New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was booed, heckled and denounced as a “traitor” and “sellout” Wednesday night by anti-Israel demonstrators during a memorial marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre — an extraordinary scene that saw the mayor confronted by Hamas supporters who believe his already antisemitic rhetoric does not go far enough.

The confrontation unfolded at Manhattan’s Union Square, where Mamdani attended a candlelight vigil alongside former City Comptroller Brad Lander, a despicable self-hating Jew.

Anti-Israel demonstrators who had marched from City Hall descended on the gathering, shouting insults at the mayor and disrupting the commemoration.

“You coward!” protesters shouted.

“Zohran, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” others chanted.

Demonstrators had earlier gathered outside City Hall, accusing Mamdani of betraying the Palestinian cause. Some protesters displayed Hamas and Hezbollah flags during the demonstrations.

The remarkable spectacle came just hours after Mamdani issued a disgusting statement commemorating October 7 — a statement that devoted just three sentences to the Hamas massacre before shifting into several lengthy paragraphs attacking Israel with baseless packs of lies

Mamdani acknowledged the murder of more than 1,100 people and the kidnapping of 251 hostages during the October 7 attack.

But the mayor quickly pivoted to accusations of genocide, apartheid and war crimes against Israel, along with criticism of American military assistance to the Jewish state.

“The suffering did not begin nor end that day,” Mamdani wrote.

The statement drew criticism from Jewish leaders who questioned why the mayor chose the anniversary of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to devote most of his remarks to condemning Israel.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt pointed out that Mamdani’s statement did not once use the word “Jews,” despite commemorating a massacre in which Jewish civilians were deliberately targeted.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also criticized the statement for shifting attention away from the victims of October 7.

The controversy took another turn when New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who endorsed Mamdani, expressed outrage over the treatment he received from demonstrators.

Hochul’s condemnation of the disruption raised questions about her continued political support for a mayor whose statements about Israel have repeatedly generated controversy within New York’s Jewish community.

The governor had endorsed Mamdani despite longstanding concerns from Jewish leaders over his rhetoric and positions on Israel.

Those concerns include Mamdani’s past statements linking the NYPD to the Israeli military.

In a widely circulated 2023 remark, Mamdani said that “when people feel the boot of the NYPD on their necks, they should remember that it was laced by the IDF”.

The remark has been cited by critics as an example of Mamdani’s willingness to inject anti-Israel accusations into domestic American issues.

Mamdani, like most antisemites, has claimed that he opposes antisemitism and is committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, while continuing to level severe accusations against Israel.

Wednesday night’s confrontation highlighted the increasingly complicated political position of the mayor, who has faced criticism from Jewish organizations over his rhetoric while simultaneously drawing anger from anti-Israel activists demanding even more aggressive positions.

For many Jewish New Yorkers, however, the central concern was not the political embarrassment suffered by Mamdani, but the fact that an October 7 memorial was disrupted by demonstrators directing their anger at the mayor.

The vigil was intended to honor the victims of the Hamas massacre and provide a place for remembrance three years after the atrocities.

Instead, participants witnessed a confrontation involving protesters shouting accusations, waving terrorist flags and turning the solemn gathering into a political battleground.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)