New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sharply criticized Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — the GOP candidate for New York governor — on Wednesday, calling the Republican’s assertions that he would not protect Hasidic communities from arson and sexual violence “directly racist.”

Speaking after an unrelated event in Manhattan, the mayor maintained he had not seen the televised debate between Blakeman and Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday night where Blakeman, who is Jewish, refused to back away from controversial remarks he made at a private meeting over the weekend. At that meeting, first reported by The New York Times, Blakeman warned Williamsburg leaders that Mamdani would likely do little “if there is rioting here, if they’re burning down the yeshivas and your shuls, and burning down your house and raping your women.” 

“It’s not even a dog whistle," Mayor Mamdani said. "It’s just directly racist [for GOP gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman] to say that I would not respond to Jewish New Yorkers being killed and raped.” @WillBredderman reports: https://t.co/PmMMw0s4mC https://t.co/7Pbc6jm7EN

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) October 14, 2026

However, the democratic socialist mayor reacted fiercely to the comments when reporters described them.

“It’s not even a dog whistle. It’s just directly racist to say that I would not respond to Jewish New Yorkers being killed and raped,” the mayor said. “I’m not surprised that he would try and incite a real sense of fear.”

Mamdani further referred to Blakeman’s claims onstage that the mayor is antisemitic and “anti-Christian” as “bigotry.” He recalled a controversial episode earlier this year in which Blakeman asserted that former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander — a self-identified “progressive Zionist” and outspoken Israel critic whom the mayor backed for Congress — “would be a camp guard in the concentration camp if he could.”

Blakeman’s team fired back at Mamdani, highlighting his refusal to condemn the chant “globalize the intifada” — which for many Jews evokes the terror campaigns Palestinian militants carried out against Israel — as well as a track he released during his youthful stint as a rapper celebrating the “Holy Land Five,” a group convicted in a controversial series of trials of fundraising for Hamas.

“Zohran Mamdani refuses to condemn the battle cry of terrorists who raped women and murdered babies, and he openly thanked the people who fund Hamas,” Blakeman said in a statement to Jewish Insider.

Separately, Mamdani lauded current New York City Comptroller Mark Levine for deciding not to reinvest city funds in State of Israel bonds. Lander had divested from the treasuries in 2024, a move Levine vowed to reverse during his campaign for the municipal fiduciary role last year.

Mamdani has long supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which Levine opposes. In an interview with The New York Times, Levine cited ongoing instability in the Middle East and negative outlook reports from ratings agencies in justifying his decision.

“I’ve said in the past that I don’t believe that our city should purchase Israel bonds. We don’t purchase the bonds of any other sovereign nation,” Mamdani said. “I don’t think that we should make an exception when it comes to Israel, and also this is the decision that the controller is making, and it’s one that I support.”