Corbyn, who was expelled from the Labour Party over his handling of anti-Semitism and his own rhetoric about Jews in the past, led a phone banking session for the Democratic mayoral nominee
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D.) on Monday fled from questions about his relationship with disgraced British lawmaker and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the final day before polls close in the Big Apple.
Corbyn, who was forced out of the Labour Party in 2023 over his own anti-Semitism and his party’s treatment of Jews during his leadership, led a phone banking event over the weekend with the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York branch.
Mamdani’s refusal to say whether he considers Corbyn an ally comes as the British politician’s involvement with his campaign stokes fears over the Democratic nominee’s radical positions on Israel. Those stances include his failure to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” his opposition to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, and his propagation of conspiracy theories.
The Washington Free Beacon asked Mamdani about his relationship with Corbyn during a Monday evening canvassing launch in Queens. The far-left candidate did not answer, instead heading to an SUV as the Free Beacon repeatedly attempted to get a response.
Labour banned Corbyn from its ranks in 2023 over his handling of anti-Semitism during his time atop the party, which he claimed had been overstated. His own record is littered with instances of anti-Semitic rhetoric, including a 2018 incident in which he praised a mural depicting Jews playing Monopoly on people’s backs.
Corbyn attended a 2014 wreath-laying ceremony in Tunisia in honor of the terrorists responsible for the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, and in 2009 described Hamas and Hezbollah as his “friends.” He also once wrote a foreword to a book alleging European finance was controlled by “men of a single and peculiar race.”
Mamdani has taken extreme positions on Israel and anti-Semitism during his campaign and his time as a New York state assemblyman. He told a group of New York CEOs over the summer he stands by “the idea” behind the “globalize the intifada” slogan, refused to co-sponsor a Holocaust remembrance resolution, and has pledged to arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit New York under a Mamdani mayoralty.
Just last week, a video from 2023 emerged showing Mamdani stating, “We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.”
Mamdani has refused to answer Free Beacon questions in similar press sprays, declining to state whether he would take down the city’s Christopher Columbus statues as he demanded in a 2020 X post. He also evaded a question about which jail he would have Netanyahu sent to after his arrest.
The canvassing launch in Queens was rife with left-wing rhetoric familiar to Mamdani’s campaign. Queens borough president Donovan Richards (D.) described the neighborhood of Astoria as “the People’s Republic” before introducing state senator Michael Gianaris (D.) as his “socialist brother.” Gianaris then took credit for killing an effort by Amazon to open a new headquarters in Queens—which cost an estimated 25,000 jobs—to applause from canvassers.
Representatives for Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to Free Beacon requests for comment on the candidate’s relationship with Corbyn.
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