Despite a petition from a man whose wife was killed in the 9/11 attacks, calling for Zohran Mamdani to be excluded from the annual commemoration of the 2001 attacks, the New York City mayor said that he plans to attend.
“I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration, reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who calls this city home and, frankly, all of us who call this country home,” Mamdani said at a press conference on Monday.
Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace was killed in the attacks, created a petition that had nearly 14,700 signatures at press time.
“The family members of those murdered on 9/11 write to express our concern regarding the potential inclusion of Zohran Mamdani in the 25th-year commemorative events,” the petition states. “Concerns have been raised about Mr. Mamdani’s public positions, associations and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to these shared values.”
Among those “concerns” are the mayor’s reluctance to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” his endorsement of a candidate running for New York state Senate who described the 9/11 attacks as “a couple of people did in the context of U.S. capitalism, racism, white supremacy and Islamophobia” and his praise for Siraj Wahhaj, who was “named as an alleged co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.”
“Mr. Mamdani’s own father, whom he has acknowledged as having shaped his views, penned a book shortly after 9/11 in which he argued that suicide bombers should be ‘understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism,’” the petition states. “He also argued that there was a moral equivalence between the United States and al-Qaeda.”
“For 9/11 families, this is not simply a public ceremony—it is a deeply personal day of mourning,” it adds. “The presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain.”
Jayne Zirkle, communications director for End Jew-Hatred, which organized a rally against Mamdani on Sunday, told JNS the group stands with the 9/11 families.
“Their voices deserve to be heard, and their wishes should be respected,” she said.
