Families from 9/11 urge Mamdani to skip Friday's 25th anniversary memorial

Mamdani, New York City's first Muslim mayor, has been criticized by Jewish groups over his alignment with pro-Palestinian groups, criticism of the Israeli government, and his use of the phrase "globalize the intifada," which has been linked to acts of violence against Jewish people and acts of terrorism.

Nineteen terrorist hijackers belonging to the militant group al-Qaida carried out the flights.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed when hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and into a field in southwest Pennsylvania. The latter, United Airlines 93, was believed to be targeting the White House or Capitol.

More than 2,700 died in the collapse of the trade center’s iconic twin towers.

"The purpose of the 25th anniversary is for victims and survivors to come together and pray, not have a circus around us," said Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace was killed in the attacks.

Charles Wolf, who lost his wife when the first plane hit the Twin Towers, accused Mamdani of "serving himself, not the people" by planning to attend Friday's commemoration at Ground Zero.

"We are asking respectfully that he not show up, even though there are going to be other politicians there," he said in remarks. "These are the politicians that helped us push beneficial laws through and literally held our hand during that time. Mayor Mamdani has not shown any of that, none of it. He just wants to be there because he wants to be there.

"So we are asking him to respect the fact that that trauma is revived during the ceremony. It is a private ceremony. It is not a public ceremony. Mayor Mamdani, please do not come."

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was in office during the Sept. 11 attacks, over the weekend added to the growing chorus of former officials calling on Mamdani not to attend Friday's memorial events.

"Having lost friends there and being very close to many of the families, it offends me that he's going," Giuliani told Newsmax in an interview that aired Sunday.

Meanwhile, an online petition organized by 9/11 families calling on Mamdani to skip the commemorations has gathered more than 100,000 signatures since it was posted last month.

The petition lists grievances against the mayor, including claims that he supports or associates with people who are "dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies."

Mamdani has also faced criticism for his appointment of Ramzi Kassem as New York City's chief legal counsel. The mayor's critics have pointed to Kassem's previous legal representation of a convicted al-Qaida member whose brother-in-law was among the terrorists who hijacked the plane that hit the Pentagon during the 2001 attacks.

Despite the criticism, Mamdani has remained defiant and is vowing to attend the commemorations. His Friday schedule lists more than a dozen events, including visits to the New York Police Department's official 9/11 ceremony, New York Fire Department firehouses that lost firefighters in the attacks, and the ceremony at Ground Zero on the site of the former twin towers.

Last week, Mamdani signed orders designating Sept. 11 as an annual "citywide day of remembrance and service" and establishing a new task force to strengthen the city's emergency preparedness.

“I want this week to be a focus on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago in the horrific act of terror of September 11th," Mamdani, a democratic socialist, told reporters over the weekend. "And a focus also on the first responders who gave everything they could to this city and to the people who came together to try and help their fellow New Yorkers."

President Donald Trump was in New York City on Tuesday, visited Ground Zero and shared remarks, and on Friday will at the Pentagon site.. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected Friday at Ground Zero, as are all living former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.