Mamdani criticized by Democratic colleagues for statement deploring October 7 attacks while condemning Israel

A statement by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who recognized three years since Hamas’s “horrific” attack on Israel – and widely criticized Israel’s “ongoing genocide” in the Gaza Strip – has sparked fury among some Democrats.

Mamdani is a vocal and longtime critic of Israel’s actions during its war with Hamas in Gaza, and an opponent of U.S. aid to Israel — issues that have divided Democrats nationally and drawn criticism of the mayor from moderates, leaders of Jewish groups and Israeli officials. Mamdani defended his position for a long time, adage criticism of Israel is distinct from anti-Semitism.

Mamdani’s Wednesday statement began by calling the day “deeply painful” for many New Yorkers, highlighting Hamas’ “horrific war crimes.” October 7, 2023including the killing of approximately 1,200 people in Israel and the taking of more than 250 hostages. He added: “We mourn alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry this unthinkable loss.”

The mayor then criticized Israel for its “devastating and ongoing genocide in Gaza” – pointing to the more than 74,000 deaths recorded in the enclave, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

“Many New Yorkers are dealing with this unbearable grief and we grieve with them, knowing that our tax dollars are funding these war crimes,” Mamdani said.

“Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid persist, where war crimes are punished with impunity, and where our federal government continues to be complicit in every arms shipment,” Mamdani added.

Several elected Democrats criticized Mamdani’s statement, saying it was too focused on Israel rather than Hamas.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida accused Mamdani of “desecrating the memory of murdered innocent Jews,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey said the mayor was “blaming the victims” of the Oct. 7 attack, and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop called the statement “inappropriate and needlessly inflammatory.”

Rep. Richie Torres, a Democrat who represents the Bronx, wrote a post on Hamas.

Rep. Daniel Goldman — who lost a Democratic primary in his Manhattan and Brooklyn district against Mamdani-backed Brad Lander earlier this year — called the mayor’s message “reprehensible.”

“Under the guise of ‘mourning’ with those grieving that day, Mayor Mamdani asserts as fact highly controversial allegations that he knows full well will further offend and upset the very people he claims to be grieving with,” Goldman wrote on X.

Lander, the Democratic candidate in Goldman’s deep blue district, wrote a statement Tuesday that condemns Hamas but opposes the “flattening of empathy.”

“We can mourn those who lost their lives on October 7 while recognizing the enormous power imbalance between Israel and the Palestinians,” Lander wrote in an article on Substack.

Mamdani has also faced resistance from the Anti-Defamation League, whose CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, frequently criticizes the mayor. Greenblatt wrote on social media that in Mamdani’s statement, “not once does it say ‘Jews.’

“You are using a day meant to mourn the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to recycle your usual anti-Zionist rhetoric,” Greenblatt wrote.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called Mamdani’s statement an “outrageous and disgusting diatribe,” while Ofir Akunis, Israeli consul general in New York, called it “a disgrace, a disgrace and an insult to the memory of those who were murdered.”

CBS News contacted Mamdani’s office.

Mamdani’s stance on Israel has drawn scrutiny — and applause from his allies — since he began his unexpected rise to mayor.

Before the 2025 Democratic mayoral primary, Mamdani promised that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited New York, he would search Netanyahu’s arrest on an International Criminal Court arrest warrant charging him with war crimes.

Over the summer, Mamdani acknowledged that the city did not have the authority to enforce the warrant. The United States is not a party to the global treaty that created the ICC and generally does not recognize its authority. Israel called the war crimes allegations “absurd and false.”

When Netanyahu visited the city last month to address the United Nations General Assembly, he accused Mamdani of anti-Semitism and said that “many Jews no longer feel safe in New York.”

“Shame on you for distorting the facts, shame on you for switching victim and aggressor, shame on you for spitting in the face of the truth,” Netanyahu said.

Mamdani has long rejected allegations that his harsh criticism of Israel fueled anti-Semitism. said the city “has no place for hatred or intolerance of any kind.”

Last month, Mamdani unveiled a plan to combat anti-Semitismincluding a dedicated anti-Semitism hotline and funding to improve security in synagogues.

Asked by CBS News New York about the criticism he has faced and whether he feels he should walk back his statements, Mamdani said last month: “I think that criticism of a prime minister, criticism of government policy is distinct from intolerance of a people. …And my job is to ensure that not only are we proud to be the most Jewish city in the United States of America, but that we also make it a city where Jewish life can continue to flourish.”