Mamdani Confronted Over 9/11 Victims’ Families Campaign to Ban Him From 25th Anniversary Ceremonies

 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) was pressed about a push by the families of 9/11 victims to ban him from attending the city’s 25th anniversary commemoration ceremonies.

At a press conference during which Mamdani unveiled a 30 percent discount at five new municipal grocery stores in the Big Apple, the mayor was asked about the effort to keep him out of the day’s events.

On Sunday, the New York Post blared the front-page headline “STAY AWAY” in an exclusive report that families of victims from the devastating 2001 terror attack wished to keep Mamdani out.

“Our objection is based on his public record — his failure to meaningfully acknowledge the horror of that day, and his employment of, support for, or association with individuals who have minimized 9/11, defended terrorists, or even suggested America ‘deserved’ the attacks,” Giovanni Galante, the husband of 9/11 victim Grace Catherine Galante, told the paper.

Galante and others have organized a Change.org petition to keep Mamdani from attending ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the World Trade Center attack.

As of this writing, the petition has over 14,000 signatures.

At the presser on Monday, a reporter brought up the campaign.

“Mr. Mayor, there was a number of people who are survivors of 9/11 are calling on you not to go to 9/11 memorial services,” he said. “I wonder how you feel about the fact that they’re trying to keep you away.”

Mamdani replied:

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 call this city home and, frankly, by all of us who call this country home.

Mamdani has been the subject of outrage with his recent call to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes if he sets foot in New York City.

“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani said earlier this month. “And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

In response, Netanyahu told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo that the mayor was “fomenting hate.”

“He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers. Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone,” Netanyahu told Bartiromo on Sunday. “But he’s trying to turn one group against the other. And he’s foisting hate and fear. I speak to Jewish Americans in New York and they’re afraid right now.”

Watch above.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!

Tags: