Mamdani Faces Bipartisan Backlash Over Criticism of Israel on Oct. 7

NEW YORK CITY—Mayor Zohran Mamdani is getting backlash from members of both major parties for marking Oct. 7 with a statement criticizing Israel’s military response to the terrorist attacks against it that took place on Oct. 7, 2023.

On the third anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in one day, Mamdani said on social media that he grieved the loss, but that the suffering “did not begin nor end that day.”

“It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza,” he said.

People across the political spectrum suggested the timing of his remarks was inappropriate.

“There are 364 other days you can wrongly criticize Israel for defending herself. If you had respect for the dead, you’d just acknowledge the tragedy, but you don’t,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) posted on social media.

Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) in a post called the mayor’s statement “reprehensible,” criticizing him for engaging in “extreme activism instead of balanced leadership.” In June, Goldman lost his reelection bid in the primary to Mamdani ally Brad Lander, who was even harsher in his criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza after the terrorist attack.

The controversy came after Mamdani joined a vigil organized by Israelis for Peace in Union Square, where he was heckled by pro-Palestinian activists shouting “Traitor, traitor, come on out, you sold all your people out!”

After the vigil, the mayor met with Palestinian New Yorkers.

Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) posted on X pushing back on Israel’s critics, asking them to “take a vacation from their hysterical hatred of the world’s only Jewish State and find it within themselves to express condolences for the thousands of Israelis murdered, maimed, mutilated, raped, and abducted at the hands of Hamas.”

Some Republicans were stronger in their response to the mayor’s remark: “Comrade Mamdani effectively declares a day of mourning for the Hamas terrorists who lost their lives raping & murdering innocent civilians,” posted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

“Disgusting and shameful to use October 7th as an excuse to repeat Hamas’ talking points,” posted Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Speaking with press Thursday at an unrelated event, Mamdani was asked about the criticism, how he felt being called a traitor, and if he wanted to add or subtract from his statements.

“I was proud to attend last night’s vigil,” said Mamdani, “As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up for.”

Mamdani explained that he felt his statement and attendance at the vigil were appropriate, “reckoning with horror, and the horror that devastated the lives of New Yorkers three years ago, and it also continues to devastate New Yorkers today,” said the mayor.

“It is critically important to be able to mourn for all of those who were killed and have been killed since, especially given that we know this is ongoing,” said Mamdani.

Mamdani has looked for opportunities to use his authority as mayor to come to the aid of Palestinians in Gaza.

In July, Mamdani announced his office was considering “every avenue available under applicable law” to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came for the U.N. General Assembly, only later to confirm that only the federal government could make that arrest.

During a Sept. 29 episode of “Ask Mayor Mamdani” on WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show,” a caller from Brooklyn named Noora asked Mamdani what he was doing to do stop explosive materials from being shipped out via John F. Kennedy Airport to Israel. The mayor responded that he would look into the matter, but that it likely fell outside city authority.