Families of 9/11 victims are urging organizers to bar New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from attending this year’s 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony in Lower Manhattan. The families published a petition citing concerns over Mamdani’s public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric perceived as hostile to the values of the ceremony.

Concerns Over Mamdani’s Record

The petition highlights Mamdani’s perceived reluctance to condemn phrases like ‘globalize the intifada,’ a slogan associated with calls for the eradication of Jews. It also expresses concern over his alleged support for or association with individuals who are dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies.

A 2025 release by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, outlined one such association with a radical imam who hosted the Blind Sheikh, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The imam has made controversial statements about jihad.

The victims’ families also called out Mamdani’s father, Columbia government professor Mahmood Mamdani, who authored a book arguing that suicide bombers should be ‘understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.’ The book also included a passage arguing a moral equivalency between the United States and Al Qaeda.

When the passage was resurfaced in 2025, prominent New York billionaire Bill Ackman commented that ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ Fox News Digital reached out to both Mamdanis for comment, but the mayor did not immediately return a request for comment.

The mayor told a reporter at an unrelated press conference that he still plans to attend the ceremony, stating, ‘I will proudly honor families, survivors, and first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration — reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day…’

The petition noted that the presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain. The memorial museum said it has ‘intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue,’ according to a statement.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.