Big Apple mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani called for an end to \u201coccupation and apartheid\u201d in a tardy statement Monday as the living Israeli hostages were returned after two years in Hamas\u2019 captivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s scenes of Israelis and Palestinians are profoundly moving: Israeli hostages being freed and families reunited after years of fear, uncertainty, and torture; the first days in Gaza without relentless Israeli bombardment of Palestinians as families return to rubble and loved ones freed from detention,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The vocal critic of Israel said there\u2019s a glimmer of hope that the ceasefire brokered by President Trump will hold, but also lamented American tax dollars that allegedly \u201cfunded a genocide\u201d in Gaza after the Oct. 7., 2023, terror attacks.<\/p>\n
Big Apple mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani called for an end to \u201coccupation and apartheid\u201d in a tardy statement Monday as the living Israeli hostages were returned after two years in Hamas\u2019 captivity.\u00a0 Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n
Eitan Abraham Mor, released from Gaza, embraces his loved ones at Rabin Medical Center. via REUTERS<\/p>\n
ICRC vehicles carrying released Israeli hostages make their way through groups of Palestinians and Hamas gunmen on their way to the Israeli border. AP<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must work towards a future built upon justice, one without occupation and apartheid, and for a world where every person can live with safety and dignity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Israel-bashing statement came hours after his election rivals Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa praised the release of 20 captives by Hamas \u2013 a long-awaited moment that drew\u00a0celebration across New York City<\/a>\u00a0among crowds in Central Park and political leaders of nearly all political stripes.<\/p>\n City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who is Jewish and pro-Israel, quickly lambasted Mamdani\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n Released Israeli hostage Evyatar David reacts upon arriving at Beilinson Hospital in the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva on Monday, October 13, 2025. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cGLARINGLY MISSING FROM THIS WORD SALAD: Any single mention of HAMAS or the TERRORISTS who brought this upon themselves by murdering & raping their way across Israel on 10\/7,\u201d the Republican\u00a0wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n State Assemblyman Sam Berger, a Jewish Democrat repping Orthodox communities in Queens, said: \u201cI\u2019m going to need a fork to parse through this word salad for any mention of Hamas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Released Israeli hostage, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, kisses his mother after being freed. via REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cThis didn\u2019t need to be a two year wait. There didn\u2019t need to be a war. There didn\u2019t need to be hostages. People didn\u2019t need to die. And Hamas is solely to blame,\u201d he told\u00a0The Post. \u201cBut an actual racist, violent, hate-filled organization like Hamas is an inconvenient truth for Zohran\u2019s \u2018anti-Jewish state\u2019 narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s hours-long silence on the hostages\u2019 release \u201cspeaks volumes,\u201d Cuomo\u00a0argued<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The former governor, who is running as an independent for mayor,\u00a0evoked Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel\u2019s famous quote: \u201cThe opposite of love is not hate, it\u2019s indifference.\u201d<\/p>\n President Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One while en route to Egypt on Monday, October 13, 2025. REUTERS<\/p>\n New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks out after the hostages were freed. Don Pollard<\/p>\n \u201cToday, we reject indifference & choose remembrance,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThis is more than a diplomatic success; it is a moral moment, a reminder of our shared humanity and the sacred value of every life. We must never forget the terrorist act that brought us here, and we must stand together to say, with one voice: never forget and never again. Terrorism has no place in Gaza, in the Middle East, or anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Sliwa, the Republican nominee, found spiritual significance in the agonizing 738 days that the hostages stayed in captivity.<\/p>\n \u201cA massive weight has been lifted from their families\u2019 shoulders,\u201d he said. \u201cPeace is always the ultimate goal, and finally, an end to the war is something we all should celebrate,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe pray that these hostages coming home can recover, and live peacefully again.\u201d<\/p>\n The prayer for peace was also echoed by Mayor Eric Adams, who is no longer running for re-election.<\/p>\n Matan Zangauker meeting his mother at the initial reception point after being released from Hamas, in Israel. AP<\/p>\n \u201cOur hearts are filled with joy as an end to the war in Gaza appears to be on the horizon, and families have finally been united,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe pray that this news will bring lasting peace, justice, and prosperity to Israelis and Palestinians alike.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani\u00a0didn\u2019t join the chorus\u00a0until long after his rivals.<\/p>\n He spent\u00a0the weekend\u00a0running a 5K in Brooklyn<\/a>\u00a0fundraising for the controversial\u00a0UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was forced to fire several of its staffers after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s\u00a0seldom-seen wife, Rama Duwaji, also drew fire for\u00a0publicly mourning a Palestinian influencer<\/a>\u00a0who had cheered the Oct. 7 attacks.<\/p>\n The relief over the hostages extended beyond New York City, the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a>, in a solemn statement, noted the pointed impact that the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks had on New Yorkers.<\/p>\n Released Israeli hostage Avinatan Or greets well-wishers upon arriving at Beilinson Hospital in the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I visited Israel in the immediate aftermath of the attack, I grieved alongside the families of Omer Neutra and Itay Chen,\u201d she said, referring to two New Yorkers held hostage and presumed dead.<\/p>\n \u201cMy heart is with them today, and with the many others who are still awaiting the closure they deserve. May the victims\u2019 memories be a blessing, and may we never forget their loved ones\u2019 pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul, without referring to\u00a0President Trump<\/a>\u00a0by name, said she was grateful for his administration\u2019s role in securing the hostages\u2019 release.<\/p>\n Stay up to date on the Israel-Hamas cease-fire exchange <\/p>\n \u201cWith their return and a permanent ceasefire, I\u2019m hopeful that vital aid will soon reach families suffering in Gaza and that today marks the beginning of a new chapter of lasting peace and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike,\u201d the Democrat said.<\/p>\n Republicans weren\u2019t so shy about hailing Trump.<\/p>\n Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) cast the hostage deal as a victory for the president.<\/p>\n New York Representative, Nicole Malliotakis also spoke out after the hostages were freed. Michael McWeeney for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump is a real dealmaker and leader with the strength, power and chutzpah to deliver lasting peace,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her fellow Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Hudson Valley) argued Trump showed \u201cpeace through strength works \u2014 although he said more needs to be done.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we celebrate today, we continue to demand the return of the remains of the 28 hostages murdered by Hamas, including Americans Omer Neutra and Itay Chen,\u201d he said. \u201cLet me be clear: peace can only endure when terror is defeated, and every last hostage, living or deceased, is brought home.\u201d<\/p>\n