JTA
Some of Mamdani’s Jewish allies criticize his use of ‘monsters’ to describe AIPAC
Andrew Lapin
June 22, 2026

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday defended his use of the word “monsters” to describe AIPAC at a rally Friday for progressive candidates, as some of his Jewish supporters expressed concern that the term may connote an antisemitic trope. The war of words came as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is increasingly a target of the progressive movement — including in acts of attempted violence — and as progressive Jews have accused some Israeli right-wing figures of dehumanizing liberal pro-Israel lobbying groups. “Calling AIPAC and its backers ‘monsters’ casts them as less than human, rather than as human beings who are one’s political opponents,” Rabbi Jill Jacobs, head of the progressive rabbinic human rights group T’ruah, wrote in a Substack post Monday. READ MORE

NY POST Mamdani attacks pro-Israel PAC again after ‘monsters’ comment sparked concerns it incites anti-Jewish violence. Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on branding a pro-Israel super PAC as “monsters” — even as Jewish New Yorkers warned the word choice could incite violence. Hizzoner took aim at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC] last week during a campaign rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), saying “these monsters take many forms today.” Mamdani on Monday stood by the characterization as he was pressed repeatedly on if he regretted the word choice.