Volunteers held signs that said “Not One More Life” in English and Hebrew as mourners gathered on Oct. 7 in Union Square, flameless candles in hand, to remember the lives of Israelis and Palestinians killed in the conflict.

The vigil, “Mourn the Dead, End The Bloodshed,” was organized by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation organization that advocates for a ceasefire. The event was interrupted by protesters carrying Palestinian flags and chanting insults at Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who attended the vigil alongside Comptroller Mark Levine and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Mourners were moved behind the mayor’s barricade and held the vigil in a circle fenced off by a line of police officers. 

The event fell on the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed more than 1,100 Israelis and led to the abduction of 251 others. In a statement that day, Mamdani acknowledged the war crimes committed by Hamas. He also said the genocide in Gaza was responsible for the deaths of more than 74,000 Palestinians.

Before the vigil began, community members waited for organizers to set up chairs and hand out candles. About 20 minutes before the event started, protesters began approaching Union Square.

Petra Gregory, an alum of the College of Staten Island who uses they/them pronouns, said they came to demand that Mamdani use his power to push the City University of New York to divest from companies investing in Israel. Gregory said the vigil was not a part of their decision to protest in Union Square.

“This is called Union Square because of the history of union organizing and labor organizing here in New York. And we’re here to connect with that history,” Gregory said.

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of the Neturei Karta, a group of anti-Zionist Jews, marched from City Hall to Union Square with other protesters. Weiss said he’s against Israel’s occupation and believes his religion forbids Jews from developing a state. He also criticized Mamdani for not acting on the sale of Palestinian land to the United States, he said.

Weiss, too, said disrupting the vigil was not his goal. While he was upset about the rabbis who were killed on Oct. 7, he didn’t appreciate the Israeli flags he saw at the vigil.

“If they are vigils for dead people, I can understand. But for the state of Israel, the Israeli flag—as if that is the solution, and that we should support and give respect—no,” Weiss said.

According to Israelis for Peace, bringing flags to vigils is prohibited. Still, Israeli and Palestinian flags were in the crowd.

As protesters arrived, attendees huddled in a circle, leaving chairs behind. Protesters watched from outside the metal fence, along with some mourners who could not convince police to let them behind the barricade.

Speakers shared testimonies from people in Palestine and Israel who had experienced loss during the conflict, competing with the voices of protestors who chanted pro-Palestinian slogans and rebukes at Mamdani. At one point, the speakers’ microphone failed, and the speeches were barely audible over the protesters. A prayer was said for everyone who had died, and candles were lifted into the air.

Bobbie Sackman, a lifelong New Yorker and member of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, an organization fighting racial and economic inequality in New York, said she was upset by the protesters’ interruption. Although she believes what is happening in Palestine is a genocide, she said it is also important to mourn the Israelis killed and taken hostage on Oct. 7.

“I just wish that we could just be together here, because I don’t think this is the crowd that they need to disturb when we just want to do this vigil today,” Sackman said.

Gili Getz, a co-founder of Israelis for Peace, said the vigil was not the first time people have protested or been caught off guard by the message of their events.

“It’s interesting to see people come into the space, ready to do their regular yelling, regular outrage, but are being confused because our space includes all pain. So it includes their pain too,” Getz said. “So they usually pause, usually a little confused, and then some of them just walk away, some of them stay, some of them just yell at us anyway.”

Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee in New York’s 10th Congressional District, said the vigil was able to accomplish its mission of mourning both Israeli and Palestinian lives despite the protesters.

“We came tonight to listen to words from bereaved family members on both sides of this conflict, and to say Kaddish for all their lives. And, you know, that’s what we did,” Lander said.

When the speeches ended, protesters dispersed. Those attending the vigil stayed back to speak with one another.

Israelis for Peace later posted a statement on Instagram acknowledging the protesters at the event, thanking elected officials for attending, and reiterating its commitment to supporting both Israelis and Palestinians harmed by the conflict.