Sen. Chuck Schumer labeled people who don’t think Israel should exist as a Jewish state are antisemites — a definition that could include Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic minority leader, dropped the assessment during a New York Public Library Event in May 2025, where he discussed his book, “Antisemitism in America, A Warning.”
“To be anti-Zionist — to not believe the Jewish people should have a state — is in my view a form of antisemitism,” Schumer said, according to resurfaced video of the event — where he was repeatedly heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters.
“If you believe every other people should have their own state, but the Jewish people should not, that is antisemitic,” Schumer added.
Mamdani drew condemnation during last year’s mayoral race when he declined to say whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state.
“I believe Israel has a right to exist and it has a right to exist also with equal rights for all,” Mamdani said during an event sponsored by the UJA-Federation in May 2025.
Mamdani, a staunch critic of Israel who supports the controversial boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against the Jewish-led nation, has accused the nation of committing genocide in Gaza. Hizzoner skipped this year’s Salute to Israel Day Parade in New York.
He also stirred controversy by calling for the arrest of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu, addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, accused Mamdani of being an antisemite who has fanned the flames of hatred and made the Big Apple less safe for Jews.
Mamdani has said he supports Jewish New Yorkers and has “zero tolerance” for antisemitism or bigotry of any kind despite his criticisms of Israel and its PM.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has sought to reframe the question when he was asked whether he disputes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State.
“I do not. I just dispute the idea that you should have an ethno-state,” he told one interviewer. “I dispute Egypt’s right to be an ethno-state, and Saudi Arabia’s right to be an ethno-state.”
El-Sayed also pivoted when asked whether Israel has a “right to exist” as a Jewish state in a recent CNN interview.
“It’s interesting. Nobody has ever asked me if Palestinians have a right to exist,” El-Sayed told host Kasie Hunt.
“The question of whether or not Israel has a right to exist is quite secondary to whether they have a right to our tax dollars,” he went on. “Israel exists. The question is whether or not we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to do genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids.”
El-Sayed continued to parry when pressed.
“The question of Israel’s existence is not a question. I’m not going to play this gotcha game,” he said. “The question we ought to ask is, `Does everyone have equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination.’”
Schumer, Mamdani’s office and El-Sayed’s campaign had no immediate comment.
Last week, the NYPL hosted an event for an Israel-bashing Jewish author, Benjamin Moser, who likened the Jewish state to a “dog shelter.” His book, “Anti-Zionism, a Jewish History,” is critical of Israel and its existence as a Jewish-led state.
The NYPL emphasized that it presents diverse viewpoints on hot-button topics.
