The vigil, organized by the left-wing peace group Israelis for Peace, was meant to mark the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack that left about 1,200 people dead in southern Israel. Instead, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators flooded Union Square Park, carried a portrait of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, waved Hamas flags, and overran the planned site — forcing organizers to move the ceremony to another part of the park behind police barricades, where speakers struggled to be heard over the noise.
Mamdani had not been scheduled to speak. He arrived with a candle, standing solemnly beside former city comptroller Brad Lander, and simply stood there as the crowd realized who he was. The chants came fast: "Traitor!" "Zohran, what do you say? How many boots did you lick today?" "Zohran, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide." "You coward!" He never answered them. Around 8:50 p.m., security walked him to an SUV and he was gone — never having said a word.
It was the same day his own October 7 statement had already set both sides against him. Mamdani called the anniversary "profoundly painful," then spent most of the statement accusing Israel of "ongoing genocide." Jewish leaders said he buried the victims of the massacre under his attack on Israel. And his own pro-Palestinian base said showing up at the vigil at all was a betrayal — one protester called him "100% Muslim" but accused him of standing "as an ambassador of Zionism and U.S. imperialism."
The night had been ugly well before Mamdani arrived. Earlier in the evening, demonstrators snatched electric candles meant for the vigil and sang "Hava Nagila" in mockery. One protester shouted at the organizers: "We don't want peace with Israelis, bro! We sent your people to hell on October 7." As mourners left, the crowd shouted "Death to the IDF!" Across the city that day, rallies also rang with chants of "Long live Hamas."
Tamar Glazerman, co-founder of Israelis for Peace, called it "a difficult night, heckled by a few hundred counter-protesters." "Verbally, it was very violent," she said. Attendees held electric candles and signs reading "Not one more life" while participants read aloud the names of Israelis murdered in the Hamas attack and of Palestinians killed in Gaza — a ceremony delayed by several minutes because of the disruption.
One woman who attended the candlelight service said she found the night emotionally wrenching. "It was like, are they even listening to what is happening over here?" she said. "Because if they were listening, they might even hear that actually might even hear some points of agreement."
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