{"id":827821,"date":"2026-07-26T20:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T20:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/827821\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T20:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T20:21:15","slug":"an-unwelcome-guest-some-9-11-victims-families-want-mamdani-barred-from-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/827821\/","title":{"rendered":"‘An unwelcome guest’: Some 9\/11 victims’ families want Mamdani barred from tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York are calling to bar the city\u2019s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, from attending the annual commemoration, according to a petition<\/a> posted online Saturday.<\/p>\n

The petition, signed by some 300 families of victims of 9\/11, says reasons that Mamdani should be barred from the event include \u201cPerceived reluctance to clearly and unequivocally condemn phrases such as \u2018globalize the intifada,’\u201d as well as support for individuals who have been apologists for jihad, extremism, and terrorism, and who have minimized the attacks.<\/p>\n

It points to Mamdani\u2019s father, who the petition says \u201cpenned a book shortly after 9\/11 in which he argued that suicide bombers should be \u2018understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.’\u201d<\/p>\n

It also notes the left-wing mayor\u2019s own comments blaming the US for encouraging attacks on itself, and his tendency to fraternize with people and political candidates who disrespect American institutions and symbols.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 25th anniversary should remain centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day,\u201d the petition declares.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEnsuring that all participants reflect these principles is essential to preserving the integrity of the commemoration,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tAttendees hold photos high during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, September 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis day is sacred to us,\u201d Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace Catherine Galante was killed in the attacks, told The New York Post<\/a>. \u201cIt is not political, and it is not a platform for those connected to such views. His presence would be deeply hurtful and inappropriate \u2014 like an unwelcome guest at a deeply personal ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheri Sparacio, who lost her husband Thomas, said the mayor\u2019s presence would be \u201cdisrespectful\u201d to the families.<\/p>\n

According to the Post, over 1,100 members of the families of around 300 9\/11 victims are among the 6,500 signatories to the petition so far.<\/p>\n

Organizers told the outlet that the mayor is among various officials invited, and will not be speaking.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s office told the Post that Mamdani plans to attend.<\/p>\n


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\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York are calling to bar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":827822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[10475,49,48,167,127704,561,82,5148],"class_list":["post-827821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-9-11-attacks","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-mayor","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/827822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}