A group of anti-Israel protesters on Wednesday targeted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him a “traitor,” accusing him of “genocide” and claiming he “cannot weaponize being brown anymore.”
The crowd of more than 100 demonstrators marched from City Hall to Union Square, where a vigil was held to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel. The vigil was organized as an evening of mourning for those killed in the Oct. 7 attacks and the bloodshed that followed, including Israelis and Palestinians.
The anti-Israel crowd was just outside the barricades of the Israelis for Peace Vigil, beating on drums and attempting to drown out the speakers, according to City & State New York.
Mamdani was at the vigil and held a candle as protesters threw various insults at him, including accusations of genocide and “selling all your people out.”
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“Zohran, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?” the protesters shouted, according to the outlet.
“700,000 dead. Mamdani, your hands are red!” they also chanted.
“Traitor, traitor, come on out! You sold all your people out!” the group was also heard chanting.
The crowd also shouted: “Zohran, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide!”
“We don’t care about where you’re from. You cannot talk about being Muslim anymore. You cannot weaponize being brown anymore. Identity politics can only get you so far,” they said.
One protester also claimed to be a former intern for Mamdani, saying the mayor “was never working for the people.”
Protesters also demanded that Mamdani take action against New York real-estate events that have marketed properties in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the demonstrators characterize as “stolen” Palestinian land, according to City & State New York.
“Mayor Mamdani, take a stand. Stop the sale of stolen land,” the group chanted.
The protesters also called for abolishing the City University of New York’s Board of Trustees, whose members are largely appointed by the mayor and governor. Protesters have previously accused the board of ignoring demands to divest investments linked to Israel and criticized its handling of anti-Israel demonstrations on campus.
Despite the protesters’ accusations of genocide on Wednesday, Mamdani is a longtime critic of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and has denounced its treatment of Palestinians in the aftermath of the 2023 attack.
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In a statement on Wednesday, Mamdani condemned Hamas’ attack as a “horrific war crime” while also characterizing Israel’s subsequent military operation as a genocide.
“The suffering did not begin nor end that day,” he wrote. “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.”
Israel has rejected accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza, saying its military targets Hamas and other terrorist groups while seeking to minimize civilian casualties.
The mayor’s statement sparked bipartisan backlash, with Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., calling it “egregious and insulting.”
“There are 364 days of the year to focus on that. This is a day that should just be focused on what was by all agreement a horrific terror attack,” Goldman, who is Jewish, told Politico. “What the mayor’s statement did today was to blame Israelis for the attack that they suffered three years ago. Regardless of what you actually think of the conflict and what’s happened either since or before, there’s no excuse for victim blaming.”
