Steven Stalinsky, Ph.D. is Executive Director of MEMRI.

Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel, open support for terrorist organizations has become a disturbing feature of New York’s public life. Imams in mosques, Islamist activist groups, and their allies have proudly voiced solidarity with Hamas, Hizbullah, and other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations – not in secret, but in full view, on the streets and across social media. Their message is not one of peace or coexistence, but of hatred, antisemitism, and support for the destruction of Israel.

What only a few years ago would have been condemned as extremist rhetoric is now creeping into the mainstream. Those glorifying violence are increasingly emboldened, speaking openly and with impunity, with no fear of consequences. Based on his own publicly available statements, Zohran Mamdani’s rise in New York politics is a troubling sign that if elected, this normalization of extremism could soon reach the city’s highest levels. Already, as New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned on October 30, antisemitism is spreading “like a cancer” across the city and the entire country.

A case in point is the hundreds who attended the October 28 sentencing of pro-Hamas New Yorker Tarek Bazrouk in a show of support for him – a man with an extensive criminal history and documented support of terrorist groups, and an “arsenal” of weapons in his apartment,” who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit hate crimes and was convicted of attacking Jews at anti-Israel protests and sentenced to 17 months in prison. A letter demanding leniency for him had garnered over 11,000 signatures.

Not a single week has passed since October 7 without open expressions of support for Hamas on New York streets, and even in the rest of the state. Just three days after the massacre, on October 10, 2023, Imam Tom Facchine of the Utica Masjid declared: “We’re with the Palestinian resistance, one hundred percent. No ifs, no ands, no buts. No equivocations, no apologies, no condemnations.”

Let’s be honest about what “the Palestinian resistance” means in this context. It means Hamas. It means the Islamic Jihad. It means the PFLP. It means Hizbullah. Every one of them is a U.S.-designated terror organization – and yet, their supporters are waving their flags in the heart of Brooklyn.

In February 2025, at a rally outside the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, demonstrators hoisted Hamas, Hizbullah, and PFLP banners while chanting “They say that Gazans are terrorists – we are all Gazans!” and “Resistance is glorious!” Activist Raja Abdulhaq proclaimed, “Gaza has shown us the way for resistance; we need to reinvent the movement in the West.”

On October 16, 2025, the Bronx Anti-War Coalition openly celebrated terrorism, posting photos and videos from a vigil it had held that day honoring slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – “& all Martyrs in the struggle against Zionism & U.S.-led Western imperialism.” In its tribute, the group quoted “Martyr” Sinwar himself: “We must continue on the same path we started or let it be another Karbala.”[1] Portraits of Hizbullah’s slain secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah – another leader of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization – were displayed prominently throughout the rally.

On May 10, 2025, at a rally organized by the New York-based group PAL-Awda in Bay Ridge – that had been promoted as a “protest to dismantle the genocidal Zionist entity – fight for liberation and return” – the masks were completely off. Members of Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) joined the crowd in chanting “End the State of Israel!” and “No cops, no KKK, no fascist USA.” One demonstrator shouted proudly, “I am Hamas — you’re looking Hamas in the eye.”

The glorification of terror has not ended there – it has only intensified. At another jihadi vigil in Bay Ridge, organizers paid tribute to “beloved martyrs,” including slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hizbullah commander Fuad Shukr, a mastermind of the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed 241 U.S. service members. One speaker proclaimed, “From within the belly of the beast, we salute the Axis of Resistance. It is either victory or martyrdom – we welcome whatever path the resistance chooses to take in order to dismantle the Zionist state.”

This extremist rhetoric isn’t confined to street protests. It has seeped into mosques and Islamic centers across New York, surfacing at community gatherings and even celebratory events, where open expressions of solidarity with Hamas are increasingly normalized. On October 19, 2025, New York activist Nisreen Muntasser – known to her followers as “Everyday Hijabi Mom” – posted a video of herself and activist Najla Khass dancing at an engagement party beneath a large Palestinian flag adorned with portraits of Haniyeh and Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida, both killed by Israel. The caption read: “We don’t care what the world says anymore. We stand with the resistance, proudly, without apology… Thanks to Gaza, Palestinians are finally seen.”

The radicalization extends into houses of worship. Weekly sermons at the Fort Hamilton Islamic Society in Bay Ridge have trafficked in antisemitic tropes and, at times, appeared to justify violence. Less than a month after the October 7 attacks, one sermon argued that “the media only allows us to say this is a conflict between Muslims and Zionists – not the Jews. [But] we must properly identify the criminals” – namely the Jews. In January 2024, another speaker at the same mosque declared that Jews “have incurred the wrath of Allah.” Across the Hudson River at the Islamic Center of Rockland County, an imam went even further, calling Hamas “the people of Allah” and invoking violence: “Oh Allah, destroy the Zionist Jews… Oh Allah, seize them with a crushing grip.” He added that Hamas would prevail because of its faith.

The pattern is unmistakable. At the Muslim Community Center in Brooklyn, Imam Hassan Akbar celebrated “those freedom fighters Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar,” expressing joy at seeing them “straighten their backs and fight for their liberation and the liberation of their people.”

In Queens, Mufti Muhammad Ibn Muneer of the Masjid on the Van Wyck delivered sermons vilifying Jews. And at the Muslim American Society (MAS) in Staten Island, Islamic scholar Raja Abdulhaq urged Gaza to “becom[e] a model for us to follow.” He added that “if these messages of resistance, of resilience, of rejecting capitalism, of rejecting materialism… are not destroyed, the rest of the world will rise up again.”

Even more troubling, some New York political figures have chosen to legitimize these voices rather than condemn them. In January 2025, mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wrote on X, “It was a privilege to join Jummah prayers at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge today,” along with a photo of himself with the mosque’s Imam Muhammad Al-Barr – who, in a sermon, had prayed for Israel’s annihilation. Mamdani’s ties to figures such as 1993 World Trade Center bombing unindicted co-conspirator Siraj Wahhand to activists who openly support Hamas underscore just how deeply extremist rhetoric has seeped into New York’s political mainstream.

The glorification of Hamas is not merely disturbing — it is dangerous. This is an organization the U.S. government has long designated as a terrorist group, responsible for suicide bombings, kidnappings, and mass-casualty attacks against civilians. The late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — now openly celebrated at rallies and vigils in New York — personally oversaw meticulous preparations for the October 7 massacre.

His plans detailed every phase: pre-attack mobilization, infiltration tactics, and psychological warfare — including the deliberate filming and broadcasting of atrocities. The slaughter, beheadings, mutilations, and desecrations were not random acts of brutality; they were part of a calculated strategy to terrorize. Sinwar himself had vowed to “leave the earth scorched,” calling for preparing guns, cleavers, axes and knives” for “lone operations” and promising to “desecrate synagogues and Jewish temples all over the world.”

That a figure like Sinwar is being honored on American soil should alarm every citizen. Open displays of support for Hamas — and the public celebration of its leaders and attacks — demand serious scrutiny in the context of national security. Under U.S. law, praising or materially supporting designated terrorist organizations may have criminal implications. Beyond the legal aspect, the normalization of this rhetoric poses a clear threat: It risks radicalizing individuals, inspiring lone-actor attacks, and eroding communal safety – particularly for New York’s Jewish residents.

The persistence of this public glorification of Hamas and other terrorist groups in New York reflects not isolated extremism, but an alarming societal trend. These are not fringe gestures or symbolic slogans; they indicate an environment in which violent jihadist ideology can be celebrated openly — and where political figures’ engagement with such movements further legitimizes them.  This is happening throughout the country.

If New York is to remain a city defined by freedom, tolerance, and the rule of law, its leaders cannot look away. Authorities, community organizations, and policymakers must confront this normalization of hate and violence against Jews with vigilance, and, where warranted, with law enforcement. But first and foremost, it must be confronted by the voters.

* Steven Stalinsky, Ph.D. is Executive Director of MEMRI.