Zohran Mamdani draws fierce backlash over 7 October statement accusing Israel of genocide

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has drawn sharp condemnation from Israeli diplomats, Jewish communal organisations, and American politicians after marking the third anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks by describing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as an "ongoing genocide".

In his statement marking three years since the assault, Mamdani attempted to balance remembrance of the victims in Israel with an unsparing critique of the subsequent devastation in Gaza. While he acknowledged the deaths of more than 1,100 Israelis and the abduction of 251 people, calling them "horrific war crimes", he insisted the region's trauma could not be viewed through a single date.

"The suffering did not begin nor end that day," Mamdani said. "It instead continued through the Israeli government's devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians—including more than 21,000 children."

What Mamdani said

The mayor, marking his first October anniversary since taking office at City Hall, cited figures stating that more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed even since an agreed ceasefire. He directly accused the Israeli military of bombing ambulances outside hospitals, conducting drone strikes against journalists and residential blocks, and blocking humanitarian food convoys at border crossings.

Mamdani also challenged Washington's foreign policy, writing that New Yorkers were grieving "all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes", and urged an end to federal complicity in what he described as continuing "occupation and apartheid".

Israeli diplomats and US leaders react

The response from Israeli officials and political figures across the United States was immediate and furious.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, accused the mayor of seeking to hijack a solemn memorial. Danon compared Mamdani's words to using the anniversary of the 11 September terror attacks in New York to air grievances against the United States instead of honouring the victims.

Israel’s Consul-General in New York, Ofir Akunis, described the statement as "a disgrace, shame, and insult to the memory of those who were murdered on October 7". Akunis reiterated an open invitation for Mamdani to attend a screening of raw attack footage held by the consulate to see the actions of Hamas first-hand.

American political figures also weighed in quickly. Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley accused Mamdani of trying to "blow a kiss and slap Israelis in the face at the same time", calling the stance antisemitic. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, dismissed Mamdani’s claims of apartheid and genocide as absurd and completely false, arguing that Israel had responded legitimately to mass slaughter.

Outcry from Jewish groups

Major Jewish communal organisations expressed deep anger, accusing the mayor of using an anniversary of Jewish mourning to amplify political attacks against Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League criticised Mamdani for failing to mention the word "Jews" once in his message. The group said the mayor was weaponising the anniversary of the deadliest massacre of Jewish civilians since the Holocaust to promote anti-Zionist rhetoric in a city with the world's largest Jewish population outside Israel.

The Israeli-American Council similarly rejected the genocide accusation as demonstrably untrue, arguing that the Israeli military takes extensive precautions to minimise civilian casualties against an opponent embedded in residential areas. The organisation added that such rhetoric risks stoking antisemitic incidents on New York's streets.

Mamdani was scheduled to attend an October 7 memorial vigil before meeting members of New York's Palestinian community later in the day.