NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani The statement marking the third anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 sparked outrage on Wednesday – and racked up millions of views on social media.
Mamdani is a longtime critic of Israel and has been particularly outspoken in his denunciation of the treatment of Palestinians since the 2023 attack. But his anniversary statement drew particularly strong reactions because of its timing, with critics saying Wednesday was the kind of occasion where elected leaders should avoid divisions.
Mamdani began his statement by condemning the Hamas attack as a “horrific war crime”, but then devoted the bulk of his statement to calling the ensuing Israeli military campaign a genocide.
“The suffering neither began nor ended on that day,” he wrote of October 7, 2023. “Rather, it continued through the devastating and ongoing genocide carried out by the Israeli government in Gaza, during which it killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, including more than 21,000 children. »
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