If there is one rule on the progressive Left, it is that you can never be progressive enough. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, despite his credentials, is no exception.
You may be surprised to learn that Mamdani attended an October 7 vigil in Manhattan’s Union Square on Wednesday, marking the third anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks. Although for a mayor who has devoted so much of his rhetoric to criticizing Israel, his presence was quite a surprise.
The reception was not. He reportedly arrived an hour late and was immediately swarmed by pro-Palestinian protesters shouting “traitor” and “sellout,” and even accusing Mamdani, of all people, of standing by while Israel committed what they called “genocide” in Gaza. This was not merely a counterprotest either. Protesters interrupted mourners, and some reportedly chanted “Long Live Hamas.”
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show multiple groups booing Mamdani, with some suggesting mourners were no more welcoming of the New York City Mayor than the pro-Hamas crowd.
🚨🇮🇱🇵🇸 Crowds boo Mamdani and send him packing from Oct. 7 vigil Unannounced and an hour late, he walked straight into the fire, the pro-Palestinian marchers from City Hall immediately drowned him out. "You can't hide; we charge you with genocide." That morning he'd called the Hamas attack a war crime and Israel's response a genocide in the same post. The mourners didn't want that either. He tried to stand in both crowds, and neither one let him. Writers: Lucas, Bri https://t.co/f7E7EBCieA
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 8, 2026
BREAKING: Masked Islamists chant “Long Live Hamas,” as Zohran Mamdani arrives to Union Square in NYC. A reminder that Zohran’s wife has repeatedly expressed support for Hamas’s actions on October 7th. https://t.co/EIEWgDR4C8
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) October 8, 2026
Communists always end up eating their own. Always. That's what you get with any movement devoid of morality. The revolution is all that matters.
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) October 8, 2026
And if the events at the vigil weren't bad enough, progressive darling Hasan Piker voiced his support for the actions of the progressive crowd, describing it simply as "applying pressure" to secure more concrete advancements for the progressive cause, whatever that could mean.
"I am in favor of applying pressure," Piker said. "I'm saying that there would be far less of it if he had offered material changes to the pro-Palestine front that, you know, played a formative role that was his organizing home initially even before DSA. It was SJP (students for Justice in Palestine)."
Hasan Piker comes out in support of protests against Zohran Mamdani https://t.co/3mpNFQfBuX
— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) October 8, 2026
This came just hours after an atrocious social media post from the New York City mayor marking the anniversary of the October 7 attacks. A couple of sentences acknowledged Israeli suffering, but the vast majority focused instead on Palestinian suffering, and criticizing the Israeli response. The post drew bipartisan backlash.