New York Mayor Mamdani Draws Anger Over Oct 7 Statement, Vigil

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on his October 7 statement on Thursday, accusing Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza.

Mamdani told reporters he believes there must be room to mourn every life, including the more than 1,100 killed by Hamas three years ago and the 74,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli government since. He justified his emphasis on Palestinian deaths by arguing that this is something that is ongoing, as opposed to something that simply happened three years ago.

In his Wednesday statement, Mamdani condemned Hamas’ attack as a horrific war crime but also characterized Israel’s military operation as a genocide, stating, "The suffering did not begin nor end that day." He cited more than 21,000 children among the Palestinian casualties. Mamdani attended a candlelight vigil in Union Square commemorating Israeli victims of October 7, where pro-Palestinian protesters heckled him, shouting traitor and you coward.

Some demonstrators displayed flags associated with Hamas and Hezbollah. Protesters also chanted "Mayor Mamdani, you can't hide; we charge you with genocide" outside City Hall. Mamdani was also seen dining at Hinds Hall, a Palestinian restaurant named after Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in January 2024. U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, a Jewish Democrat, called Mamdani's statement reprehensible.

Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, also criticized the statement. Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Mamdani "New York's anti-Semitic mayor," to which Mamdani responded by calling Netanyahu the architect of a genocide. On Wednesday, 76 retired American military officers, including 74 generals and admirals, issued a declaration refuting the claim that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, stating it fails the legal test of the 1948 Genocide Convention and that casualty figures from Hamas do not separate civilians from combatants.