Mamdani Won’t Support Israel’s Jewish Identity — and Democrats Can’t Agree Whether That’s Antisemitism

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reiterated Sunday on ABC’s This Week that he cannot say he supports Israel existing as a Jewish state — a position he has now stated publicly twice in one week. Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ambassador Ofir Akunis, responded sharply, warning that Mamdani’s rhetoric “could fuel violent antisemitism.” Meanwhile, California Democratic leaders are openly divided on whether to call the antisemitic harassment of state Sen. Scott Wiener at the SF Trans March what it plainly was — and the DCCC chair, asked repeatedly about Jewish Democrats’ concerns after the New York DSA sweep, refused to engage.

• Mamdani told ABC’s Jonathan Karl Sunday: “I can’t tell you I support” Israel existing as a Jewish state — a restatement of his position that he made again amid the Israeli Consul General’s public rebuke.
• Israel’s Consul General Ofir Akunis said Mamdani “needs to brush up on his history” and warned his language could “fuel violent antisemitism” against New York’s Jewish community.
• California Dems are divided on whether to label the harassment of Sen. Scott Wiener — where protesters screamed “F*** you and your Zionist handlers” — as antisemitic, with several lawmakers declining to use that word.
• DCCC chair Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) repeatedly sidestepped Chuck Todd’s questions about Democratic leaders’ response to antisemitism in the wake of the NYC elections, dismissing Jewish Democrats’ concerns.
• Progressive streamer Hasan Piker, one of the left’s largest online influencers, suggested Wiener deserved hostile treatment because of his Israel positions — a signal of how normalized the hostility is becoming.

The Democratic Party's baseline on Israel has shifted: a major-city mayor can deny support for Israel's Jewish identity on national television, the party's House campaign arm can refuse to address antisemitism concerns directly, and California Democratic leaders can decline to call a slur-laden physical confrontation what it is — without triggering a party-level consequence. The 2026 midterm cycle is stress-testing whether pro-Israel Democrats can hold institutional positions inside a party whose activist base and incoming elected class are moving in the opposite direction.

Colorado votes tonight on whether the DSA-backed socialist wave — which swept New York last week — can topple a 29-year incumbent in the state Democrats have long treated as the party’s pragmatic center. The biggest race: Melat Kiros (DSA-endorsed) vs. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), a 30-year incumbent. Kiros is backed by Mamdani; Jewish groups are sounding alarms about what a Kiros victory would mean. JTA reports Jewish organizations are “really alarmed” about the DSA candidate now guaranteed on the November ballot.

• Melat Kiros, the DSA-endorsed challenger, has polled surprisingly close to Rep. DeGette and has drawn active support from Mayor Mamdani.
• Jewish groups told JTA they are “really alarmed” about the DSA candidate already certified for the November ballot — even before tonight’s results.
• Colorado is considered the party’s pragmatic center; a Kiros victory would signal the socialist left can win beyond deep-blue Brooklyn and Queens.

Colorado is not New York. If the anti-Israel left can win here, it is no longer a coastal phenomenon — it is a national Democratic Party story. Tonight's results will either confirm or cap the momentum from last week's New York sweep.

Texas Democrats adopted several anti-Israel amendments into their state party platform at last weekend’s convention — a significant leftward shift on Israel in a state with major Senate and gubernatorial races this November. The language was toned down from the original amendments (and included some pro-Israel language), but the move signals the activist base of the Texas Democratic Party is now pushing the same direction as national DSA. The platform supports the right of Israel to “exist in safety” while also adopting hostile amendments.

• Texas Democrats adopted anti-Israel amendments at their state convention last weekend, in a state with a marquee Senate race between Rep. James Talarico (D) and AG Ken Paxton (R) — currently polling as a toss-up.
• The platform includes language supporting Israel’s right to exist in safety but also adopted several hostile amendments, reflecting a fractured base.
• The Texas Senate race is tied at 47%-47% per a new NYT/Siena poll — meaning Israel positioning in the Texas Democratic platform could become a general election liability.

Texas is not supposed to be on this list. Anti-Israel platform language in a swing-state Democratic party convention is the same activist playbook as New York and Colorado — it is spreading into competitive terrain where it can directly cost Democrats general election votes.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has launched a full review of its Gaza journalist casualty database after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad published obituaries identifying some of those previously listed as journalists as combatants. The CPJ has been one of the most-cited sources for the narrative that Israel targets journalists — this admission is a significant crack in that edifice. Jewish Insider reported the development separately; Algemeiner notes roughly 60% of those on earlier lists were members of or affiliated with terrorist organizations.

• Hamas and PIJ themselves published obituaries identifying individuals CPJ had listed as journalists as members of the terrorist organizations, forcing the audit.
• CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg acknowledged the organization does not include combatants in its database — meaning prior counts were inflated by fighters listed as press.
• The Gaza “journalist” death toll has been a central element of international pressure campaigns against Israel; this audit undermines one of the most frequently cited statistics.

The statistical foundation of the 'Israel targets journalists' narrative — used in UN resolutions, ICC filings, and diplomatic pressure campaigns — is collapsing under weight of evidence from the perpetrators themselves. This is not a minor data correction; it is a structural delegitimization of one of the most propagated anti-Israel information operations of the war.