Backlash following Mamdani’s October 7 statement extends to his support network

NEW YORK — The fallout around the mayor Zohran Mamdani statement marking the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel extends to his own stable of supporters — a reach that threatens to further erode his already strained relationship with the city’s Jewish community.

Mamdani released a four-paragraph message Wednesday recognizing the third anniversary of the day Hamas militants killed about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. However, all but one sentence in that post was devoted to the ensuing Israeli military campaign in Gaza, an imbalance that struck even some of the mayor’s validators and other critics of Israel and its military response as tone-deaf.

“Jews and Israelis around the world and in New York City are still deeply mourning the atrocities of October 7 and still living with the trauma of the murders and hostage taking. » Jill Jacobsexecutive director of T’ruah, a progressive rabbinical organization, told POLITICO a day later At Mamdani’s statement. “We need time and space to grieve, and we need elected officials to understand our experiences and our history. The mayor’s statement does not reflect that understanding.”

Mamdaniwho is Muslim, has been consistent in his position. Even before becoming a candidate, he focused on the widespread destruction and displacement in Gaza and how tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed by Israeli military strikes, many of whom were also civilians.