Mamdani’s 7 Oct statement draws backlash

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani ignited widespread bipartisan outrage on Wednesday after releasing a statement marking the third anniversary of the Hamas 7 October attack on Israel, attracting millions of views across social media.

As a long-standing critic of Israel, Mamdani has fervently denounced its treatment of Palestinians since the 2023 assault. Critics sharply condemned the timing of his anniversary remarks, arguing that elected leaders should promote unity rather than divisiveness on such an occasion.

Although Mamdani opened his address by condemning the Hamas attack as a “horrific war crime,” he devoted the bulk of his statement to characterizing Israel’s military campaign as a genocide.

Writing about 7 October 2023, he said, “The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians - including more than 21,000 children.”

By Wednesday evening, the post had accumulated more than 11 million views on X, sparking broad condemnation even from fellow Democrats who hold differing stances on the Middle East conflict.

Rep Dan Goldman, a Jewish New York Democrat, denounced the statement as “egregious and insulting” in an interview with POLITICO. Goldman said, “There are 364 days of the year to focus on that. This is a day that should just be focused on what was by all agreement a horrific terror attack. What the mayor’s statement did today was to blame Israelis for the attack that they suffered three years ago. Regardless of what you actually think of the conflict and what’s happened either since or before, there’s no excuse for victim blaming.”

Mamdani launched his political career through pro-Palestinian activism, and his critiques of Israel energized his core supporters during last year’s mayoral election.

This local trend mirrors the national landscape, where Democrats across the US express increasingly negative views toward the US Middle East ally while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over his government’s military campaign in Gaza - a genocide allegation that Israel denies.

In contrast, Goldman will depart Congress at the end of this year after losing his summer Democratic primary to Brad Lander, a former City Comptroller backed by Mamdani who made embracing the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of his platform. Goldman joined a wide array of critics in denouncing the mayor’s 7 October statement.

Conservative figures worldwide swiftly condemned the message, including Israeli government officials and Arkansas Gov Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Mike Huckabee, father of Huckabee Sanders and President Donald Trump’s US ambassador to Israel, posted on X that the mayor’s statement was a “disgusting rant” akin to criticizing the American military response following 9/11.

Mamdani’s office declined to comment on the widespread backlash. Mamdani denies holding antisemitic views, highlighting his decision to expand city funding for hate crimes prevention programs to demonstrate his commitment to stopping anti-Jewish attacks.

However, prominent Jewish groups in New York City have expressed near-constant outrage over his criticisms of Israel, contending that his rhetoric inflames antisemitism and hate crimes against local Jewish residents.

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, president of the New York Board of Rabbis, called the mayor’s statement “morally perverse” and described it as “like sticking a knife into the pain of the Jewish community in New York and in America.”

Hirsch noted, “It is so offensive to so many Jews that it is hard to describe how offensive it is. And it exacerbated the feeling that American Jews and New York Jews have had since he first came to prominence, which is that he has a problem with collective Jewish empowerment and he hates the state of Israel.”

Mamdani’s rhetoric contrasted sharply with moderate New York Democrats like Gov Kathy Hochul, who raised an Israeli flag above the State Capitol in Albany and issued a statement focused solely on honoring the victims of the 7 October attack.

Nevertheless, the mayor’s message aligned with his long-standing views on the conflict - a stance that rallied young voters during the Democratic primary and helped him defeat former Gov Andrew Cuomo.

Recent public opinion polling reveals that Americans, particularly Democrats, increasingly disapprove of the Israeli government and US financial support as the war in Gaza enters its fourth year.

Left-wing primary candidates in New York City turned the Middle East conflict into a major litmus test, leading Rep Adriano Espaillat to lose his reelection campaign to Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Mamdani-endorsed member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

The mayor’s position also mirrored statements from prominent figures on the Democratic Party’s left flank, including Sen Bernie Sanders, an independent who serves as a close adviser to Mamdani.

Sanders, who is Jewish, said in a release, “Like any country facing a terrorist attack, Israel had the right to defend itself and go after Hamas. Tragically, the Netanyahu government in Israel did not wage a war against Hamas alone. It waged a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

Meanwhile, more left-wing factions claimed that Mamdani did not take a sufficiently radical stance. On Wednesday evening, around 200 anti-Israel protesters - some wearing Hamas headbands and carrying Hezbollah flags - assembled outside City Hall to denounce Mamdani for what they termed a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

Several demonstrators told POLITICO that although they voted for Mamdani last year, they will not support his reelection because he failed to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a self-described Zionist, and failed to halt local synagogues from hosting events promoting West Bank land sales.

Source: POLITICO (adapted)