NY elected officials attend Oct. 7 memorial

One year after Hamas’ attack on Israel that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 abducted, Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul attended a memorial event in Central Park to honor the victims on the Israeli side of the conflict. 

The event, hosted by UJA Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, invited elected officials to light traditional memorial candles and pay their respects. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum also hosted friends and family of Israeli hostages at the event. 

Joining the mayor and governor in lighting the candles and standing on stage with their heads bowed while a prayer was chanted were Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and state Attorney General Letitia James. 

In attendance were other New York elected officials like Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Jerry Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and mayoral hopeful Comptroller Brad Lander.

It was the first time the embattled New York City mayor, who is facing federal corruption charges and a cascade of resignations within his administration, was seen publicly with so many statewide officials since his indictment was unsealed last month. 

The event also featured speeches from survivors of the Oct. 7 attack and musical performances. A few thousand people were in the audience, some of which shouted boos when James’ and Schumer's names were read. The audience applauded when Jeffries’ and Adams’ names were read. 

Meanwhile, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams – who would be interim mayor if Adams is ousted or resigns – attended a different event hosted by Israelis for Peace and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. 

A spokesperson for JFREJ told City & State the event was meant to create a space where people could come together to mourn Israeli and Palestinian lives. 

“Our hearts are big enough to grieve the victims of the Hamas attacks, and the victims of the Israeli government's and military's ongoing slaughter of the Palestinian people -- and too many people have used the horrific Hamas attack as justification for this slaughter,” the spokesperson said. 

For the Palestinians, the war rages on and the death toll continues to climb above 40,000. 

Protests erupted in several parts of the city from Wall Street to Washington Square Park and Times Square demanding a ceasefire and an end to the violence. 

The protests included students from the City University of New York and Columbia University, schools that found their campuses occupied by student encampments in the spring of 2023 after Israel’s heavy retaliation against Hamas in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters chanted “USA, USA, how many kids did you kill today?” and police intervened in clashes with a small number of pro-Israel counter protesters.

On Monday, Adams announced that city flags were lowered to half-staff and city buildings in all five boroughs were lit yellow in remembrance of the Oct. 7 attack.