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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he will attend New York City’s annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony Friday despite mounting criticism from some family members of victims and several prominent Republicans who have called on him to stay away.
The controversy centers on the mayor’s appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city’s chief legal counsel. Critics have pointed to Kassem’s past legal representation of a convicted al Qaeda member whose brother-in-law was among the terrorists who hijacked the plane that struck the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
A petition launched by relatives of 9/11 victims urging the mayor not to attend the annual ceremony has gathered nearly 100,000 signatures, according to supporters of the effort. Former Gov. George Pataki has also said Mamdani should not attend.
The mayor has defended his commitment to honoring the victims of the attacks. Last week, he signed two executive orders, including one establishing Sept. 11 as an annual “Citywide Day of Remembrance and Service” and another aimed at modernizing the city’s emergency preparedness procedures. Kassem was present when the orders were signed, drawing additional criticism from opponents.
Mamdani is expected to become the first Muslim mayor to attend the city’s official 9/11 remembrance ceremony, though nearly every New York City mayor before him has participated in the event.
The debate intensified over the weekend when former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, speaking on Newsmax, said he would be offended if Mamdani attended the ceremony. Giuliani also made claims that critics and others have described as baseless, including suggesting the mayor does not believe the Sept. 11 attacks were acts of terrorism. Some have characterized Giuliani’s comments as anti-Muslim.
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Ahead of the New York Carnival Parade on Monday, Mayor Mamdani vowed to be at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony, where he will focus on “the first responders who gave everything.”
“I’m proud to be the mayor of this city. I love this city. I love this country. And what I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago in the horrific act of terror of September 11th, 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,” Mamdani said.
When asked about Giuliani’s comments, Mamdani said, “I don’t have much more to add.”
Security preparations for Friday’s ceremony are expected to begin later this week, including the installation of fencing and security checkpoints around the World Trade Center site. Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend, while President Trump will not be at the ceremony.
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