New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a video last month that should go down in history as one of the most antisemitic diatribes since Adolf Hitler’s speeches in the 1930s.

While Hitler used a long list of notorious lies to blame Jews for attacking Germany and undermining the international order, Mamdani used the same slanderous technique to blame Jews for the wholesale murder of Palestinians. Mamdani used a sleazy rhetorical smokescreen to sidestep outright antisemitism—condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for seven horrible crimes, instead of naming the State of Israel, Israeli Jews or the majority of Jews globally who support Israel’s fight against Palestinian terror.

Mamdani outrageously referred to Netanyahu as a “war criminal,” accusing him of orchestrating genocide against the Palestinian people, starving them, maiming them, and purposely targeting civilians.

Like Hitler’s slanders, all Mamdani’s assertions were lies. Netanyahu has never been convicted of war crimes, nor is there any proof that he or the State of Israel orchestrated genocide against the Palestinians, or intentionally caused them to suffer.

Indeed, Netanyahu is guilty of nothing more than defending Israel and its Jewish and Arab citizens from unprovoked attacks by terrorists whose avowed goal is to kill them and destroy the Jewish state. Mamdani, of course, neglected to mention the primary cause for Israel’s defensive measures, namely incessant Palestinian terror and most recently the October 7, 2023 massacre.

The real target of Mamdani’s attack was as clear as Hitler’s: the Jews. Just as Hitler inspired millions of Germans to attack their Jewish neighbors, so too does Mamdani encourage Americans to harm Jews, as evidenced by disregard and disrespect for New York Jews and his lackadaisical response to violence against them.

Mamdani’s latest pronouncement defaming the Jewish people and their national homeland, Israel, only reinforces his failure to honor and protect New York City’s huge population of Jews—the single largest concentration outside Israel.

1) No genocide in Gaza. In his two-minute video, Mamdani called Netanyahu “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.” While genocide is defined as acts intentionally committed to destroy a specific group of people, there’s zero evidence that Israel tried to exterminate the Palestinians. Lacking any evidence of such intention, Israel is only “guilty” of waging a defensive war. In short, no court has ever validated allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

2) Netanyahu is no war criminal. Innocent until proven guilty, the PM has not been convicted of any war crimes by any court. It’s extremely unlikely he ever will be. Calling him a war criminal is simply a malicious lie.

3) No murder of 73,000 Palestinians. Mamdani holds Netanyahu “responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people.” This figure, provided by Hamas’s Gaza Health Ministry (GHM), outrageously fails to distinguish between civilians and fighters. Nor does Mamdani admit that half or more of those Palestinian dead—some 35,000—were terrorists. Nor does he mention Hamas’s practice of using human shields, hiding themselves and their terrorist infrastructure within civilian structures such as schools, mosques and hospitals—itself a war crime.

4) No starvation of Gazan civilians. Mamdani also accused Netanyahu of starving “countless people” during the war. In fact, Israel facilitated unprecedented aid supplies into the territory. Two million tons of it—astoundingly, the only example of a nation at war feeding an enemy population. Yet Mamdani lied viciously about Israel’s humanitarian effort, while also concealing that Hamas stole much of that aid. Indeed, the UN recently confirmed that Hamas “endangered humanitarian personnel, intimidated workers delivering lifesaving food assistance and disrupted lifesaving” aid.

5) No killing of innocent aid workers or journalists. In another lie, Mamdani accused Netanyahu of responsibility “for the gunning down of hundreds of aid workers and journalists.” While Israel exclusively targets terrorists, many fighters pose as journalists or aid workers. Mamdani fails to mention dozens of examples of UNRWA workers who directly participated in the October 7^th massacre or the journalists leading double lives as Hamas terrorists. Indeed, recently the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) removed many names from their databases after discovering they were terrorists working for Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

6) No illegal IDF targeting of civilian hospitals. Mamdani falsely claimed that Israel targeted neo-natal hospitals and maternity care centers—but disingenuously refused to acknowledge that hospitals were used by Hamas as bases during the Gaza War. For example, Al-Shifa Hospital was used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad as a command center, and for storing weapons and holding hostages. At Al-Rantisi Hospital—a children’s hospital—video revealed hidden weapons caches and living quarters for hostages.

7) No targeting—EVER—of children. Mamdani accused Netanyahu of being responsible “for the maiming of tens of thousands of children.” In fact, no evidence whatsoever proves Israel intentionally targets children. Hamas, however, does use child soldiers, which is no doubt why Gaza Health Ministry numbers include an overrepresentation of males (“children”?) aged 15-17. Moreover, if Hamas had not started the war, no children of any age would have been harmed.

Mamdani’s video underscores his hostility toward New York and worldwide Jewry. Indeed, since Mamdani became mayor, anti-Jewish hate crime has increased. Last January alone, there were 31 anti-Jewish hate crimes (one per day), a 182% year-over-year rise.

Through the first half of 2026 (January–June), confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes represented over 55% of total hate crimes, despite Jews comprising just 10% of NYC’s population.

Several of these anti-Jewish crimes were violent in nature, and include, most recently, the stabbing of an observant Jew on Manhattan’s tony upper West Side by an assailant who yelled “Allah Akbar.” In short, life for Jews in New York City is dangerous, yet Mamdani refuses to condemn the violence or attend Jewish citywide events, such as the annual Israel Day Parade.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that Mamdani lied again when he vowed to protect New York City’s Jews in his election victory speech, “We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism.” Instead, Mamdani betrays Jewish residents by one attempt after another to defame Jews and their homeland, Israel.

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S. As you know, we at FLAME are constantly fighting to defeat our enemies’ slanders against Israel. But I hope you agree that it’s just as important for us lovers of Israel to spread the word about the amazing triumphs of Zionism. I believe that in addition to defending Israel from media and politicians’ lies, we need also to help the world understand Israel’s righteous cause and its power for good—we need as well to trumpet Israel’s miraculous achievements. God knows, Americans will never learn about Israel’s good deeds in mainstream media, like the New York Times, CNN or NPR! I believe we need to stand tall because of who the Jewish people are . . . be proud of what Israel does for the world. For this reason, I hope you’ll approve of FLAME’s new hasbarah—our explanatory message called “How Zionism’s Miracle Benefits Us All.” With your agreement and support, FLAME will soon begin running this message as a paid editorial ad in major mainstream newspapers nationwide. This ad tells the truth about Zionism’s unmatched power to create economic prosperity, global security, world health and democratic freedoms. It also explains why the enemies of Zionism are not just foes of Israel, they are also the enemies of human progress. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME is about to publish to millions—in leading social media, as well as in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronicle, Denver Post and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, the President and Vice President. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.