Critics across the political spectrum ripped New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday for a statement commemorating the second anniversary of the October 7 terror attack on Israel.
Mamdani posted a statement to his X account on Tuesday that reflects on the attack that marked the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. After commemorating the “horrific war crime,” the self-described “democratic socialist” dedicated most of his statement to condemning Israel for perpetrating “genocide” in Gaza, citing fatality numbers from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
“In the aftermath of that day, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government launched a genocidal war: a death toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble,” said Mamdani, without noting that Hamas often uses civilian buildings for military functions, in which case those buildings become legitimate military targets under international law.
“Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered. Our government has been complicit through it all,” he continued. “This must end. The occupation and apartheid must end. Peace must be pursued through diplomacy, not war crimes, and our government must act to end these atrocities and hold those responsible to account.”
My statement on the two year anniversary of October 7, 2023. pic.twitter.com/JlsXUeAeYd
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) October 7, 2025
The statement drew backlash from the Right and the Left. Dan McLaughlin, a senior writer for National Review, was one of many who accused Mamdani of victim-blaming.
“If Israel’s war *in response to being invaded* is ‘genocidal,’ most of the wars fought in the past century would meet that standard on the part of most of the combatants, even those resisting the conquest of their country & the enslavement or extinction of their people,” said McLaughlin.
MSNBC columnist Michael Cohen hit Mamdani as well: “On the second anniversary of October 7, one anodyne sentence on how murdering Jews is bad. And the rest is yet another seedy, pejorative attack on Israel.”
David Frum, a writer at The Atlantic, posted: “This is a genuinely useful statement. The chilly formulaic language about the 10/7 atrocity … the intense angry passion of the denunciation of Israel’s self-defense … together they arrestingly reveal what the author cares about and what/who he does not care about.”
Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said that not only should Mamdani’s statement disqualify him to run for mayor, but that anyone who endorses the Democratic candidate should be out of American politics.
Mamdani has gained support from notable Democrats such as Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
“This statement is beyond disqualifying — anyone who endorses him for Mayor is completely unqualified too,” Lawler posted. “Any New York Democrat who supports this insanity needs to be defeated at the ballot box.”
Mamdani’s statement earned reproach from Israel’s Foreign Ministry as well.
“Two years after Hamas launched its barbaric massacre against Israel and the Jewish people, Mamdani has chosen to act as a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda — spreading Hamas’s fake genocide campaign,” the ministry responded. “By repeating Hamas’s lies, he excuses terror and normalizes antisemitism. He stands with Jews only when they are dead. Shameful.”
