Zohran Mamdani pushes 800% hate crime funding increase to woo New York City’s Jewish voters

Democratic Party New York mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “The Briefing with Jen Psaki” that he vows to increase funding for hate crime programs in the city by 800% to help “root out” anti-Semitism.

Mamdani secured the Democratic mayoral nomination Tuesday, beating out former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to potentially lead America’s largest city. While speaking with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, the host asked Mamdani about his message to Jewish voters, as concerns about his stance on Israel have continued to circulate.

“My message is that I am looking to lead this entire city, to represent each and every New Yorker. And that representation is not contingent on whether or not someone votes for me or someone agrees with me, because the responsibility of a leader is to reach out to all eight and a half million people who call this city their home,” Mamdani said. “I know that Jewish New Yorkers, like Jewish Americans, are fearful in this moment of anti-Semitism.”

While Mamdani’s policies as a Democratic Socialist have drawn criticism, his statements on Israel have also circulated online. During a recent interview on “The Bulwark,” host Tim Miller asked Mamdani whether the phrases “Globalize the intifada” and “From the river to the sea” made him uncomfortable.

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Mamdani said he didn’t support banning the language, a comment that sparked backlash from Jewish advocacy groups and others online.

He later told Psaki that Jewish Americans have felt “fearful” following “horrific attacks” in places like Washington, D.C., and Colorado, and said he’s spoken to Jewish residents in New York about their day-to-day fears.

“Ultimately, it’s through the conversations I’ve had with Jewish New Yorkers that I have developed a proposal for the Department of Community Safety that would include an 800% increase in funding for hate crime prevention programs,” Mamdani said.

“Because, ultimately, we cannot simply say that anti-Semitism has no home in this city or no place in this country,” Mamdani said. “We have to do more than talk about it. We have to tackle it. That’s what we will do through this funding and through this commitment. We will root out bigotry across the five boroughs.”

In addition to his remarks on controversial phrases, Mamdani told MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan in December 2024 that, as mayor of New York City, he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited the city, saying it’s “a city that our values are in line with international law. It’s time that our actions are also.”

Alongside his proposal to raise hate crime funding by 800%, Mamdani is also pushing to hike the city’s minimum wage to $30 and increase corporate and high-earner taxes to generate an estimated $10 billion to fund a range of free amenities, including buses and childcare.

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