Hundreds of pro-Israel supporters swarmed Gracie Mansion to protest Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday night – with many calling for his resignation and outright deportation for failing to combat antisemitism and extremism.
The “Protest Zohran Mamdani” demonstration, held just one block away from Gracie Mansion, drew upwards of 300 staunch Israel supporters from across the tri-state area.
A smaller “Thank you, Mayor Mamdani” counterprotest organized by Voice of Rabbis was stationed on the opposite end of the street.
Mamdani’s critics co-opted rally cries reminiscent of those at anti-Israel protests like, “Zohran, Zohran, you can’t hide, we charge you with hate and lies” and “From the river to the sea, New York City will be free.”
Corey Cohen, a 32-year-old descendant of Holocaust survivors, choked up while describing the fear he feels daily as a Jewish Zionist while strangers brand his people as “monsters.”
“If people are telling me that I can’t speak Hebrew because I might get attacked, then, Zohran, what are we doing here? But people are not getting attacked for speaking Arabic or French or Chinese, so I’ve just … that’s why I’m crying,” Cohen told The Post.
Cohen separately condemned the Democratic party’s inaction in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attacks that plunged Israel and Palestine into an all-out war.
“I really do think that [Democrats] are for the minority, they’re for human rights, and that’s why my heart is shattered, because [Hamas] violated human rights,” Cohen said.
Others, though, extended less grace to Hizzoner.
Adam and Sandy, an elderly Jewish couple from New Jersey, posed with “Zohran the Destroyer” posters that had Mamdani’s face plastered over “Star Wars” villain Emperor Palpatine.
Adam had one succinct message for the mayor: “Quit.”
Alison, a 25-year-old Brooklynite, also called on Mamdani to “resign” – and advocated for his deportation. The crowd began chanting “deport Mamdani” as the protest, hosted by the #EndJewHatred Movement, fizzled out.
Mamdani was born in Uganda and became a naturalized American citizen in 2018.
The last time critics flocked to Gracie Mansion in opposition to Mamdani, the NYPD thwarted a would-be mass casualty attack.
In early March, a pair of ISIS admirers allegedly hurled a botched IED into a rowdy mob outside of the mayor’s home. The protesters were gathered for an anti-Muslim demonstration organized by far-right agitator Jake Lang.
The suspects, a pair of young men from Pennsylvania, were arrested at the scene. They each face federal terrorism charges.
Mamdani failed to denounce the twisted extremists in the immediate aftermath of the attempted attack.