Several Democrats and members of the press have called on New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to denounce the "globalize the intifada" phrase, which is interpreted as a call for violence against Jewish people. 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said during an interview with WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer on Thursday that the phrase is received by the public as a call to "slaughter the Jews," and that Mamdani needed to understand how the word is received by the Jewish community.

"Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker asked Mamdani to condemn the controversial phrase three times on Sunday during an interview, but Mamdani refused. Earlier this month, he also declined to condemn the expression during an interview with The Bulwark's Tim Miller.

"Brian, I didn't hear your exchange with him, but if I was speaking to him directly, I would simply say that is not how the words are received," Gillibrand told Lehrer. "It doesn't matter what meaning you have in your brain. It is not how the word is received. When you use a word like intifada—to many Jewish Americans and Jewish New Yorkers, that means you are permissive of violence against Jews."

Gillibrand called on Mamdani to denounce the phrase and said she had a conversation with the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City about protecting all citizens. 

During Mamdani's interview with Welker, he insisted that the role of mayor was not to police words and told Welker that he didn't use the phrase. 

While the democratic socialist candidate said he planned to protect all New Yorkers, he refused to condemn the phrase and brought up President Donald Trump.

"My concern is, to start to walk down the line of language and making clear what language I believe is permissible or impermissible, takes me into a place similar to that of the president, who is looking to do those very kinds of things, putting people in jail for writing an op-ed, putting them in jail for protesting," Mamdani said. "Ultimately, it is not language that I use. It is language, I understand there are concerns about, and what I will do is showcase my vision for the city through my words and my actions."

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that the mayoral candidate would have to clarify this position on the phrase.

"Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase," Jeffries said. "He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward."

He added, "With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development."

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said Monday on CNN that the phrase was deeply offensive and every elected official should condemn it.

"I mean, every elected official has an obligation to condemn hatred, whether it‘s antisemitism or Islamophobia. You know, the second Intifada refers to a wave of terror attacks, suicide bombings and slashings and stabbings that left more than a thousand Israelis and Jews dead. And so, when one uses the word intifada, it causes profound pain and trauma to the Jewish community. It is deeply offensive. Every elected official, without exception, should condemn it," Torres said.

Donny Deutsch, who is Jewish, said Monday during MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he was "outraged" Mamdani wouldn't condemn the phrase. 

"I’m outraged that we have a candidate for mayor of New York, Mr. Mamdani, that cannot walk back or cannot condemn the words ‘globalize the intifada’ and his nuance of, ‘well, it means different things for different people.' Well, let me tell you what it means to a Jew — it means violence," Deutsch said. "If any other group came forward and said ‘you know these words are offense to us, it means violence, it frightens us,' I think there would be a response, but for some reason, if Jewish people find it offensive, it's not offensive."

During the same conversation on MSNBC, Rev. Al Shaprton said Mamdani needed to be clear on his position. 

"He’s running for mayor of New York. You need to take off the table, ‘Do you support international intifada?’ Period. Not go around it. I understand you don’t want to be forced into something, but I don’t think that’s what he stands for from what he said to us. And he should say that outright," Sharpton said.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes told the New York Times' Ezra Klein that Mamdani's answer about the phrase during the conversation on The Bulwark's podcast wasn't a good response. 

Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, during a campaign event at the NAN House of Justice in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, US, on Saturday, June 28, 2025.  (Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"And the headline that comes out from it — and to be clear I don’t think it was a great answer — is: refuses to condemn globalizing the intifada," Hayes said, while praising Mamdani's overall media strategy. "And so I thought to myself, now we’re seeing the cost. We’ve seen the benefit. He’s been everywhere. But going everywhere means you might have a news cycle where you say something like that."

Mamdani's campaign did not immediately return a request for comment. 

Mamdani's primary victory in the liberal city has been criticized by Republicans, although Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., said Sunday his win was a "gift" to the Republican Party.

"He‘s talking about government-run grocery stores, free transportation, jacking up tax prices. If you live in West Palm Beach, Florida, your property value is about to skyrocket, likely," Moore said during CNN's "State of the Union." "To me, this is a gift to the Republican Party because this guy is going to be a lightning rod that they’re going to have to distance themselves from, in the upcoming election cycle."

Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.