Just days before New York City’s mayoral election, frontrunner Zohran Mamdani released a new campaign ad of him appealing to voters – entirely in Arabic.
The Democratic candidate, who is Muslim and recently delivered a speech condemning Islamophobia, appears in the ad in a bodega with a Palestinian flag displayed behind the counter.
“I know what you’re thinking – I might look like your brother-in-law from Damascus, but my Arabic needs some work,” Mamdani says in the video.
“Still, I would love to ask for your support on November 4th.”
In the ad, Mamdani – who previously released an ad in Spanish – pets a bodega cat and vows to make New York more affordable. “I’m from you, and for you,” he says.
A longtime pro-Palestinian activist and staunch critic of Israel, 34-year-old Mamdani, who won the primary in stunning fashion, has faced criticism for his outspoken positions on Israel and Gaza, which have become a flashpoint in the race.
Those attacks have amped up in the weeks leading up to the race, drawing allegations from some Democrats that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is leaning into Islamophobia in the final stretch of the campaign.
Appearing on a conservative radio station in October, Cuomo appeared to laugh along at the host’s suggestion that Mamdani would “be cheering” another 9/11 attack. “That’s another problem,” Cuomo replied.
Hours later, at an event endorsing the former governor, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams invoked the possibility of terrorist attacks in New York City, seeming to suggest — without explanation — they would be more likely under a Mamdani administration.
At a debate the same month, Sliwa, the Republican candidate, called Mamdani a supporter of “global jihad.”
While Mamdani alluded to the recent verbal attacks in his speech, he aimed his words at his fellow Muslim New Yorkers.
“The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker,” he said. “And yet for too long we have been told to ask for less than that, and to be satisfied with whatever little we receive." “No more,” he added.
But the attacks continued in response to Mamdani’s new ad on X.
“The Islamic takeover of NYC is here,” wrote Laura Loomer, the right-wing conspiracy theorist known for her anti-Muslim opinions.
Mamdani’s Arabic-language ad dropped as candidates sprint into the final stretch before Tuesday’s election.
Cuomo, 67, and Sliwa are offering their closing arguments, each framing the democratic socialist Mamdani as a risky choice for the city.
Cuomo, running as an independent Democrat, has warned that Mamdani’s policies would “lead the city into ruin,” urging Republicans to back him instead of Sliwa.
“Republicans, there are two choices, me or Mamdani. Don’t waste your vote,” Cuomo said in a recent Fox Business interview.
Sliwa, 71, founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrols, has spent the final days of the campaign in the city’s subways and streets, pledging to restore safety and focus on quality-of-life issues.
Mamdani, 34, appears undeterred. His campaign has leaned on grassroots energy, drawing massive crowds at rallies with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
With early voting concluding Sunday, he’s shaking hands with everyone form social media influencers to airport taxi drivers as he urges his supporters not to grow complacent, the Associated Press reported.
“People say ‘We got this. It’s over. Cuomo is cooked,’” he says in one of his many popular online videos. “Do not believe it.”
