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Mayor Mamdani attends Oct. 7 vigil amid protests in Union Square
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 7, 2026
Modified Oct 7, 2026
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CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 7, 2026
Modified Oct 7, 2026
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Union Square was on high alert Wednesday night as demonstrators poured in ahead of a vigil marking the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined the ceremony.
Demonstrators waved Israeli and Palestinian flags and held signs as dozens of police vehicles surrounded the area. Members of the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit were among the officers deployed around the park.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in Union Square ahead of an Oct. 7 anniversary vigil on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.
Giulia Heyward/Gothamist
Mamdani stood silently at the vigil as a series of speakers addressed the crowd. Protesters chanted continuously throughout the remarks, at times making it difficult to hear speakers using the microphone. Some people also booed the mayor. Mamdani did not address the crowd before the vigil concluded with a moment of meditation.
Laura Liben, a Jewish Upper West Side resident, said she arrived around 6:30 p.m. to participate in the vigil and was surprised by the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who’d gathered around.
“I feel like they kind of came and took over the whole thing,” Liben said. “I think if they had come maybe asking questions or starting a dialogue, but this feels really hostile.”
About 1,200 people were killed in the attacks and roughly 250 others were taken hostage. The ensuing war in Gaza has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, according to data provided by Gaza’s health ministry. Both the attacks and the war that followed remain a source of deep tension in the five boroughs and Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York, has faced accusations of antisemitism from his detractors for supporting Palestinians and accusing Israel of genocide.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mamdani denounced “every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing.”
The Anti-Defamation League’s New York/New Jersey office criticized Mamdani on Wednesday, saying “the grief and pain has not dulled in the three years since” the attacks.
“Mayor Mamdani had the opportunity to use this anniversary to mourn alongside his Jewish constituents,” the organization said on social media. “Instead he chose to use his considerable platform to level political charges against Israel, justifying the very violence he claims to condemn.”
Attendees hold candles and signs during an Oct. 7 anniversary vigil in Union Square on Wednesday.
Giulia Heyward / Gothamist
Former city Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined the mayor at the Wednesday evening ceremony.
“I am here tonight and I hear and I receive the anger, all of the hurt, all of the trauma that is out here,” Williams said as demonstrators chanted and beat drums nearby.
New York has the largest Jewish population of any city in the world outside of Israel. The ADL has also criticized Mamdani over his administration’s recently released plan to combat hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers, which did not adopt a formal definition of antisemitism.
Mamdani released the plan as reported antisemitic hate crimes continue to rise in the city. The NYPD said antisemitic hate crimes increased 9% during the first eight months of the year compared with the same period last year. Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of more than half of all confirmed hate crimes citywide during that period, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Tagged
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new york city
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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