Mayor Responds to Criticism of Nakba Day Video

Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended a video marking Nakba Day during a press conference in The Bronx on May 18, 2026. The video features testimony from an 88-year-old city resident who survived the 1948 displacement of Palestinians. The mayor said sharing the account was a privilege and part of his commitment to represent all New Yorkers.

The groups cited the timing of the video, which was posted just before Shabbat, and said it presented a one-sided account of Israel's founding. The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey posted on X that using city resources for the video amounted to propaganda rather than commemoration. The group also called the timing of the post a provocation.

Mamdani told reporters that his message to Jewish leaders is that his door is always open. He said he looks forward to welcoming a number of those leaders to Gracie Mansion through Shavuot. The mayor added that acknowledging one people's pain does not preclude acknowledging another people's pain.

He said he expects to meet New Yorkers at events and conversations across the city regardless of how they voted. One local leader who declined the invitation, Mark Treyger, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, specifically criticized the anti-Israel message sent before Shabbat.