Pelosi criticizes Mamdani and El-Sayed over comments on Israel

Politics · First reported 30 Oct, 00:20 · Updated 00:42

Image: Wikimedia Commons · NASA Johnson Space Center · Public domain

Nancy Pelosi said comments by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed about Israel were wrong and did not represent congressional Democrats. She also said she knew of few, if any, Democrats engaged in antisemitism; a rabbi quoted in coverage criticized her assessment.

Pelosi criticized Mamdani and El-Sayed’s positions on Israel, saying they were wrong and did not reflect Democrats in Congress.
Mamdani has said he supports Israel as a state with equal rights but did not endorse it as a Jewish state; El-Sayed has declined to affirm Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
Pelosi said she did not know of anyone in her party engaged in antisemitism, while Rabbi Yaakov Menken criticized her for not recognizing what he described as antisemitism among colleagues.

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Key facts

Pelosi’s assessment: She called the candidates’ positions wrong and said they did not reflect Democrats in Congress.
Mamdani’s stated position: He said he supported Israel as a state with equal rights but declined to endorse it as a Jewish state.
El-Sayed’s comments: He has declined to affirm whether Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state.
Pelosi on antisemitism: She said she did not know of anyone in her party engaged in antisemitism, while allowing that some remarks could be interpreted that way.