The father of socialist NYC mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani serves on an advisory board for an organization that harbors strong anti-Israel sentiments, frequently accusing Israel of carrying out “genocide,” and has shown understanding towards suicide bombers.
Mahmood Mamdani, 79, is listed as one of 29 members of the London-based Gaza Tribunal’s advisory policy council.
Established just last year, the organization aims primarily to awaken global awareness and responsibilities in addressing what it labels as Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Furthermore, it backs several anti-Israel initiatives, mirroring those supported by the Queens assemblyman and prominent mayoral candidate, such as the BDS movement, which advocates for “boycott, divestment, and sanctions” against Israel in support of Palestinian objectives.
The news that the elder Mamdani, a chaired professor of African history and colonialism at Columbia University, is part of the Gaza Tribunal was first reported Saturday by Fox News.
He has also come under fire on social media this week over a resurfaced book excerpt, in which he expressed sympathy for the way suicide bombers are viewed.
“Suicide bombing needs to be understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism,” the elder Mamdani wrote in his 2004 book “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror.”
“We need to recognize the suicide bomber, first and foremost, as a category of soldier,” he also wrote.
“The apple @ZohranKMamdani doesn’t fall far from the tree,” quipped billionaire hedge fund titan Bill Ackman on X Thursday.
Mahmood Mamdani could not immediately be reached for comment.
