Zohran Mamdani slammed after marking holiday commemorating destruction of Jewish Temples without mentioning Israel

"Wishing a peaceful Tisha B'Av to Jewish New Yorkers across the five boroughs," Mamdani wrote. "From sundown tonight until tomorrow, mourners will pause and reflect on the history and resiliency of the Jewish people. May all observing have a safe and meaningful fast."

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Conspicuously absent from the mayor's statement was any mention of Israel, Jerusalem, or the destruction of the Jewish Temples, the defining events commemorated by the annual fast.

Observed on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, Tisha B'Av is considered the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. Jews around the world fast and mourn the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC and the Second Temple by the Romans in AD 70, both of which stood in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

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For Jews, Tisha B'Av is more than a day of mourning. Though it commemorates the destruction of two Jewish Temples in Jerusalem and serves as an annual reminder of the Jewish people's historical and religious connection to the city dating back thousands of years, long before the advent of Islam in the seventh century.

Other national tragedies throughout Jewish history have occurred on that day, including the fall of Betar during the Bar Kokhba revolt, the expulsions of Jews from Spain in 1492, the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust, and even the 2005 withdrawal of Jewish communities from Gaza.

Mamdani's post came less than 24 hours after he released a video acknowledging that he has no legal authority to fulfill one of his signature campaign promises: arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

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"Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide," Mamdani claimed in the video.

He later admitted, "And it's clear that the city does not have the authority to execute this warrant. However, what is also clear is that the federal government does have the authority to execute this warrant. And I call on the federal government to join the International Criminal Court and to execute both this warrant as well as any warrant the International Criminal Court holds."

The United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its jurisdiction over American citizens or the citizens of non-member states such as Israel.

Mamdani has repeatedly made Israel a focal point of his political activism. Before becoming mayor, he regularly appeared at anti-Israel demonstrations, accused Israel of apartheid and genocide, and called for sanctions against the Jewish state. Most notably, he called for the destruction of the Jewish state two weeks before and two weeks after the Oct 7, 2023 massacre.

His administration also drew criticism after anti-Israel protesters targeted an event hosted earlier this year by Manhattan's Park East Synagogue that provided information to Jews interested in immigrating to Israel. Following the protest, a spokeswoman for Mamdani said, "He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law."

The spokeswoman did not explain how a synagogue hosting an informational event about Aliyah, Jewish immigration to Israel, violated international law.

Social media pundits noted the irony of Mamdani issuing a message honoring Jewish perseverance on Tisha B'Av while omitting any reference to Jerusalem or the Temples whose destruction is the very reason Jews observe the fast.