Mamdani faces backlash after calling pro-Israel advocacy group Aipac 'monsters' at campaign rally

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is at the centre of a storm of criticism from Jewish advocacy organisations and political opponents following a campaign speech in which he labelled the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) as "monsters."

The controversy came to light during a "Get Out the Vote" rally at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, where Mamdani shared the stage with Senator Bernie Sanders to stump for progressive Democratic candidates ahead of the upcoming primary elections.

During his 30-minute address, Mamdani took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military strategy in Gaza before turning his attention squarely toward the prominent pro-Israel lobbying group.

"The monsters that we are up against, they take many different forms," Mamdani told the crowd, explicitly naming Aipac moments later.

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The mayor alleged that the organisation moves "millions in dark money" to influence the American electoral system. He described Aipac as an entity "for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and Netanyahu's wars."

Senator Sanders echoed Mamdani's frustration when he took the podium, telling attendees that "a large part of our horrific foreign policy is impacted by Aipac funding."

'Vile and transparent'

The reaction from Jewish community leaders and advocacy groups was immediate and severe. Many accused the mayor of leaning into historic, harmful tropes regarding Jewish influence and finance.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) issued a sharp rebuke, expressing deep alarm over what it termed Mamdani's "continued problematic rhetoric." The group stated that by continually levelling unsubstantiated claims of genocide and questioning Israel's fundamental right to exist, the mayor is "fanning the flames of division" and making Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe.

Prominent local figures also used social media to condemn the language. Jewish writer Dovi Safier criticised the mayor's choice of words, noting the irony of the leader of the city with the world's largest urban Jewish population invoking conspiracy theories about secretive "money men" who turn citizens against one another.

The backlash has been further amplified by a highly volatile national security backdrop. Observers pointed out that Mamdani’s harsh characterisation of Aipac came the exact same week that a federal grand jury in Florida indicted a man for allegedly plotting a mass shooting targeting Aipac employees.