Mamdani's Oct. 7 commemoration outrages supporters and critics of Israel

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani tried to thread a needle on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks by condemning Hamas’ “horrific war crimes” and denouncing Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza. It did not go well.

Instead, his comments further angered some Jewish critics who consider his strong opposition to Israel antisemitic, and pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a Wednesday night vigil for victims of Hamas' attack to confront the mayor and cast him as a traitor to their cause.

Mamdani, a Democrat and the city's first Muslim mayor, has long been a fierce defender of Palestinian human rights and is one of the country's most prominent political critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. His stance has drawn scrutiny in a city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel, while at times some on the far-left have bashed him for not doing enough to hold Israel to account.

On Thursday, Mamdani appeared to take the protest in stride, telling reporters: “I am the mayor of New York City and this is what I signed up for.”

The maelstrom began when Mamdani commemorated the victims of Hamas' surprise attack on Israel with a statement that began with a solemn recognition of the “unthinkable loss” suffered by Israelis but then castigated Israel's military response.

“The suffering did not begin nor end that day,” the statement read. “It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians — including more than 21,000 children.”

The statement reignited criticism that Mamdani harbors antisemitic views — a claim he has vehemently denied — and was blaming Israel for the attack.

“This is a reprehensible statement on the anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack by a Palestinian terrorist organization against innocent Israelis,” U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, a Jewish Democrat in New York, wrote on X. “In the guise of ‘grieving’ with those mourning that day, Mayor Mamdani asserts as fact hotly disputed allegations that he knows full well will offend and further upset those same people he pretends to grieve with.”

Ofir Akunis, consul general of Israel in New York, who had invited Mamdani to a Wednesday screening of footage documenting the attack, called the mayor's statement a “disgrace, shame, and insult to the memory of those who were murdered on October 7.” Akunis later posted an image of an empty chair reserved with a placard for the mayor along with the caption “guess who didn't show up.”

Mamdani, who took office in January, has moved to assuage concerns that his criticism of Israel does not amount to antisemitism, courting high-profile Jewish political allies and late last month debuting a sweeping plan to address antisemitism and hate crimes in the city.

At the same time, he has continued to employ, and defend, heated rhetoric toward Israel, which includes calling for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he calls a “war criminal” and “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Netanyahu, in an address at the United Nations General Assembly last month, called Mamdani “the antisemitic mayor of New York” and charged that “many Jews no longer feel safe in New York.”

Mamdani also marked the anniversary by attending a candlelight vigil at Union Square in Manhattan organized by Israelis For Peace, which describes itself as a group of Israeli anti-occupation activists. The vigil was disrupted by protesters who waved Palestinian flags and chanted.

Mamdani, who did not speak at the vigil, appeared somber while protesters booed and yelled: “Zohran, your hands are red!”

At one point, Brad Lander, a Jewish politician who struck up an alliance with Mamdani when they were both running for mayor last year, denounced the violence overseas, saying “no matter what country or nationality or religion, every mother, every mother gives birth to her children and wants the best for them, wants life for them.” Protesters jeered.

“We refused to compromise on anyone’s humanity. No amount of shouting stopped us,” Lander, the Democratic nominee for a House seat in Manhattan and Brooklyn, later wrote on X with a photo taken at the vigil. “May their memory be for a blessing.”

A woman is restrained before the start of a vigil marking the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

People attend a vigil marking the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Protesters gather near a vigil marking the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attends a vigil marking the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attends a vigil marking the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Thursday after hurrying there eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew.

SpaceX brought the U.S., French and Russian flyers back with a splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of Los Angeles.

NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev departed the orbiting lab on Wednesday, eager to reunite with their families after a lengthy separation. Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, stalling this crew’s homecoming.

They couldn’t wait to feel the breeze on their faces, hit the shower and, for Adenot at least, plunge back into water sports.

“We are so excited to be back on Planet Earth after an incredible mission on the International Space Station,” Meir radioed moments after splashing down. While still in orbit, she said the crew had “a lot of mixed, swirling emotions” and would miss the “extraordinary views of our home planet.”

All four were out of their capsule within an hour, waving and pumping their fists in the air aboard SpaceX's recovery ship. After a helicopter ride to shore, they were going to head for Houston.

Meir and her crew left the planet in February to replace four station occupants who were sent home early after one of them — NASA's Mike Fincke, now retired — fell ill. It was NASA's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight.

The new foursome watched with pride two months later as the Artemis II astronauts flew around the moon. They also celebrated the United States’ 250th birthday up there, with Meir joining the Boston Pops with her piccolo for a Fourth of July concert.

Meir took part in four spacewalks, while Adenot ventured outside three times for maintenance and upgrades to the 28-year-old outpost.

In the middle of all the work, the astronauts found time for fun, throwing a dance party last month and holding regular cooking demonstrations complete with aprons and a chef's toque.

Meir presented a how-to video for curly-haired spacewomen like herself, while Hathaway kept his bushy mustache — a space rarity — groomed to perfection. He grew the naval aviator-style mustache before rocketing into orbit as a way to honor his Navy ties, and found it no harder to maintain in weightlessness than on Earth. Some ground controllers grew mustaches in solidarity.

Will his mustache disappear now that his mission is over?

“It’s kind of become a little bit of my brand up here,” Hathaway said in August, “so I don’t know if it’ll go away right away or I’ll end up keeping it for a while.”

Seven astronauts remain aboard the space station, representing the U.S., Russia and Canada. The outpost has welcomed 298 visitors from 26 countries since the doors swung open in 2000, by NASA's count.

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In this photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft uses parachutes for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, returning from the International Space Station. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP)

In this photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, returning from the International Space Station. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP)

This image taken from video by NASA shows a SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts docking at the International Space Station, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This image provided by NASA on Tuesday Oct. 6, 2026, SpaceX Crew-12 members, from left, Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Crew-12 pilot and commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and mission specialist Sophie Adenot, gather for a portrait in the pressure suits they will wear when they depart the International Space Station inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. (Anil Menon/NASA via AP)