Mamdani's tone-deaf Oct. 7 post attacks Israel for 'ongoing genocide,' sparks outrage

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s statement marking the third anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack Wednesday largely attacked Israel for committing “war crimes” in an “ongoing genocide” — sparking outrage from Jewish advocates who said Hizzoner was “weaponizing” the tragedy. Hizzoner dedicated less than a quarter of his written statement to the “unthinkable loss” suffered when “Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others” on Oct. 7, 2023 — with the vast majority devoted to his ongoing attacks on Israel . “The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza,” he said, citing Hamas statistics as he decried the Palestinian casualties of the war launched in response to the terrorist attack. 6 Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a Crime Stats press conference at NYPD Headquarters, 1 Police Plaza, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. William Farrington for The NY Post “That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist , and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing,” he said. “Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment.” Explore More Anti-Israel protests break out across NYC, with Columbia, NYU students walking out on Oct. 7 anniversary Birthright Israel expects strongest demand in nearly a decade on third anniversary of Oct. 7 attacks How the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 inspired Hollywood’s new blacklist The slanted statement by the mayor — already widely criticized for making Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe with his ongoing attacks on Israel — was quickly met with horror as many accused him of undermining the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. The mayor’s words stood in stark contrast to those of other prominent local elected officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul , who noted that Oct. 7, 2023 was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. “The pain of that dark day has not faded. But neither has the strength, resilience and enduring hope of the Jewish people,” Hochul said in a statement — as she directed flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff and several landmarks to be illuminated yellow in solidarity with the Israeli people. 6 Naama Levy is taken hostage, Oct. 7, 2023. Levy was awakened by a missile barrage during the Hamas attack on Israel before sending a final message to her mother. “Today, we remember the innocent lives stolen, stand with the survivors and the families forever changed, and pray for a lasting peace,” she said. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), meanwhile, slammed the “Hamas terrorists intent on destroying Israel,” in his statement, while later on decrying the “considerable suffering” seen in the Middle East in the years since, including the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Here’s the latest as the world marks the 3rd anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel: Trauma for Oct. 7 survivors and their families endures: ‘It’s never going to go back to normal — for anybody’ How some Oct. 7 hostages found their voice and new strength after being freed: ‘Post-traumatic growth’ Inside the Gaza terror tunnel Hamas used to launch one of the bloodiest Oct. 7 slaughters Harrowing new footage shows chaos at Israeli hospital after Oct. 7 attack: ‘Evil beyond what you can comprehend’ City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is Jewish, took a veiled shot at Mamdani in a statement of her own, writing: “Today, on the anniversary of the horrific October 7th terrorist attack, the focus should be on remembering the more than 1,200 people who were murdered by Hamas and the suffering of the 251 people who were taken hostage.” “This is a very difficult day for the Jewish community.” 6 Blood is seen splattered in a child’s room following a massive Hamas militant attack in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel. AP The slanted statement by Mamdani — already widely criticized for making Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe with his ongoing attacks against Israel — was quickly met with blowback as many accused him of undermining the terrorist attack. “What he is trying to do is hijack the only day we have for the victims and survivors. He’s trying to hijack the day to talk about attacking Israel,” Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon told The Post, adding “It’s like on 9/11 you talked about victims and al-Qaeda terrorists.” “It’s basically taking the only day we have for victims and trying to attack Israel with propaganda,” Danon said, before pointing out that Mamdani was set to attend both a vigil marking the attack Wednesday evening, and then host a sit-down with Palestinian New Yorkers. See Also Trauma for Oct. 7 survivors and their families endures: ‘It’s never going to go back to normal — for anybody’ “He’s dangerous and sophisticated,” the ambassador said of the mayor. “He will go to both ceremonies and try to say he feels for both losses of life.” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, also accused Mamdani of weaponizing the memory of the victims to push his own agenda and undermine the Jewish community. “ Not once do you say “Jews,” Greenblatt wrote on X. “On Oct. 7, Hamas-led attackers murdered civilians, committed sexual violence, mutilated bodies and took hostages. “You are weaponizing a day meant for mourning the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to recycle your usual anti-zionist talking points,” he said. Mamdani’s 211-word statement indeed made no mention of the Jewish people — even as the religious group has been facing a surge in antisemitic attacks in New York City. “Libeling Jews and the Jewish state puts Jewish New Yorkers at risk. The mayor’s own hate crimes statistics support this,” said Moshe Spern, president of the United Jewish Teachers group. Anti-Jewish offenses have jumped at least 8% in the last year, with overall hate crimes souring by nearly 16%, according to the NYPD. 6 Hamas terrorists bringing an abducted an Israeli woman into Khan Yunis on Oct. 7, 2023. AFP via Getty Images Mamdani devoted more than 60% of his statement to the “ongoing genocide in Gaza,” citing death toll figures provided by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between terrorists and civilians. “ He gave Hamas a single sentence and then spent the rest of his statement condemning Israel,” seethed Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. “You cannot proclaim empathy and care for the Jewish community and then fail to show basic humanity toward us in our grief.” Jacobs added: “Turning this anniversary into an indictment of the Jewish state is not only hurtful, and deeply offensive, but it also makes Jewish New Yorkers less safe.” 6 Israeli family members visit a memorial site for victims of the Nova music festival near Re’im, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. ATEF SAFADI/EPA/Shutterstock City Councilman Eric Dinowitz, a Bronx Democrat and chair of the Jewish Caucus, suggested the mayor’s comments were an attempt to justify Hamas’ war crimes. “Hamas invaded Israel, deliberately targeted civilians, and kidnapped 251 people including babies and the elderly,” Dinowitz said. “While the Jewish community and allies of democracy mourn, others are celebrating this invasion,” he said. “These atrocities must never be glorified, and to contextualize them is to justify them.” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — the Republican candidate for governor running against Hochul in November — also accused Mamdani of making a false moral equivalence between Hamas terrorists and Israel. “I thought it was unconscionable to draw a moral equivalency between the land dispute between two nations and a terrorist group going in, and murdering innocent, unarmed people, raping women, burning babies, beheading babies,” Blakeman said at an unrelated press conference. “We will never forget October 7,” Blakeman also said in his own statement marking the anniversary, adding “this is personal to me” as the first Jewish Nassau County executive. See Also Inside the Gaza terror tunnel Hamas used to launch one of the bloodiest Oct. 7 slaughters “Three years later, that pain has not gone away. If anything, it has been compounded by the alarming rise of antisemitism around the world — including here in New York,” he wrote. “I will never forget what happened that day, and I will never accept the attempts to minimize, excuse, or rewrite the horrors committed by Hamas,” Blakeman said. Hochul, who has previously defended Mamdani against allegations of anti-semitism, avoided directly condemning his statements during an MTA-related news event Wednesday, instead saying the situation in Gaza should not overshadow a day of remembrance . “I don’t think anything should diminish from this day, this three-year occurrence, because there are a lot of New York families — like Omer Neutra’s parents from Long Island — who are having their wounds reopened as they think about their son, kidnapped, that they’ve been praying for for hundreds of days,” she told reporters. Neutra, 21, was a New York-native who served as an IDF tank commander before he was killed and abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. 6 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a state memorial ceremony in the Mt. Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. Debbie Hill/Pool UPI via AP Hochul was set to attend a vigil at 7 p.m. in the city with the United Jewish Appeal group, which had previously criticized Mamdani. At the same time, the mayor was scheduled to be in Union Square for a candlelit vigil meant to honor both those killed on Oct. 7 and in the subsequent war, hosted by the group Israelis for Peace. The event will take place after a planned protest in front of City Hall by anti-Zionist groups criticizing Mamdani’s alleged “betrayal” of Palestinian causes since taking office. Mamdani reiterated his remarks during an interview with NY1, calling Oct. 7 “a horrific war crime” while arguing that Israel’s response amounted to “a genocide.” “The lesson for all of us is that humanity has to be something that we believe in its fullest sense. We have to protect it,” he said. “We have to be able to call an atrocity what it is and fight for a future where everyone is protected, no matter who they are, where they come from.” — Additional reporting by Carl Campanile and Matthew Fischetti