New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on calling AIPAC "monsters," and the instant smear machine branded him an inciter of violence against Jews — the same playbook that shuts down any questioning of pro-Israel political spending in American elections.
Mamdani made the remark at a Kings Theatre rally in Brooklyn alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, citing Italian socialist Antonio Gramsci while railing against dark money in politics. "In AIPAC, for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and Netanyahu's wars," Mamdani said. "They move millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal, to preserve their power so that they can turn us against one another."
Pressed by reporters Monday at City Hall, Mamdani refused to back off the word. "I used the term to describe all those who are preventing the birth of a new world, not solely a PAC, but frankly, super PACs at large, who are spending millions of dollars in deceptive and misleading ads that are blanketing airwaves," he said.
Immediately, the accusations flew. Senior Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Kehilath Jeshurun synagogue called it "pure incitement," arguing Mamdani was accusing AIPAC of being "a monster that subverts democracy, supports genocide and wants to divide Americans." The New York Post framed the comments as sparking concerns they could "incite anti-Jewish violence."
Here is the pattern: a politician criticizes a pro-Israel PAC's political influence, and the response is not to debate the spending but to brand the criticism as bigotry that endangers Jewish lives. It makes honest debate about foreign lobbying and campaign spending impossible.
But follow the money on both sides, because Mamdani's hands aren't clean either. The Daily Wire reported that a pro-Palestinian super PAC called American Priorities dropped $2 million boosting the exact three congressional candidates Mamdani is championing: Brad Lander in NY-10, Claire Valdez in NY-7, and Darializa Avila Chevalier in NY-13.
Those candidates carry serious baggage. Valdez liked a post praising the Hamas massacre of October 7 the day it happened and sat for an interview with a streamer who called Jews a "demonic ethnicity." Chevalier has called to "abolish the border," eliminate police and prisons, and seize private property from landlords — then deleted thousands of posts when her campaign launched. Lander called Israel's Lebanon operations "potentially genocide" and vowed to work with Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
Meanwhile, AIPAC has backed the opponents: $377,000 toward Rep. Dan Goldman in NY-10, roughly $140,000 supporting Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NY-13, and no involvement at all in NY-7. The Daily Wire noted that Valdez falsely accused AIPAC of secretly funding a super PAC backing her opponent — it turned out to be the teachers union.
So the real story is two factions of dark money slugging it out in New York's congressional races, and one side crying bigotry the moment its spending gets named. Mamdani calls AIPAC monsters while his own slate rides $2 million from a pro-Palestinian PAC. AIPAC's allies call him an inciter while their money flows to protect incumbents.
Ordinary Americans are left with a question: when did criticizing how any PAC spends its money become a hate crime, and who benefits from making sure nobody ever asks?
