A group representing New York’s black clergy is rallying around Israel and demanding a Queens pol disavow the Democratic Socialists of America for its support of Hamas.
Rev. Johnny Green, president of Mobilizing Preachers and Communities, representing 300 houses of worship in the region, sent a letter urging Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani to sever ties with the DSA for organizing rallies where protesters cheered Hamas’ slaughter of Jews.
Mamdani, who represents Astoria and western Queens, has also participated in pro-Palestinian rallies following Hamas’ sneak attack on Israel, killing more than 1,400 Israelis and taking nearly 200 others as hostages.
“This is a moment to consider what is right — when being an elected official requires courage — that we hope you will leave the DSA. Like you, the DSA stood by while its membership made incendiary and hateful remarks. The day after a terror attack, the DSA promoted a hate-filled rally, where people were photographed displaying swastikas,” Green said in a letter to the lawmaker.
Green noted that other progressive politicians, such as city Comptroller Brad Lander, condemned Hamas’ murder and kidnapping of Israelis as “abominable” and said there was “no place for glorifying terror.”
The preacher said DSA only issued a “tepid apology” following national outrage about the hate-spewing rallies. The left-wing group did not condemn Hamas.
DSA’s first statement after the Hamas’ attacks on Israel expressed “solidarity with Palestine” and blamed the slaughter on the victims’ elected government, saying it was “a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime.”
The New York City chapter of the DSA — the party of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Mamdani and a couple dozen other prominent New York politicians — had announced a rally in Times Square, just hours after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel.
Mamdani’s first statement did not condemn Hamas and instead said that “peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.” He also called for a ceasefire.
Green also blasted Mamdani for previously comparing House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is black, to segregationist George Wallace because Jeffries is a staunch supporter of the Jewish State.
Last November, Mamdani tweeted, “After at least 2,251 Palestinians were killed over the course of July 2014, Hakeem Jeffries got on stage at a rally in NYC and paraphrased George Wallace.’Israel today, Israel tomorrow, Israel forever.’”
“If Jeffries is considered a progressive,” Mamdani said, “the term has lost all meaning.
Green said, “Black clergy and other leaders have not forgotten how horrifically you compared Leader Jeffries to the bigoted former Alabama Governor George Wallace. A person who makes such comparisons seeks to keep Black leaders and our people down ‘o the plantation’ and is not an ally to help us break free from it.”
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“We demand an immediate retraction of your baseless comparisons between Hakeem Jeffries and George Wallace, that you denounce the international terrorist organization Hamas, and that you leave the DSA,” Green said.
Meanwhile, civil rights activist Al Sharpton, the preacher who heads the National Action Network, also condemned Hamas’ terrorist attacks against the Jewish state.
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“What happened was not activism. It was not militant. It was absolute murder,” Sharpton said Monday on MSNBC.
At least 1,400 people in Israel and 2,808 in Gaza have been killed since Hamas launched its surprise attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7.
As the war enters its 10th day, President Biden is set to visit Israel on Wednesday. His trip comes as the Israel Defense Forces prepares to invade Gaza to clear out Hamas.
Mamdani had no immediate comment.