Israel's U.N. ambassador blasted Mayor Zohran Mamdani for hijacking the Oct. 7 anniversary into an anti-Israel attack, likening it to mourning al-Qaeda on 9/11.
Fox News reported that Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, condemned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the mayor’s message on the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks. Danon said Mamdani tried to seize a day of mourning and convert it into another propaganda strike on Israel.
Israelis marked the anniversary Wednesday with memorials and vigils. Mamdani posted that the day was “profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers,” called the Oct. 7, 2023, assault “horrific war crimes,” and noted that Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. He said New Yorkers grieve with friends and neighbors who still carry that loss.
Then the post shifted. Mamdani accused the Israeli government of a “devastating, ongoing genocide,” charged that “occupation and apartheid continue,” claimed war crimes meet “impunity,” and said the U.S. government remains complicit “with every arms shipment.” He closed by saying the way to honor the dead is to fight for a world of “freedom, safety, and dignity.”
Danon answered directly on X. He labeled the approach “Mamdani-ism” and refused to let the anniversary be rewritten.
Danon wrote:
"‘Mamdani-ism’, an attempt to hijack the anniversary of October 7 and turn it into yet another propaganda attack against Israel"
He drove the point home with a comparison no American needs explained.
Danon added:
"It is like turning September 11 into a day of mourning for al-Qaeda terrorists"
And he closed:
"We will not let this happen. We will remember those who were murdered, and we will never forget who was behind this massacre."
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attackers stormed southern Israel, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. That is the record Danon said must stay clear.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the mayor’s framing indefensible. She said it was wrong to use the anniversary as cover for repeating the terrorists’ lines.
Sanders stated:
"Disgusting and shameful to use October 7th as an excuse to repeat Hamas’ talking points. The terrorist enemies that seek to destroy us will not prevail. We stand with the Jewish people and we pray for the victims, their families and the survivors"
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was just as blunt. She said Mamdani tried to offer sympathy and strike Israel in the same breath.
Haley posted:
"Shame on you for trying to blow a kiss and slap Israelis in the face at the same time. On October 7, Hamas raped, burned, and murdered Israelis and Americans in front of their loved ones. They kidnapped others and tortured them for months. This is antisemitism, no matter how you try to put a bow on it. Israelis have every right to defend themselves. If this happened in the U.S., you can bet we would defend ourselves too."
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt focused on what the mayor left out. He noted Mamdani never used the word “Jews,” even while describing the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Greenblatt wrote:
".[@NYCMayor], not once do you say 'Jews.' On Oct. 7, Hamas-led attackers murdered civilians, committed sexual violence, mutilated bodies and took hostages. You are weaponizing a day meant for mourning the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to recycle your usual antizionist talking points. The city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel deserves a mayor who can honor the dead without exploiting them."
In the same anniversary message, Mamdani accused Israel of bombing ambulances, targeting residential buildings and journalists with drone strikes, and turning away food aid. He cited a Palestinian death toll of more than 74,000, including more than 21,000 children. He said the suffering “did not begin nor end that day.”
Israel has rejected the genocide accusation and disputed claims of deliberate targeting of civilians, aid workers, and journalists. The Israeli military has pointed to its practice of dropping flyers to warn Palestinian civilians before strikes.
The exchange landed on a day when survivors and witnesses still speak plainly about what Hamas did. Nova Music Festival survivor Natalie Sanandaji and Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann appeared on television marking the anniversary, one recounting the fight to live and the other warning about rising antisemitism.
New York is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. Its mayor chose the third anniversary of a massacre to recite a familiar list of charges against the Jewish state and against American support for it. Danon, Sanders, Haley, and Greenblatt answered that the dead are not props for that argument.
A day set aside to remember the murdered should not become another platform for the same talking points that erase who killed them and why.
