INTERNACIONAL
Mamdani faces a Muslim problem ahead of Gracie Mansion protest
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a Muslim problem with local Muslim activists planning to spill into the streets Tuesday night outside Gracie Mansion, where protesters will accuse the mayor of promoting what they describe as an extreme form of Islamism.
Meanwhile, Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor, is also facing criticism from hardline anti-Israel activists who argue he has not gone far enough in support of Palestinian activism after taking office.
Anila Ali, president of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, said she plans to join Tuesday night’s protest because she believes Mamdani’s politics are alienating moderate Muslims and damaging relations between Muslim and Jewish communities in New York.
«With Mamdani in office, we feel our religion is now hijacked once again and is being used by these Islamists,» Ali told Fox News Digital in a video interview.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Anila Ali, president of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council. Ali is among the organizers of a planned protest outside Gracie Mansion criticizing Mamdani over what demonstrators describe as extremist and divisive politics. Mamdani has also faced criticism from hardline anti-Israel activists who argue he has not gone far enough in support of Palestinian activism. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images; right photo courtesy of Anila Ali.)
Ali described herself as part of a post-9/11 movement of «moderate Muslims» who reject Islamist extremism and believe Islam is compatible with coexistence, religious freedom and life in America.
She described Islamism as a hardline political ideology that merges religion and politics, and she argued Mamdani represents a more radical version of Islam than the moderate faith practiced by many American Muslims.
She said moderate Muslims don’t identify with Islamist groups such as the Council on American Islamic Affairs (CAIR), which she accused of monopolizing public representation of Islam in America and promoting a hardline Islamist movement. Ali said many moderate Muslims feel increasingly sidelined by activist groups and political organizations they believe do not represent their faith or values.
«Zohran Mamdani is their success story. The Muslim Brotherhood, they backed him,» Ali told Fox News Digital in a video interview.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI SAYS HE WILL DISCOURAGE ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ PHRASE
However, criticism of Mamdani is not only coming from moderate Muslim and interfaith activists. Hardline anti-Israel activists have also criticized the mayor for not going far enough in support of Palestinian activism after taking office.
«When he said that Israel has the right to exist, I also clearly called that out,» anti-Israel activist Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian-American activist, told Fox News Digital last week. Kiswani is the co-founder of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, which staged a Nakba rally in New York on May 15 where demonstrators chanted «globalize the intifada.»
Kiswani also criticized Mamdani for what she described as walking back his earlier defense of the phrase «globalize the intifada» and softening his stance on Palestinian activism after taking office.
«I don’t think he or any politician is doing enough in support of Palestinian liberation,» Kiswani said.
The divide has turned Mamdani into a local flashpoint in a broader political battle playing out across the United States, where anti-Israel activism, Islamist movements and far-left groups have increasingly merged into overlapping protest coalitions.
Ali said Mamdani’s support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, his comments surrounding Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and his defense of slogans such as «globalize the intifada» have alienated many moderate Muslims and worsened tensions between Muslims and Jews in New York.
Within Our Lifetime co-founder Nerdeen Kiswani speaks during a «Nakba 78» anti-Israel protest in Washington Square Park on May 15, 2026, in New York City, as demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags and Hamas flags gather behind her. (Asra Q. Nomani/Fox News Digital)
«They start with the Jewish people — that’s not where they’re going to end,» Ali said.
«But more importantly, what he’s done is he’s damaged interfaith relations. He’s damaged the image of Islam.»
Ali said that Mamdani still retains strong support from progressive and pro-Palestinian activist groups that helped fuel his political rise.
Tuesday’s protest outside Gracie Mansion, Ali said, is intended to show Muslims, Jews and Christians standing together against what she described as extremist Islamist politics masquerading as mainstream Islam.
«[Mamdani] starts teaching our kids, Muslim kids and American kids, Islamism 101,» Ali said, referring to what she described as efforts to normalize Islamist political ideology through activism and identity politics.
Pro-Palestinians gather at a ‘Stop the Sale of Stolen Palestinian Land’ protest against a ‘Great Israel Real Estate’ event at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on May 5, 2026. The NYPD increased security and established a perimeter around the synagogue on E. 67th and E. 68th Streets in New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
RESURFACED VIDEO SHOWS MAMDANI URGING END TO NEW YORK FUNDING OF ISRAELI ‘SETTLER CRIMES’
Ali also described Mamdani’s politics as part of a «red-green alliance» between Islamist activists and the far left.
She warned New York risks following the path of British cities such as Bradford, Birmingham and Manchester, which she described as overtaken by extremism and division. The cities have long been at the center of debates in the United Kingdom over immigration, Islamist extremism, segregation and multiculturalism.
«The radical Islamism, it’s just unbearable to see what’s happened to the UK,» she said.
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The protest is being organized by End Jew Hatred alongside a coalition of Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups, including the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council and the Catholic League.
CAIR acknowledged Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond.
zohran mamdani, politics, new york city, middle east foreign policy, local, islam, anti semitism, us protests
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South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden fended off a primary challenge from businessman and Bitcoin evangelist Toby Doeden on Tuesday, winning the first gubernatorial primary runoff in state history and advancing to the November general election.
The Associated Press called the race for Rhoden within minutes of final polls closing. He had received 70.5% of the vote compared with Doeden’s 29.5% at the time it was called, with approximately 25% of the expected vote counted.
The election marked the first time South Dakota voters were asked to settle a gubernatorial nomination through a primary runoff. State law requires a runoff between the two leading candidates when no contender for governor, U.S. Senate or U.S. House receives at least 35% of the primary vote.
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South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden (left) and primary challenger Republican candidate for governor Toby Doeden (right) (Toby Doeden for South Dakota/Getty Images)
The head-to-head contest followed a four-way June primary in which Doeden finished first with 30.6% of the vote and Rhoden placed second with 25.2%, leaving both short of the 35% needed to secure the nomination outright. Rhoden became governor in early 2025 after Kristi Noem left to join the Trump administration, while Doeden entered the race as a businessman and political newcomer.
Doeden also built a public profile as a Bitcoin evangelist. He said he began investing «very, very heavily» in the cryptocurrency around 2020 after devoting roughly 500 hours to researching it, eventually converting nearly all the cash reserves from his companies that he did not expect to need into Bitcoin.
«I will buy bitcoin forever, every single day,» Doeden previously said on his podcast, according to the South Dakota Searchlight. «We mine bitcoin, we buy bitcoin.»
Doeden also supported legislation that would have allowed the South Dakota Investment Council, which manages public employee pension funds and other state investments, to invest in Bitcoin. He went further by calling for South Dakota to establish a state Bitcoin reserve – a move state investment and budget officials opposed.
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Tuesday’s winner advances to face former Democratic state Sen. Dan Ahlers in November. South Dakota has not had a Democratic governor since Harvey Wollman left office in 1979, and no Democrat has been elected to the office there since Richard Kneip won re-election in 1974. Wollman became governor automatically as lieutenant governor when Kneip resigned.
In the run-up to Tuesday’s primary runoff, property taxes were among the defining issues of the campaign. Doeden campaigned on eliminating property taxes, while Rhoden’s campaign portrayed Doeden’s proposal as fiscally reckless, arguing it could leave local governments and schools with a major funding shortfall.
Meanwhile, Rhoden’s campaign highlighted other tax relief measures that the governor signed back in March, which Rhoden’s campaign website describes as the «largest» property tax cut in the state’s history.
South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden speaks during a rally at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on July 03, 2026 in Keystone, South Dakota. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
During the race, Doeden portrayed Rhoden as part of South Dakota’s entrenched political class, declaring after the June primary that «the career politicians told me» an outsider could not break through against three longtime officeholders.
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Rhoden pushed back on the attack, saying Doeden was trying to «make hay» out of calling him a career politician and describing that characterization as «such a warped viewpoint,» during an interview with the South Dakota Public Broadcasting network. Rhoden argued that his years in the Legislature gave him practical experience writing laws and then returning home to live under them.
President Donald Trump did not publicly weigh in with an endorsement in the runoff, according to a review by Fox News Digital. Trump thanked Rhoden by name during his July 3 remarks at Mount Rushmore but did not mention the governor’s race. Doeden, meanwhile, campaigned as a «fierce Trump supporter» who said he would help implement the president’s «America First agenda.»
south dakota, gubernatorial, state and local primaries, elections, politics
INTERNACIONAL
Benjamin Netanyahu y Donald Trump buscaron limar asperezas en el primer encuentro desde el inicio de la guerra en Oriente Medio
El presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, recibió el martes al primer ministro israelí, Benjamin Netanyahu, en una reunión calificada de «positiva» por ambas partes, que les permitió reafirmar su rechazo a que Irán se dote de armas nucleares.
Fue el primer encuentro entre ambos desde los ataques conjuntos de Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán el 28 de febrero, que desató la guerra en Oriente Medio, y tras desacuerdos públicos sobre el conflicto.
En un video difundido por el propio Netanyahu, el primer ministro israelí aseguró haber tenido «una de las mejores conversaciones que he tenido con el presidente de Estados Unidos» y que ambos se ratificaron en su objetivo común: «asegurarse de que Irán no obtiene armas nucleares».
«Fue una reunión extremadamente positiva», había dicho antes una fuente cercana a Netanyahu. La reunión fue «positiva y productiva», detalló por su parte la Casa Blanca.
Fue el octavo encuentro entre ambos mandatarios desde que Trump regresó a la Casa Blanca, en enero de 2025.
Sin embargo, la cita a puerta cerrada, que duró alrededor de hora y media y tras la cual los participantes no tuvieron ningún intercambio con la prensa, no disipa la impresión de discrepancias entre ellos.
Sus relaciones tocaron fondo en abril durante las negociaciones de un alto al fuego con Teherán, cuando Trump cargó con insultos contra Netanyahu y lo describió como un «tipo muy difícil».
Netanyahu se esforzó en las últimas semanas en restar importancia a esas diferencias calificándolas de «desacuerdos tácticos».
La visita de Netanyahu tiene lugar en un «momento crítico para Oriente Medio», mientras Irán sigue «priorizando el terrorismo antes que las negociaciones» y bloqueando el estrecho de Ormuz, vía marítima estratégica, declaró más temprano el martes Danny Danon, embajador de Israel ante las Naciones Unidas.
Washington afirma ahora querer dar una nueva oportunidad a la diplomacia tras dos semanas de bombardeos sin precedentes desde la tregua de abril. Israel no participó en esta última ronda de ataques.
Según Yonatan Freeman, experto en relaciones internacionales en la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalén, el objetivo de ambos era disipar las especulaciones sobre un enfriamiento de las relaciones.
Trump afronta unas difíciles elecciones legislativas el 3 de noviembre, y Netanyahu elecciones generales el 27 de octubre.
«La principal cuestión es mostrar al mundo entero, a Irán, pero también al Líbano y a otros países en particular, que no hay ruptura ni desacuerdo mayor entre Estados Unidos e Israel», declaró este experto a la AFP.
Los últimos sondeos sitúan a Netanyahu en dificultades, ya que una parte de la opinión pública le reprocha el fracaso de su gobierno en impedir el ataque de Hamás del 7 de octubre de 2023, que desencadenó la guerra en Gaza.
Trump separa oficialmente la ofensiva contra Irán de la situación en Líbano, donde Israel mantiene su propio pulso con Hezbollah, el movimiento aliado de Teherán.
Washington quiere sin embargo pacificar toda la región, donde las dificultades para transportar crudo y gas están impactando en la inflación en Estados Unidos.
Al ser interrogado el martes sobre informaciones según las cuales Irán está fortificando la montaña Kolang, donde podría tener importantes instalaciones nucleares, Trump respondió: «No necesito que Bibi (el apodo de Netanyahu) me diga eso. Bibi me dice eso porque quiere que siga implicado».
«Sé exactamente lo que está pasando en Kolang, no es un gran problema. Si no llegamos a un acuerdo, la destruiremos muy fácilmente», dijo en el canal Fox News antes del encuentro.
Otro de los puntos importantes entre ambos países es la situación en la Franja de Gaza. Varios medios israelíes, citando fuentes políticas, han informado de que el gabinete de seguridad había aprobado el marco jurídico que permite el despliegue de una fuerza internacional de estabilización (ISF) en Gaza, una decisión presentada como un gesto hacia Washington.
Esta fuerza internacional, que se inscribe en el marco del «Consejo de Paz» impulsado por Donald Trump, constituye uno de los componentes del dispositivo estadounidense previsto para la posguerra en Gaza, devastada tras dos años de guerra.
INTERNACIONAL
Iran inmates sew lips shut in mass hunger strike at notorious US-sanctioned jail: report
Iran ramps up repression of political dissidents, executions surge
Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot reports that Iran’s repression of its people has worsened, with nearly 50 executions in the past three months and 6,000 arbitrary detentions. Hadi Ghaemi, Director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, describes the regime’s actions as unchecked, making normal life impossible for dissidents.
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More than 1,000 inmates death-row inmates held in a unit of Iran’s Ghezel Hesar Prison have entered a third week of a mass hunger strike to protest regime executions, with some prisoners sewing their lips shut in protest, according to reports.
The escalating demonstration at the U.S.-sanctioned Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj near Tehran, also highlights growing international concern over the Islamic Republic’s reliance on capital punishment, particularly for drug-related offenses.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the hunger strike started on July 13, after six inmates were transferred to solitary confinement ahead of possible executions. Other Iranian human rights groups said the prisoners had been convicted of drug-related offenses.
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State executions go up under Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. 4/22/25 (Nooses: Photo by Loredana Sangiuliano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, President of Iran: Photo by Iranian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Reports also indicate that the striking prisoners have been chanting «No to Execution» and taking extreme measures, including sewing their lips shut.
One media outlet cited a video that appeared to show an inmate speaking to the camera and saying he was going to sew his lips shut because, six days into the hunger strike, no prison official had responded to the protest.
The Guardian reported that the video also appears to show an unseen prisoner using a needle and thread to stitch the man’s lips shut.
In a statement released on July 27, the exiled Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), reported that prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison were in «deteriorating physical condition» because of the hunger strike.
«Although 15 days have passed since the start of this hunger strike, the henchmen of the regime’s judiciary have given no response to the striking prisoners. Despite the prisoners’ deteriorating physical condition and urgent need for medical attention, prison guards have taken no measures to care for them,» the organization said.
FREED AMERICAN REVEALS BRUTAL IRAN PRISON ORDEAL, WARNS HOSTAGES FACE GREATER DANGER
The NCRI also said the striking prisoners urged the public, human rights organizations and international bodies to take action to halt the executions.
This marks the second major demonstration at the facility in recent months.
A similar protest occurred at Ghezel Hesar Prison in October 2025, when more than 1,500 inmates staged a six-day hunger strike, according to reports.
That demonstration ended after senior judicial and prison officials made a visit to the facility and promised to temporarily halt executions and review cases.
However, human rights activists report those promises were never fulfilled, according to Ynet.
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Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State, speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, during the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, Pool)
The State Department had designated and sanctioned Ghezel Hesar Prison in 2024 for gross human rights violations and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners.
«These heinous acts included multiple severe beatings of political prisoners engaged in a peaceful hunger strike to protest the increased wave of executions being carried out at the facility,» then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.
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According to Amnesty International, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025.
Iran’s total helped drive the number of executions recorded by Amnesty International to at least 2,707 across 17 countries — the highest figure the organization has recorded since 1981. The total excludes China, where execution data is classified as a state secret and Amnesty believes thousands of executions were carried out.
iran, human rights, human rights united nations
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