Mamdani's Socialist Allies Turn on Him With 'Genocide' Chants as Youth Chapters Allege DSA Funding Threat

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was confronted with chants of 'We charge you with genocide' from young socialist activists at a 7 October vigil marking the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, as a row over the event spilled into an internal funding dispute within the Democratic Socialists of America.

Campus chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in New York City say leaders of the citywide organisation threatened to pull funding from youth groups that promoted the protest, which disrupted the Union Square vigil.

NYC-DSA, which Mamdani has described as his political home, has separately warned that police commissioner Jessica Tisch must be fired if she cannot end what it calls New York Police Department complicity with federal immigration enforcement. Mamdani says he stands by his 7 October statement and his attendance at the vigil.

'We Charge You With Genocide' at Union Square

Mamdani attended a vigil in Union Square on the evening of Wednesday 7 October 2026, organised by Israelis for Peace NYC to mark the third anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and honour victims of the war that followed.

Young pro-Palestinian activists from several chapters of the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and Students for Justice in Palestine gathered nearby, the Forward reported.

Protesters chanted 'Mamdani, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide' and accused him of 'capitulating to Zionist pressure.' Some waved Hamas flags and chanted 'Death to the IDF.' Police sealed off the vigil behind barricades as the chants drowned out speakers.

About 200 protesters confronted a vigil of roughly 50 people and called the mayor a 'traitor' and 'sellout,' amNY reported. Another chant ran: 'Traitor, traitor, come on out, you sold all your people out.'

Not every protester came from Mamdani's base. Groups including Within Our Lifetime and Pal-Awda also took part, and Abby Stein, a DSA member, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that most of those present had probably never supported the mayor.

Youth DSA Clash Over Deleted Post and Funding Claim

YDSA activists in New York City advertised the rally on social media before taking the post down, and protesters carried a YDSA banner at the event, the Times of Israel reported.

On Thursday, five campus DSA chapters said NYC-DSA leadership had told the youth group to remove the post. According to the chapters, the city organisation said the advertisement contained 'pro-Hamas dogwhistles' and threatened funding for the DSA groups sponsoring the protest.

The funding threat is an allegation made by the campus chapters, and a response from NYC-DSA to the claim was not included in the reports.

The chapters refused to remove the advertisements. 'Our commitment is to Palestine, not to any elected official,' they said, in a statement that also attacked Mamdani for keeping Tisch as police commissioner.

ICE Shooting Sparks Ultimatum Over Tisch

The pressure intensified after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and wounded a Dominican man in his car on Thursday while the man's five-year-old son sat in the back seat. Near the scene, protesters chanted 'Mamdani is complicit' as the mayor and Tisch gave a briefing.

After the shooting, NYC-DSA issued a statement that the Times of Israel described as the group's first ultimatum over the commissioner. Tisch 'must get ICE out of New York and end NYPD complicity with these terrorists,' the group said, using its own description of federal immigration agents. 'If the Commissioner can't put a stop to these injustices, she must be fired.'

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who won a congressional primary with Mamdani's endorsement, said Tisch must step down. Seventeen democratic socialist officials and nominees signed a letter calling for an end to police assistance for ICE operations and the disbanding of the NYPD's Strategic Response Group, JTA reported.

Tisch, a Jewish centrist from a prominent philanthropic family, was appointed by former Mayor Eric Adams in 2024. Mamdani kept her on after taking office, a decision that reassured moderates and some Jewish groups.

The city charter allows the mayor to remove the commissioner. Tisch cannot order federal agents to leave New York, although the NYPD's cooperation with federal immigration enforcement is a separate point of dispute.

Mamdani Defends Vigil Statement and Stance

Mamdani's written statement on the anniversary mourned the Israeli victims and the 251 people taken hostage, then described Israel's war in Gaza as 'genocide,' a characterisation Israel rejects, and accused the US government of complicity. 'The suffering did not begin nor end that day,' he wrote.

The statement drew criticism from the other direction too. Governor Kathy Hochul called the disruption of the vigil 'absolutely despicable,' while Anti-Defamation League chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt accused the mayor of politicising the day. 'Not once do you say "Jews",' Greenblatt wrote.

Speaking in Bushwick on Thursday, Mamdani defended both his statement and his presence at the vigil. 'I was proud to attend last night's vigil,' he said. 'There must be room to mourn every single life.' Of the protesters who called him a traitor, he said: 'This is what I signed up for.'

He said he would not change anything about how he marked the day.

The mayor now faces pressure from some of the activists and socialist organisations that supported his rise, as well as from the centrist and Jewish groups who welcomed his decision to retain Tisch.