Walter Matuza asks Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the 9/11 ceremony
Walter Matuza9/11 family member
Matuza directly asked Mamdani not to attend the Ground Zero ceremony.
“Respectfully, stay away from the ceremony on 9/11 at ground zero.”
Reporting
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
Reporting
About this source
Video report quoting Matuza's direct request that Mamdani not attend.
Before the quotation
Matuza participated in a family-led petition event before the anniversary.
After the quotation
He described attendance as disrespectful to participating family members.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
He expressly requested non-attendance.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Zohran Mamdani
More from this case
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
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Walter Matuza asks Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the 9/11 ceremony
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/227-matuza-directly-asked-mamdani-not-to-attend-the
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Walter Matuza asks Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the 9/11 ceremony". First published: 2026-09-10. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/227-matuza-directly-asked-mamdani-not-to-attend-the