Protesters call Mamdani a traitor at New York October 7 vigil

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was the target of pro-Palestinian protesters on Wednesday evening as he attended a joint mourning event for Israelis and Palestinians held on the third anniversary of the October 7 attack. The Times of Israel reported that hundreds of anti-Zionist demonstrators gathered beyond police barricades and shouted at the mayor, accusing him of complicity in genocide and calling for the intifada to be globalised. Israeli outlets Ynet and N12 both reported that the crowd chanted "traitor" at him repeatedly.

Earlier the same day, a separate rally outside City Hall had singled out Mamdani. According to The Times of Israel, that gathering, organised by prominent activist groups in the city, was the first anti-Zionist protest aimed at the mayor. Ynet's news alerts said the protesters accused him of backing away from his promises.

The vigil and who ran it

The evening event was led by Israelis for Peace, which The Times of Israel described as a leftist group. Organisers read testimonies from relatives of Israelis and Palestinians killed in the conflict, and those attending held electric candles and signs in English and Hebrew carrying the message "Not one more life." Mamdani stood close to the front but did not address the crowd, the paper said.

The Jerusalem Post, carrying a photograph credited to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, placed the vigil in Union Square, a public plaza in Manhattan, and said protesters overwhelmed the area where the peace group had planned to gather.

What the City Hall protesters objected to

The Times of Israel listed several grievances raised at the afternoon rally. Speakers criticised Mamdani over events in the city promoting real estate in Israel, over investments in defence companies held by the public college system, over the policing of demonstrations, and over his decision to keep Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, as commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD). One speaker urged the mayor to abandon what was described as the side of the oppressors; another said he had blood on his hands. Chants described him as a "normalizer", a term used by activists for those seen as accepting normal relations with Israel, and some signs showed him rolling out a red carpet for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Why the anniversary matters

October 7 marks the Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, which opened the war in Gaza. The date is now observed each year in Israel and in Jewish communities abroad. In the United States, Ynet reported, the president posted that he would never forget the day and pledged to stand against terror and evil, while the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives called for an American commitment to a Palestinian state alongside support for Israel's right to exist.

The word intifada is Arabic for "uprising" and is the name given to two periods of Palestinian revolt against Israel. The slogan calling for it to be globalised is widely viewed by Jewish groups as a call to violence; its supporters describe it as a call for resistance.

Mamdani, a Muslim, is a prominent figure on the American left. Until now, organised opposition to him has come mainly from other directions, which is why the reports treat a protest from anti-Zionist activists as notable.

How the reports differ

The outlets describe the evening confrontation in different terms. The Times of Israel said the protesters disrupted the event and stood outside police barricades. The Jerusalem Post headline said they overran the vigil. Ynet used a word that can mean either verbal or physical attack, without describing any physical contact. The protesters are variously labelled pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist and anti-Israel depending on the outlet.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports say whether anyone was arrested or hurt, or whether the vigil was able to finish as planned. None include a response from Mamdani or his office to the protests or to the specific criticisms raised at City Hall. The reports do not name the activist groups behind the afternoon rally, do not identify which promises protesters said the mayor had broken, and do not give a crowd estimate for the City Hall protest.