Mamdani says he was ‘proud to attend’ October 7 vigil where protesters called him a ‘traitor’

Mamdani was “proud to attend last night’s vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on Oct. 7, and those who’ve been killed in the years since."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Thursday he was “proud to attend” the previous night’s October 7 vigil held by Israelis for Peace, where pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed and called him a “traitor” to the movement.

“I’m the mayor of New York City and this is what I signed up for,” Mamdani said during a press conference.

Demonstrators mocked and yelled at the people sitting vigil. They also lobbed chants at Mamdani and Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, who spoke during the event. Some protesters displayed Hamas symbols.

Mamdani said he was “proud to attend last night’s vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on Oct. 7, and those who’ve been killed in the three years since, and all of whom united in the vision for peace and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”

Mamdani avoid questions about if he would have changed his October 7 statement

Mamdani was also asked during the press conference whether he would have changed anything about his statement Wednesday morning commemorating the Oct. 7 anniversary. A number of Jewish groups criticized the mayor for focusing the statement more on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza than on Hamas’ 2023 attack.

Mamdani sidestepped the question, pointing instead to the totality of his statement, his attendance atof the Israelis for Peace vigil and his meeting with Palestinian New Yorkers later that night at Ayat Hinds Hall, a Palestinian restaurant on the Upper West Side. 

“It all speaks to a reckoning with horror,” he said. “And a horror that devastated the lives of New Yorkers three years ago, and also continues to devastate New Yorkers.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the protest on Wednesday night, posting on X/Twitter that “disrupting a vigil for the victims of October 7 while waving the flags of terrorist organizations is absolutely despicable.”

“Jewish New Yorkers deserve to mourn in peace, free from hatred and intimidation,” Hochul wrote. “There is no excuse for this. None.”