking off.” But it is mainly associated with the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, when Palestinian terrorists killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings. “Globalize the Intifada” is a common refrain for protest groups calling for Israel’s destruction and the ostracization of Zionists in the US.

Appearing on NBC News‘ “Meet the Press,” moderator Kristen Welker repeatedly pressed Mamdani to explicitly condemn the phrase, but he responded only, “That’s not language that I use.”

“The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead the city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights,” he........

© The Times of Israel