September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows defends Mamdani's 9/11 attendance
September 11th Families for Peaceful TomorrowsOrganization of September 11 family members
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows supported Mamdani’s attendance as consistent with prior mayors’ responsibility to bear witness and rejected the grounds offered for excluding him.
Responding to
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows said Mamdani’s planned attendance is consistent with the responsibility undertaken by prior New York City mayors and condemned the campaign to exclude him as containing Islamophobic sentiment.
“We strongly condemn the anti-American accusations and Islamophobic sentiment underlying the effort seeking to prevent him from being at Ground Zero.”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Should Zohran Mamdani attend New York City’s 9/11 memorial?
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Gov. George Pataki, and some relatives of September 11 victims said Mayor Zohran Mamdani should not attend the 2026 commemoration, citing concerns about his rhetoric and associations. Mamdani said he would attend to honor victims, families, survivors, and first responders. Other elected officials and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows said excluding the sitting mayor would politicize a ceremony meant for collective remembrance. The dispute is over the civic meaning and appropriateness of attendance, not over whether Mamdani has endorsed the September 11 attacks. Mamdani attended the 25th-anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero on September 11, 2026, shaking hands with Giuliani beforehand, and no protest took place. The argument over whether he should have been there continued after the ceremony, and the case remains open to record it.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
The organization states that Mamdani’s attendance follows the responsibility undertaken by prior New York City mayors and supports anyone who comes to pay respects.
Before the quotation
The organization responded to an ongoing campaign and petition asking that Mamdani be excluded from Ground Zero commemorations.
After the quotation
Its statement supports attendance by anyone coming to pay respects and describes the mayor’s planned presence as consistent with preceding mayors’ role.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The statement affirmatively supports attendance and identifies it as mayoral duty. Its condemnation of exclusion supports that substantive defense rather than only contesting a label.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Zohran Mamdani
Corrections to this statement
These notices document reporting corrections, classification changes, and topic-label updates.
Classification correction
Correction to: Statement by September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
- Previous classification
- Challenges the characterization. The group explicitly disputed the characterizations used in the exclusion campaign while supporting attendance.
- Corrected classification
- Defends or excuses. The statement affirmatively supports attendance and identifies it as mayoral duty. Its condemnation of exclusion supports that substantive defense rather than only contesting a label.
We corrected the editorial classification of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows's response about Mamdani attending to commemorate victims. The statement affirmatively supports attendance and identifies it as mayoral duty. Its condemnation of exclusion supports that substantive defense rather than only contesting a label. This corrects our labeling, not a later change in the speaker's position.
This corrects an editorial classification.
The organization states that Mamdani’s attendance follows the responsibility undertaken by prior New York City mayors and supports anyone who comes to pay respects.
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Read the full caseTrump calls the Mamdani-AOC laughing moment "terrible"
“I think it's terrible. It's not a place to be laughing... the fact that they were laughing together at a very important part of the ceremony was inappropriate.”Read statement
Emma Vigeland calls Mamdani's handshake with Giuliani at the 9/11 ceremony masterful
“To recap: 1) Giuliani went on a racist rant about Muslims and said he'd be "offended" if Mamdani attended the 9/11 ceremony 2) Mamdani released thousands of documents on 9/11 air quality that implicate Giuliani 3) Mamdani shakes his hand with a smile at the ceremony Masterful.”Read statement
Chris Hayes says Mamdani modelled "civility and grace" by showing up and shaking hands
“Too many people online seem to conflate left politics with being obnoxious and scathing and Mamdani is such a model for combining a principled ideological vision with civility and grace. You shake hands, you act like a grown up even whether others aren't. You show up.”Read statement
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- September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows defends Mamdani's 9/11 attendance
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The Dispute Index. "September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows defends Mamdani's 9/11 attendance". First published: 2026-09-09. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/186-september-11th-families-for-peaceful-tomorrows-supported-mamdani