Mamdani Dines at Hinds Hall After Oct. 7 Vigil

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dined at Hinds Hall, a Palestinian restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, after attending an Oct. 7 anniversary vigil in Union Square. His visit followed criticism of remarks in his anniversary statement about the Hamas attack and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, as well as past controversy over menu language at the restaurant chain’s Brooklyn location. A video cited in reporting showed Mamdani sitting with others, laughing and eating inside Hinds Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 7, the third anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel. He had attended a candlelit vigil honoring those killed in the attack. Demonstrators heckled him there, according to reports, although accounts differed on what protesters said and how they characterized their criticism. In his anniversary statement, Mamdani called Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack a horrific war crime and described Israel’s campaign in Gaza as an ongoing genocide. Those characterizations were his own. He has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide, while Israeli officials and others have disputed such accusations. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Mamdani said there must be room to mourn every life.