A group of 9/11 victims’ relatives is facing accusations of racism online after urging New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend Friday’s 25th anniversary memorial ceremony at Ground Zero. More than a dozen family members joined Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday to deliver a petition calling on Mamdani to stay away from the commemoration. Their petition, however, has been slammed by many as a supposedly racist protest.
The families did state that their objections are not based on Mamdani’s religion or background, but on his political positions, including his past rhetoric about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his decision to appoint attorney Ramzi Kassem (former Al-Qaeda defense lawyer) as his chief legal counsel.
Cheri Sparacio, whose husband Tom died in the South Tower, said the memorial should remain focused on victims and survivors. Charles Wolf, whose wife Katherine died in the attacks, also argued that Mamdani had not demonstrated the same connection to 9/11 families as previous city leaders.
Mamdani, however, has said he will still attend. The 34-year-old mayor was only nine years old when the towers fell and has said he wants to “proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders.” The Mayor has also signed an executive order designating September 11 as an official citywide day of remembrance and service.
Some people online are getting tired of the petitioners
The dispute regarding Mamdani’s attendance has sparked a fierce online backlash from critics who accuse the petition organizers of targeting Mamdani because he is Muslim. Some even pointed out how Mamdani had nothing to do with the 9/11 tragedy. “He was a kid when it happened.” one Reddit commenter wrote, with another arguing, “He was a NINE-YEAR-OLD CHILD when the 9/11 attack happened.”
Another said, “Do they think only white Christians died on 9/11?” Others argued that the controversy was really about Mamdani’s religion and ethnicity, with one commenter writing, “These people are racists, pure and simple and they disgrace the memory of the Dead.” and another echoing the sentiment, “Whenever someone says ‘it’s not about race/religion’ you know it’s about race and religion.”
One critic couldn’t help but get mad at the anti-Mamdani protesters, “Oh [expletive] off you racist [expletive], brown man bad, brown man terrorist, he was a kid when it happened you stupid [expletive].” One 9/11 responder even joined the fray, claiming, “As a 9/11 first responder who cooked my lungs that day, these racists can [expletive] right off. You do not speak for me. Crawl back into your [expletive] cave and watch more fox news.”
