Cease Antisemitism, the Jewish advocacy group, blasted Democratic New York Metropolis mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani for sharing a video mocking Hanukkah. The video was shared final 12 months nevertheless it went viral as Mamdani is dominating headlines after his shock victory within the main. Some false claims have been revamped the video saying Mamdani, who was a rapper earlier than his plunge into politics, was featured within the video. However he was not within the video and shared it on Hanukkah. Mamdani had posted the video in December 2024, including the caption, “Pleased third evening of Hanukkah from Astoria and Lengthy Island Metropolis.”The video originates from the 2015 parody album “Punjabi Christmas Album Hits” from the Geeta Brothers, a facet venture of Sikh-Canadian musician and comic Jus Reign.Mamdani posted one other video from the identical album on Christmas Eve, this one based mostly on “Jingle Bells.”“Wishing you all a really merry Christmas from Astoria and Lengthy Island Metropolis,” he wrote on the time.“Zohran Mamdani posts Indian males cosplaying Jews, spinning dreidels and lighting the menorah,” Cease Antisemitism wrote in an announcement on X. “Our holidays and traditions are sacred and never in your comedic pleasure, Zohran Mamdani – that is sick,” the group added, tagging the mayoral candidate.Mamdani has been accused of antisemitism throughout his marketing campaign in addition to he refused a number of occasions to acknowledge Israel’s proper to exist as a Jewish state. Throughout a main debate, he mentioned he believed Israel has a proper to exist. “As a Jewish state?” he was requested. “As a state with equal rights,” Mamdani mentioned.“I’m not snug supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the premise of faith or the rest,” he defined later.StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez mentioned final week that electing Mamdani mayor wouldn’t solely be “catastrophic” for Jewish residents, however all who reside within the metropolis.“If Zohran Mamdani was elected as mayor, it will be palms down catastrophic for Jewish residents of New York Metropolis,” Rez mentioned. “And we’d even take it a step additional the place residents of New York Metropolis usually, as a result of his very troubling stances on socialism, would vastly endure as nicely.”
