NYC rabbi urges Mayor-elect Mamdani to condemn ‘globalize the intifada’ phrase in wake of Sydney attack

By Fox News · Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side, urged New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada" following the devastating antisemitic attack in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Hirsch said American Jews are on edge after two gunmen killed 15 people and injured dozens more during a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration last weekend. Amid the global rise in antisemitism , Hirsch said politicians and "every moral authority" should express solidarity with the Jewish community and condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada." "What does ‘globalize the intifada’ mean? It means Bondi Beach," Hirsch said, while urging "every responsible political and moral authority" to condemn the phrase that he described as a "call to mass genocide." The term "globalize the intidafa" — which Hirsch said means "destroy Israel" — took center stage in New York City's mayoral election this year after Mamdani refused to condemn the phrase, arguing that he does not support policing language. The mayor-elect has since committed to discouraging others from using it but has stopped short of outright condemnation. ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU DEMANDS WESTERN GOVERNMENTS ACT TO BATTLE ANTISEMITISM: 'HEED OUR WARNINGS' "He should condemn it. It's not simply a question of [whether] he doesn't encourage its use," Hirsch said. ‘WE WARNED THEM’ JEWISH LEADER SAYS AFTER BONDI BEACH TERROR ATTACK THAT KILLS 15 "I want to make a distinction. That is different from saying, 'I believe that the Palestinians deserve a state, and this state should live side-by-side in peace with Israel.' That's not what the 'globalize the intifada' group mean. They mean ‘destroy Israel,’ and that has to be condemned by every responsible political and moral authority," Hirsch said. Hirsch was clear that criticizing the Israeli government — as many Americans have since Prime Minister Benjamin Net…