Families of 9/11 victims are demanding NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani be banned from the 25th anniversary of the attacks at Ground Zero, branding him an apologist for Islamic terror whose presence would be an insult to the memories of nearly 3,000 people murdered.
“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,” said Giovanni Galante – whose 29-year-old wife Grace Catherine Galante was among 2,977 innocents killed by al-Qaeda terrorists.
Galante, 55, is one of the organizers of a petition drive that has collected over 1,100 signatures in a little over a week, including from at least 300 victims’ families.
“This day is sacred to us,” said the Brooklyn-born real estate agent who now lives in Florida.
“It is not political, and it is not a platform for those connected to such views. His presence would be deeply hurtful and inappropriate — like an unwelcome guest at a deeply personal ceremony.”
Galante and other petition organizers hope to gather enough signatures to convince local lawmakers and the ceremony’s organizers, the nonprofit 9/11 Memorial & Museum, to keep Mamdani away from the silver-anniversary ceremony planned for the former Twin Towers site in Lower Manhattan.
The petition posted on Change.org cites an array of concerns about Mamdani, who is the city’s first Muslim mayor and has promoted his religion since taking office in January. They include:
- Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry for violence against Jewish people.
- His palling around on the mayoral campaign last year with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a notorious, gay-hating Brooklyn imam who once urged followers to participate in gun-free jihad and “march through the city of New York.” Wahhaj was an unindicted co-conspirator in 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
- His appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city’s chief counsel. Kassem has defended Ahmed al-Darbi — an al-Qaeda terrorist who pleaded guilty in a 2002 plot to bomb a French oil tanker – and Mahmoud Khalil, the radical lead organizer of the 2024 anti-Israel tentifada at Columbia University.
- The mayor’s endorsement of fellow Democratic Socialist of America member Aber Kawas for a state Senate seat — despite her once describing 9/11 as a terror attack that “a couple of people did” and expressing sympathy for Ahmed Ferhani, who pleaded guilty in 2012 to plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue.
- Hizzoner’s endorsement of Darializa Avila Chevalier for Congress. Mamdani has called the DSA insurgent the “perfect candidate” despite her radical past, which includes once calling the U.S. “a f—ing disgrace” and boasting she desecrated the American flag by using it like a napkin to wipe her filthy hands.
- Mamdani defending al-Qaeda fiend Anwar al-Awlaki — and blaming America for turning the prostitution-loving cleric into a terrorist, according to some of his 2015 social media posts that resurfaced last year. Al-Awlaki became a prominent imam at mosques in San Diego and Virginia, eventually interacting with three of the heinous 9/11 hijackers there, U.S. officials have said.
- Mamdani’s dad, Mahmood Mamdani, a chaired professor of African history and colonialism at Columbia University, has expressed sympathy for suicide bombers.
“Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy,” the petition says.
“The 25th anniversary should remain centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day.”
Organizer Cheri Sparacio, whose 35-year-old husband Thomas was killed on 9/11, quipped there are “so many other examples” why it would be “disrespectful” for Mamdani to attend the ceremony that “we couldn’t fit them on the list.”
They include Mamdani’s longtime association with vile left-wing influencer Hasan Piker, who once said “America deserved” the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, and Mamdani’s outlandish claim that he and other fellow Muslims were also victims of 9/11 because it supposedly triggered a horrible wave of “Islamophobia,” added Sparacio, of Staten Island.
Monica Iken-Murphy, whose 37-year-old husband Michael Iken was killed on 9/11 and was a leading advocate in the creation of 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said she signed the petition but insisted it’s not about Mamdani’s politics.
Only politicians involved in the healing “process from the start” — such as ex-NYC Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and longtime 9/11 family advocate and City Council Speaker Julie Menin — should join 9/11 family members in attending “this pivotal 25th anniversary ceremony,” she said.
“I don’t want families to feel uncomfortable,” said Iken-Murphy, also a founding trustee on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s board. “Others can come a different day, but let the families have their time.”
When asked about the petition drive, Julie Wood, a spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said the nonprofit has “intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue.”
“Government officials from across the political spectrum, including every sitting president, governor, and mayor since 9/11, have attended the ceremony simply to bear witness — they do not deliver remarks and are asked to remain in a designated area,” Wood said.
The mayor’s office did not return messages.
Galante and other organizers said they plan to contact the NYC Council for help in their ban-Mamdani crusade.
Menin did not return a message seeking comment, but Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola told The Post she’s ready to assist.
“This is a mayor who has endorsed candidates and has been endorsed by individuals who openly said that ‘America deserved 9/11,’ so I completely understand why families of those who lost loved ones would not want him there,” she said.
