Protests07 October, 20262 min read
Pro-Palestinian Protesters Break Up Zohran Mamdani’s Oct. 7 Vigil In Union Square
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Pro-Palestinian protesters booed and berated NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Union Square vigil. Hundreds occupied the designated vigil area, with protesters shouting and some waving Hamas/Hezbollah flags.
Vigil Turns Chaotic
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupted an Oct. 7 candlelight vigil in Union Square as Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrived to boos from marchers who accused him of supporting genocide.
The vigil, organized by Israelis for Peace New York, collapsed into chaos shortly before Mamdani arrived at around 7:30, while organizers carried on inside a tight police cordon.
Protesters shouted “death, death to the I.D.F.” and “resistance is glorious, we will be victorious” as the vigil’s organizers huddled together to figure out a response.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said Mamdani’s statement had been “callous toward Jewish pain,” and he added, “You cannot proclaim empathy and care for the Jewish community and then fail to show basic humanity toward us in our grief.”
Boos, Slogans, and Rebukes
Pro-Palestinian protesters booed and rebuked Mamdani at the vigil marking the third anniversary of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, with survivors and relatives of more than 1,100 Israeli victims reading accounts. Protesters labeled Mamdani a “traitor” and a “coward,” and one participant waved a portrait of Hamas’ military leader Yahya Sinwar, killed in an Israeli attack in 2024 in Gaza.
Mamdani remained serious and silent, holding a candle as the speakers took the floor, and he later held a private meeting with New Yorkers of Palestinian origin at Hind’s Hall. Pro-Palestinian activists chanted “Death to the IDF” and “Go back to Poland,” and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said, “Not once do you say ‘Jews,’”.
Aftermath and Political Stakes
Protesters marched to Union Square from an earlier demonstration outside City Hall, where they accused Mamdani of having betrayed the Palestinian cause. Mamdani walked quickly up to the speaker’s dais, where he stood holding a candle throughout the ceremony, after protesters chased a man holding an Israeli flag and two others rushed at the crowd.
Mamdani’s statement had drawn denouncements from Jewish organizations, and David Greenfield warned the statement risked “further dividing” New Yorkers. Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, accused Mamdani’s “mamdanismo” of having become an attempt to hijack the October 7 anniversary and turn it into another propagandistic attack against Israel.