It also represented a boost for pro-Palestine politics<\/a> in the US. Mamdani is a vocal critic of Israel and its assault on Gaza, something many mainstream Democrats have been hesitant to speak out about.<\/p>\n That made him a potent contrast for Cuomo, who relaunched his candidacy as an independent following his primary loss.<\/p>\n Cuomo, once a household name in politics, had signed up last year to be part of the legal team defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against war crime charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).<\/p>\n Much of Thursday\u2019s debate circled around the Mamdani-Cuomo rivalry and their different visions for the city.<\/p>\n The third candidate on the debate stage, Sliwa,\u00a0struggled for airtime amid their harsh exchanges, leading him to describe the scene at one point as a \u201cspat in the school yard\u201d.<\/p>\n The election will take place on November 4. Here are five key takeaways from Thursday\u2019s debate:<\/p>\n Israel-Palestine takes centre stage<\/p>\n Israel and Palestine are not part of New York City\u2019s five boroughs, but Israel\u2019s war on Gaza was amongst the earliest issues raised in the debate. And it kept resurfacing throughout the night.<\/p>\n Mamdani was asked about his comments to Fox News on Wednesday, where he did not take a clear position on calls for Hamas to disarm.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, I believe that they should lay down their arms,\u201d Mamdani said of Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire<\/a>. And calling for a ceasefire \u2026 means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n The Democratic nominee also stressed the need for addressing the root causes of the conflict: Israel\u2019s siege, occupation and system of apartheid in the Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n The United Nations and the International Court of Justice have both declared that Israel\u2019s occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal.<\/p>\n Cuomo, sounding increasingly indignant, levelled unfounded accusations at Mamdani, claiming his criticisms of Israeli abuses were tantamount to an attack on the existence of the Israeli state.<\/p>\n \u201cThe assemblyman just said in his response, \u2018Well, it depends on occupation,’\u201d Cuomo replied, in a section of the debate about maintaining peace in the Middle East. \u201cThat is code, meaning that Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani shot back by highlighting Cuomo\u2019s ties to Netanyahu, a fugitive from international justice. The ICC issued a warrant for the Israeli leader\u2019s arrest last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe occupation is a reference to international law and the violation of it, which Mr Cuomo has no regard for since he signed up to be on Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s legal defence team during the course of this genocide,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n Cuomo also tried to vilify Mamdani for not condemning the slogan \u201cglobalise the intifada\u201d \u2014 a phrase some advocates use to call for international solidarity with the Palestinians\u2019 struggle.<\/p>\n Intifada means uprising in Arabic. It is also the name given to two Palestinian revolts in the late 1980s and 2000s, which saw peaceful protests as well as violent attacks against Israelis.<\/p>\n \u201cHe still won\u2019t denounce \u2018globalise the intifada\u2019, which means kill all Jews,\u201d Cuomo claimed.<\/p>\n Mamdani, meanwhile, said he has listened to Jewish New Yorkers who associate the phrase with suicide bombings against Israelis during the second Intifada, and he has since discouraged its use.<\/p>\n While Mamdani\u2019s relationship with New York\u2019s Jewish community has been a subject of media scrutiny throughout the campaign, the city is also home to the country\u2019s largest Muslim population<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of Thursday\u2019s debate moderators asked Cuomo about his ties with the Muslim community. They noted that the former governor had called Mamdani, who is Muslim, a \u201cterrorist sympathiser\u201d.<\/p>\n Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment, replied that he views Mamdani as \u201ctotally separate\u201d from the Muslim community.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think in any way the assemblyman is representative of the Muslim community, which is a vital community in New York City,\u201d Cuomo said, adding that he was \u201cvery fond of\u201d Muslims.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s playing his own politics,\u201d the ex-governor continued. \u201cMany of his positions don\u2019t even follow the Muslim faith.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani retorted that it took being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the primaries for Cuomo to visit a mosque. Cuomo visited a New York City mosque for the first time during his campaign last month.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves. They want equality, and they want respect,\u201d the assemblyman said. \u201cAnd it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city, and that, frankly, is something that is shameful.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuomo\u2019s opening attack on Mamdani was that the 34-year-old lacks the experience to lead the most populous city in the US, home to 8.4 million people.<\/p>\n He cited his own experience running the state for a decade and serving as Housing and Urban Development secretary under former President Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is no job for on-the-job training. And if you look at the failed mayors, they\u2019re ones that have no management experience. Don\u2019t do it again,\u201d Cuomo, 67, said, questioning whether Mamdani could guide the city through a pandemic or hurricane.<\/p>\n In an attempt to undercut that argument, Mamdani enumerated his achievements as a state legislator, including securing funding for a free bus programme in the city. Then, he went on the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we have a health pandemic, then why would New Yorkers turn back to the governor who sent seniors to their death in nursing homes?\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n A 2021 report by New York Attorney General Letitia James found that Cuomo\u2019s office undercounted deaths<\/a> at nursing homes during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I don\u2019t have in experience, I make up for in integrity,\u201d Mamdani told Cuomo. \u201cAnd what you don\u2019t have in integrity, you could never make up for with experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump, Trump, Trump<\/p>\n Looming over the debate was the spectre of President Donald Trump, who has threatened to cut off federal funding to New York and send military troops to the city.<\/p>\n All three candidates said that there is no need for a National Guard deployment in New York.<\/p>\n Trump, who is from New York, has all but endorsed Cuomo, despite frequently clashing with the then-Democrat during the COVID pandemic. The Republican president has called on Cuomo to stay in the race<\/a> and declined to back the Republican candidate, Sliwa.<\/p>\n He has also been frequently attacking Mamdani, calling him a \u201clittle communist\u201d. As recently as this week, Trump implied continued federal funds for New York City hinged on Mamdani\u2019s loss in the mayoral race.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Mamdani told the debate moderators on Thursday he would cooperate with Trump \u2014 but also stand up to him, if necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cI would make it clear to the president that I am willing to not only speak to him, but to work with him if it means delivering on lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something that he ran his presidential campaign on, and yet, all he\u2019s been able to deliver thus far has been prosecuting his political enemies<\/a> and trying to enact the largest deportation programme in American history.\u201d<\/p>\n The assemblyman also hit out at Cuomo for being backed by some of Trump\u2019s top donors, including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has donated $500,000 to a group supporting the former governor\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not funded by the same donors that gave us Donald Trump\u2019s second term, which isn\u2019t something that Andrew Cuomo can say,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n Cuomo suggested that Trump donors are backing him because of Mamdani\u2019s views on the genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of New Yorkers who support me, and there are a lot of Jewish New Yorkers who support me because they think you\u2019re anti-Semitic,\u201d the former governor told Mamdani. \u201cSo it\u2019s not about Trump or Republicans. It\u2019s about you.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani lays out views on police, outlines how he will pay for plans<\/p>\n Both Cuomo and Sliwa confronted Mamdani over questions of public safety. They pointed to comments Mamdani made in 2020, describing the New York Police Department as \u201cracist\u201d and calling for its defunding.<\/p>\n In response, the\u00a0frontrunner reiterated his apology about the 2020 statements, which were made in the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd<\/a> by police officers in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n Mamdani said that, over the last five years, he learned that justice, accountability and public safety are all important and interconnected.<\/p>\n \u201cThat means leading a city where you recognise the bravery of the men and women who join the NYPD and put their lives on the line,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"Mamdani\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25290038040069-1760663882.jpg\")
Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during the mayoral debate [Angelina Katsanis\/Pool via AP]Cuomo comes after Mamdani on experience<\/p>\n