Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner questioned the faith of Jewish lawmakers who support New York’s chosen Democratic mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani.
The Outnumbered co-host argued the point with Fox contributor Marie Harf, who first pushed back on assertions from the right that the Democrat is anti-Semitic after he opted not to say that Israel should be a Jewish state, but a secular one with equal rights for all religious groups. Mamdani has also accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
“He has repeatedly said he abhors anti-semitism. Increasing anti-hate crime funding by 800 percent--that’s real. That will help in New York,” Harf said.
“And don’t take my word for it. Prominent Jewish New Yorkers Jerry Nadler, Brad Lander, they have endorsed him,” she continued, as Faulker interjected.
“You’re talking politicians who want their party to be in office,” she said.
“But they’re Jewish politicians,” replied Harf, who asked moments later whether her colleague was questioning their “commitment to Judaism.”
Faulker was unambiguous.
“A hundred percent!” she answered. “A hundred percent, yes!”
That shocked Harf.
“Wow,” she said. “I wouldn’t question anyone’s commitment to their faith.”
Faulkner explained herself: “The same way that I would question Chuck Schumer, who works against the interests of his own people at times for the politics, and that’s what they’re doing here.”
Faulker then criticized Mamdani for not condemning the pro-Palestinian slogan “globalize the intifada,” which some Jews consider threatening.
Harf said Mamdani “should be more sensitive to the context in which many people hear that language, and I think he should condemn it.”
But, she added, the fact that he hasn’t shouldn’t discount his condemnations of anti-Semitism.
Faulker wasn’t buying it, and neither did she consider a few Democratic lawmakers’ endorsements to be enough to eliminate concerns about anti-Semitism.
Harf then told Faulker that the number of Jews who voted for Mamdani “wasn’t small.” One May poll of likely Jewish voters showed him garnering 20 percent.
“I don’t think you should discount their feelings on this,” she said.
Faulkner claimed she wasn’t.
“They’re voters,” she said. “They can vote in their interest or not.”
