No Mamdani for the 25th Anniversary of 9/11
As the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, families of victims have launched a petition urging organizers to bar New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from participating in the official memorial. More than 42,000 people have signed, citing his past associations, his reluctance to condemn extremist rhetoric, and his praise for individuals connected to violence against Americans. For these families, the issue is deeply personal. They argue that anyone who has normalized extremist messaging or supported figures linked to terror should not stand at a ceremony dedicated to remembering the darkest morning in American history. Commemoration is an obligation to remember what happened and confront the ideologies that continue to resurface today.
I was born in Queens, New York. My parents built our family there. Like millions of other New Yorkers and Americans, 9/11 is not a chapter in a history book. It is a scar that remains visible no matter how many years pass. One of my closest family friends, a man I consider an uncle, was in the North Tower that morning. He escaped down the stairwell from the 37th floor, covered in dust and fear, and his wife didn’t hear from him until later that night. The fear and grief of that day will never fully fade.
For families like ours, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 is not a political stage. It is a day to mourn and honor the victims, survivors, and first responders who ran toward danger as others ran away. It should be reserved for remembering those we lost, and the courage shown that day, not for those who have spent years excusing or minimizing the extremist ideology that claimed thousands of innocent lives.
My family and closest friends remember the smell in the air, the smoke that blanketed downtown Manhattan, the endless sirens, and the fear that gripped the country. I know how lucky we were that our friend made it out alive. Thousands of families were never given that miracle, and many believe the same extremist ideology that fueled the 9/11 attacks is being normalized through Mayor Mamdani’s political actions.
That is why the petition urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani to not participate has resonated so strongly. Supporters argue their concerns stem from a longstanding pattern of statements and associations that many view as incompatible with the values of unity, responsibility, and respect that 9/11 demands.
Mamdani’s track record includes publicly praising individuals connected to terrorism against Americans, including Imam Siraj Wahhaj, named as an unindicted, co‑conspirator in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing investigation. Our close friend was also working in the World Trade Center during that attack. Critics also cite Mamdani’s association with Hasan Piker, who declared in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11” and displayed a framed 9/11 newspaper during one of his livestreams. They further cite Mamdani’s support for individuals who have described the attacks as an understandable consequence of American capitalism or racism. They also note the influence of his father, Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, whose 2004 book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim argued that suicide bombers should be understood “as a category of soldier rather than condemned and stigmatized as barbarism.”
To many New Yorkers, these are not isolated incidents, but part of a broader worldview gaining traction in parts of the city’s political culture. Standing at Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary requires more than holding office. It requires unmistakable respect for the victims and a clear rejection of the ideology that fueled and excused the attacks. For many, Mamdani’s attendance would not honor the memory of 9/11; it would desecrate it.
Furthermore, within the Jewish Community, many see a troubling pattern including the mayor of New York publicly calling for the arrest of Israel’s prime minister, labeling Israel’s defensive actions as “genocide,” and responding to antisemitic attacks without a concrete plan to address them, all while refusing to condemn antisemitic language. Many argue that this approach embraces the same ideology that once led terrorists into the World Trade Center. Combined with the documented rise in antisemitic hate crimes across New York City, it’s undeniable that “Free Palestine” rhetoric contributes to a climate of intimidation, hate, and violence.
For families like mine, seeing someone with this record participate at the 25th anniversary memorial feels deeply painful and profoundly inappropriate. I stand with the victims’ families demanding that the memorial remain a place of remembrance, respect, and honor for those we lost, and that Mamdani be prevented from attending.
Those of us working in Jewish and Israel campus advocacy witness this trend every day. Slogans that many 9/11 families view as normalizing or glorifying political violence, such as “globalize the intifada”, have become increasingly common on college campuses. Too often, Jewish and Zionist students bear the brunt of that rhetoric.
As a part of my daily role on the Students Supporting Israel (SSI) National Team, we take the responsibility of honoring the victims seriously through SSI’s longest-running national campaign, first launched in 2012. Each year, SSI chapters across the country create memorial installations, host educational programs, and lead campus events to honor the victims and remind students that terrorism, whether in New York or in Jerusalem, must never be excused or reframed as resistance.
In 2026, an undergraduate college senior was born after September 11, 2001 and may not be educated about 9/11 or what occurred that day. SSI believes that remembrance is not passive, but is an active civic responsibility requiring education, engagement, and a commitment to the values that 9/11 taught us to defend. On September 11, 2026, SSI chapters will gather on campuses nationwide through memorials, educational programs, and conversations reminding their peers that remembrance is more than a moment of silence. It is a commitment to ensure the attacks and the ideology behind them are never ignored or left unchallenged, whether in the mayor’s office or on the campus quad.
