The cameras panned across the crowd at Zohran Mamdani’s victory celebration — the newly elected mayor of New York City, surrounded by socialist activists, digital influencers, and the self-congratulating left. It was meant to be a night of triumph for the “movement.” But what stood out for those watching was not unity, or even politics. It was who was cheering.
Standing shoulder to shoulder, laughing and hugging, were Jamaal Bowman, Hasan Piker, and Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan — three men whose names have become synonymous with the moral collapse that followed the Hamas atrocities of October 7.
Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan at the Mamdani victory party with Hasan Piker and Jamaal Bowman. (start at 52:00)
Bowman, the disgraced former congressman, made his name shouting on New York’s streets that Israeli women were not raped on October 7 — that the accounts of mass sexual violence by Hamas terrorists were fabricated. He wasn’t a lone crank in an internet comment section; he was a member of Congress using his platform to publicly deny the humanity of Jewish victims in the streets of his district.
Hasan Piker, meanwhile, mocked the entire subject on his Twitch stream, telling his millions of followers that he didn’t care if the women on October 7 were raped. That flippant cruelty — that casual dismissal of atrocity — has become a feature, not a bug, of a corrupted culture that cloaks moral degeneracy in “anti-imperialist” rhetoric. His anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric had become so toxic, that Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Latin-Black gay Congressman, wrote a letter on October 29, 2024 to the CEO of Twitch to have Piker removed.
And then there was Mehdi Hasan, who publicly argued that early reports of “mass rape” on October 7 were overstated and politicized, arguing that the allegations had been “weaponized by supporters of Israel.” At Mamdani’s party, he stood smiling with Bowman and hugging Piker as the pain of Jews was being amplified and normalized.
And celebrated.
The spectacle was a black mirror of a broken city — a city that once prided itself on tolerance and moral clarity now relishing Jewish trauma.
New Yorkers didn’t just elect a socialist. They elected a symbol of moral inversion — a man whose supporters include those who laughed at, ignored, or explained away the rape and murder of innocents.
When the applause dies down and the speeches fade, one question will remain for the city that crowned Mamdani: What kind of people celebrate with rape deniers and those that revel in the pain of the most persecuted minority-minority?
The Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023 — a day when thousands of Gazans crossed the border to slaughter Israeli civilians, rape women, burn children alive, and drag 250 people into captivity — is a date that should be remembered with grief and solemnity.
Yet in New York City, extremist groups such as Within Our Lifetime, Students for Justice in Palestine and Samidoun plan rallies on that anniversary to glorify the killers and call for an end to “Zionism” in what they call the “belly of the beast,” meaning America itself.
The “rally” was called a “Flood”, echoing Hamas’s term for the October 7 massacre, the “Al Aqsa Flood.” It includes a map of all of Israel claiming Israel’s 77 years of existence has been a “genocide” against Palestinians. It writes Israel with a lower case ‘i” meant as an insult to not recognize it, preferring to call it a “Zionist project.” The rally is a call to stand against “Zionism” and “honor the martyrs” who slaughtered people in Israel two years ago.
We make a clear and urgent appeal to governments and peoples committed to the liberation of the Palestinian people to adopt unequivocal and militant support for the cause of decolonisation. – Samidoun, October 2, 2025
This is not policy debate. It is a celebration of barbarity and a call to dismantle the Jewish homeland and undermine the United States. The chants and slogans echo the hate that fueled the October 7 pogrom.
Free Speech vs. Incitement to Violence
The United States protects free expression, even ugly and unpopular opinions. But it does not protect incitement to violence or material support for terrorist organizations. When demonstrations cross the line into praising terrorist acts or calling for attacks on Jews or Americans, the full weight of the law — from local police to federal agencies — must be ready to respond.
This year the anniversary falls during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, a holiday marked by public celebrations, outdoor meals, and large gatherings near synagogues and community centers. Those festivities will unfold in the shadow of these extremist rallies. That reality makes it all the more important for law-enforcement agencies to be highly visible and vigilant in keeping worshippers safe.
Standing Up for the Rule of Law
Calling to “globalize the Intifada” and praise the depraved Hamas “martyrs” feeds the chaos that violent extremists crave. What is needed is lawful, decisive enforcement:
Robust policing to protect Jewish neighborhoods, synagogues, sukkot gatherings, and counter-protesters.
Monitoring and prosecution of anyone who crosses into incitement or provides support to terrorist organizations.
Clear public messaging that celebrating mass murder is not political expression but moral depravity.
Bringing ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) agents to arrest and deport non- citizens engaging in harassment and intimidation.
People can be denied a visa if they intimidate, harass or are considered security risks. These October 7 rallies will likely be causes for revoking visas.
A Moment of Moral Clarity
October 7 should be remembered as a day of horror, not a banner for hate. Those who glorify the massacre expose themselves as the heirs of past totalitarian movements — whether Nazi or jihadist — that brought suffering not only to Jews but to all who cherish freedom.
“Terrorism” is a colonial term that we refuse to accept in reference to the heroic Resistance. – Samidoun, October 2, 2025
The response to them must be unflinching: protect the vulnerable, prosecute the lawbreakers, and reaffirm that the United States will never be a haven for the celebration of terrorism.
Video on Samidoun before rallies on October 7, 2024
It has been 366 days since the largest and most savage massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. A year since 1,200 people were slaughtered, beheaded and burned alive. A year since a large scale mass sexual assault of women in Israel by invading jihadists. 366 days, and counting, of 101 people remaining as hostages in Gaza, of the 251 who were abducted on October 7, 2023.
It is a time to memorialize the dead. To remember their lives, dreams and aspirations which were cut short.
It is a time to recount the bravery of those who fought off the barbaric invaders to protect the innocent.
It is a time to call out the mass sexual assault committed by Palestinian Arabs, a vile crime against humanity.
It is a time to pray for the hostages, cut off from light, food, family, friends and a normal life.
And it has been that time, every day, for a year.
Over the past year, people attended public events at the United Nations, the National Mall in Washington and Times Square as well as private events at synagogues and community centers.
National Mall, Washington DCRally at United Nations, NYCTimes Square, NYCHostage discussion in Westchester, NYYeshiva University focus on Hanukah fight then and now
People have done ‘Run For Their Lives’, heard from survivors and politicians and watched countless videos and movies about the atrocities committed by Palestinian Arabs. They’ve donated to Israeli causes and volunteered sending goods to Israel. They put signs on their lawns and ribbons on the trees and lapels.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY17)Parents of hostage speaking in Central Park, NYCPanel about mass sexual assault committed on October 7
They’ve wept at concerts of Israeli singers, as they remembered their crew who was killed at the Nova Music Festival, and seeing Israeli soldiers reunited with their loved ones.
Hanan Ben AriIshay Ribo
And they’ve gone to Israel. Packing items for soldiers and their families, donating blood, serving soldiers on their way in and out of the terrorist enclave of Gaza.
Hostage Square, Tel AvivShuva Junction, Israel
While praying and fighting for Israel, they’ve done the same in combating antisemitism in the diaspora. They’ve attended protests, provided support for students on hostile campuses, attended lectures and rallied to expel toxic politicians from office.
Manhattan Jewish experience discussing antisemitism on college campusesAlan Dershowitz on American antisemitismGeorge Latimer victory party in primary over anti-Israel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16)Protest in Scarsdale, NY after Jewish stores defaced
People have written to the anti-Israel media and cancelled subscriptions, emailed politicians and switched political parties. They’ve stopped giving money to their alma maters and started donating to Jewish and Israeli causes they never considered – let alone prioritized – before.
New York Times referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as seeking equality for all religions
The trauma of the brutality continues past the year anniversary. Hostages remain. The Iranian Proxies War continues. The PTSD of raped women does not fade, nor for those who witnessed their family and friends killed.
Antisemites continue to rage on diaspora streets. Anti-Israel protestors rant on college campuses to burn Tel Aviv to the ground and to “Globalize the Intifada by any means necessary.” Politicians and university presidents appear unable or unwilling to stem the tidal wave of hate.
The world advocates to give peace prizes to those that torment Jews rather than those that normalize relations with the Jewish State. Politicians blame any real or potential personal misfortune on Jews. Leading Jewish politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jerry Nadler lead the charge to vilify the Israeli government, paving the way for non-Jews to comfortably condemn Israel’s just defensive war.
we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.
A year since the savage Palestinian Arab massacre of Israelis, the bitter chill of isolation has set upon Jews in Israel and the diaspora. Exhausted, they will continue to fight the menace for their basic human rights, ideally with allies, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.
Imagine that your neighbor had a big party celebrating the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when 2,400 military personnel were killed in a surprise attack by Japan. What would that say about that person’s view of the United States?
How would you feel if your town celebrated the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as a moment of “joy” when the Global South rose up to take the mighty United States down a few pegs, launching a surprise attack on the country’s financial and military centers, killing nearly 3,000 people? Would you consider that person not only despises the country but Americans as well?
Consider how you would react to your school – teachers and fellow classmates – marking the anniversary of the slaughter of 1,200 people in Israel on October 7 – mostly civilians – with a vigil for the people who committed and supported the barbarous attack.
It is not theoretical. Jihadists and their supporters are pushing such events on American campuses.
The University of Maryland decided to cancel the celebration on October 7 by the Students for Justice in Palestine as an affront to human decency. The president of the university wrote a letter that the “day opens emotional wounds and evokes deeply rooted pain. The language has been charged and the rhetoric intense… out of an abundance of caution, we concluded to host only university-sponsored events that promote reflection on this day [October 7]. All other expressive events will be held prior to October 7, and then resume on October 8 in accordance with time, place and manner considerations of the First Amendment.”
CAIR, the Council for American Islamic Relations, stepped in to sue the school. It wanted to be able to taunt and mock Jewish pain specifically on October 7.
CAIR argued – perhaps legally correct but most definitely morally bankrupt – that free speech doesn’t take one day holidays. If people want to taunt Jews on the first anniversary of the worst mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, they have every right to do so.
The jihadi defending group made its point clear and cited the University of Maryland’s own Free Speech guide, “to think the unthinkable, to discuss the uncomfortable, and challenge the unchallengeable.” CAIR notes that Students for Justice in Palestine specifically chose October 7th because they know that Jews, Zionists and other people of conscience will be supporting Jews and noting the terrible evil of Palestinian Arab terrorists.
CAIR is attempting to not only have free speech but do it SPECIFICALLY WHEN AND WHERE they can aggravate the most Jews. They are suing to have protests at the doors of synagogues and Jewish community centers, at kosher restaurants when Jews are dining, and at school when young Jews are mourning their dead friends and family.
CAIR may win their legal argument, much like the Westboro Baptist Church was able to protest at funerals of marines. CAIR may hold placards of “Globalize the Intifada” much like radical church members held signs that “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”
Being morally depraved is not a crime.
CAIR and SJP may win the right to taunt Jews and mock their pain but society must take note: just as the Westboro church is not included in broad interfaith gatherings nor invited to give an opening blessing in Congress or sing the national anthem before sporting events, CAIR and its members should be disinvited and excluded from decent society.
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