October 7 anniversary: protests, diplomacy, and a death in Spain

From New York protests to a Spanish eviction death, the third anniversary of October 7 reverberates globally.

October 7 anniversary: protests, diplomacy, and a death in Spain — New York City Mayor Eric Adams faced a severe verbal attack from pro-Palestinian protesters during the October 7 memorial ceremony held yesterday in Manhattan's Union Square.[^1] Some protesters waved Hamas flags, shouted insults at him, called him a "coward" and a "traitor," and accused him of "genocide."[^1] Tamar Glazerman, a co-founder of the organization "Israelis for Peace" that organized the ceremony, described the event as a "difficult evening" with severe verbal violence.[^1] Elsewhere in New York, the organization 'Students for Justice' held a pro-Palestinian protest today outside the gates of Columbia University, with about 50 participants.[^2] The same day, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. published a sharp attack on Qatar and those spreading accusations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, but later deleted the post.[^3] Journalist Eitan Fischberger estimated that Kennedy deleted it following angry phone calls from Qatar, but presented no evidence.[^3] In Spain, María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old elderly woman at the center of the housing protest that erupted in Spain, passed away today at Gregorio Marañón Hospital.[^4] Her eviction from her apartment in the upscale Retiro neighborhood in Madrid on September 23, after living there for more than 70 years, sparked massive protests that contributed to the collapse of the Spanish government.[^4] The investment fund that owned the apartment had raised the rent from €500 to €2,650, and later reduced it to €1,650—a 230% increase that her pension did not cover.[^4] US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a major policy speech in Athens, Greece, on the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, against the backdrop of the Parthenon on the Acropolis.[^5] He highlighted Greece's Achilles Shield defense initiative and its recent air defense deal with Israel.[^5] The juxtaposition of Rubio's classical setting with the raw protests in New York and the tragedy in Madrid underscores how the October 7 anniversary has become a global flashpoint, with each country processing the date through its own political and social fra