New York mayor spends Oct. 7 evening with Palestinian families

After a Union Square memorial where pro-Palestinian activists protested against him, Zohran Mamdani went to meet Palestinian families at a restaurant in Manhattan.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met Palestinian families on the third anniversary of the events of Oct. 7, 2023. According to U.S. media, the meeting took place on Wednesday evening at Hinds Hall by Ayat, a Palestinian restaurant in Manhattan.

Before that, the mayor attended a memorial ceremony in Union Square for the victims of Hamas’s attack on Israel. Protesters gathered in the square called him a "traitor," while Mamdani did not speak and stood silently until the end of the ceremony.

Statement on Gaza

Mamdani at the meeting in the Palestinian restaurant

The same day, the mayor released a statement saying more than 74,000 Palestinians, including more than 21,000 children, had been killed in Gaza. Mamdani called Israel’s actions genocide and said American taxes were financing war crimes; the Israeli side accused him of politicizing the anniversary.

Mamdani became New York’s first Muslim mayor when he took office in January 2026.