Zohran Mamdani’s antisemitism plan cannot survive his October 7 statement - opinion

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a plan to combat antisemitism on September 29, 2026, but the author argues his October 7 statement on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre undermines it. The post, viewed over 13 million times, is described as indicting Israel for “genocide” and “apartheid” while barely mentioning Hamas. The author contends the statement omits key details of the October 7 atrocities and Hamas’s role in prolonging the war, and that Mamdani’s numbers rely on disputed sources. The piece concludes that Mamdani’s rhetoric fuels rising anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a plan to combat antisemitism on September 29, 2026, noting that Jews are 12% of the city’s population but victims of roughly half of reported hate crimes. The author, Micha Danzig, argues that Mamdani’s October 7 statement on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre undid every word of it. Danzig describes the post, viewed over 13 million times, as indicting Israel for “ongoing genocide in Gaza,” “occupation and apartheid,” and “war crimes,” while naming Hamas only once. The author contends the statement omits key details of the October 7 atrocities, including the murder of the Bibas family, the Nova festival massacre, and Hamas’s role in prolonging the war by refusing hostage deals. Danzig disputes Mamdani’s casualty figures, noting they come from Hamas’s health ministry, which dropped some 3,400 deaths from its lists, and cites a UNICEF survey showing acute malnutrition in Gaza at 0.2% to 0.8%. The author links Mamdani’s rhetoric to an 8% rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York during his tenure, warning that Jewish New Yorkers have no use for grant programs from a mayor who calls Israel a “genocidal apartheid regime.”