Streaming personality Hasan Piker characterised the individuals who disrupted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's October 7 vigil appearance as self-serving actors whose conduct, in his view, undermined the anti-Zionist movement's broader aims. Piker, who has backed several democratic socialist candidates, delivered his comments on Sunday at Jewish Currents Live — a full-day gathering organised by the magazine of the same name at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Speaking at a panel titled "Can the Left Wield Power?", he characterised the protesters' concerns as having merit, pointing to demands for police commissioner Jessica Tisch to be removed from her post and for the NYPD's Strategic Response Group — an armed unit that sees regular deployment at protest locations — to be disbanded.
Piker's criticism extended to the Democratic Socialists of America — the organisation Mamdani has publicly called his "political home" — with his objection centred on what he characterised as a lack of meaningful engagement during the prior week's demonstration, a protest that had originated outside City Hall before converging on a pro-peace gathering for Israel where Mamdani was present.
Piker, whose public commentary on Israel has drawn attention, contended that the DSA's limited involvement in anti-Zionist organising activity across New York City had opened space for what he characterised as opportunists and sectarians to gain influence over the movement — including those responsible for chants referencing genocide directed at Mayor Mamdani — a label he disputed as unfounded. He made no mention of Hamas-related imagery visible among a portion of the crowd, nor of the choice to stage demonstrations that overlapped with an October 7 vigil held in memory of the roughly 1,200 people killed in the Hamas-led assault on communities in southern Israel on that date in 2023, alongside the approximately 74,000 Palestinians whose deaths have been recorded in the period since — a toll drawn from Gaza health ministry figures that do not differentiate between combatants and non-combatants. The DSA itself had not organised the protest, though certain campus-based chapters of its student affiliate, Young DSA, were among those who participated.
At a Washington event, Mahmoud Khalil — the Columbia University student detained by immigration authorities over his role in pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations — took issue with what he described as "purity politics" among activist circles, arguing that alignment on roughly 85 percent of shared goals was sufficient provided the overarching aims of Palestinian liberation and ending unconditional U.S. backing remained central. On a separate panel at the same gathering, New York Democratic congressional nominees Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier addressed questions about Israel and the direction of the Democratic Party.
Lander's background is Jewish, while Avila Chevalier took on a prominent organising role within Columbia University's pro-Palestinian encampment during 2024. Ruwa Romman, a Georgia state representative who became the first Palestinian American to win election to public office in that state, took part in the panel alongside Peter Beinart, editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, who served as its moderator.
The exchange laid bare a rift between Lander and Avila Chevalier — two candidates who share a progressive platform, received Mamdani's backing during this election cycle, and appeared together in a campaign advertisement alongside fellow Mamdani-endorsed contender Claire Valdez.
Beinart raised the question of how far Democrats ought to go in recognising forms of Palestinian resistance as politically acceptable. Citing the rally held in New York City on October 8, 2023 — the day after the Hamas attack — which Avila Chevalier attended and which Lander described at the time as "abominable," Avila Chevalier contended that international law had already established the relevant boundary, and that demonstrations within the United States ought to be directed at Israel on the basis of American funding rather than at Hamas, adding that a domestic protest targeting Hamas would have no practical effect given that the US provides no financial support to the group.
Lander told the outlet that he and Avila Chevalier had spoken about those matters in general terms privately, and that he preferred not to characterise the substance of those exchanges, adding that his views on the subject were already on record through prior public statements he stood behind. He did not confirm to the outlet, following the event, whether the October 8 protest had come up specifically in those discussions.
An attendee who gave only his first name, Mark, 29, citing concerns about potential workplace repercussions, expressed the view that Avila Chevalier had not meaningfully addressed questions about whether loss of life had been treated as secondary, noting that regardless of any power imbalance, lives had still been lost. During the panel discussion, Avila Chevalier renewed her call for an arms embargo against Israel, while Lander stopped short of that position, in keeping with his prior statements that Israel ought to retain access to defensive weaponry. The two called on Congress to take up legislation that would halt certain weapons transfers and put a halt to the authorisation of offensive military equipment sales to Israel.
Of all the speakers who took the stage, Lander stood apart as the one voice calling for a two-state arrangement in the region.
Beinart also raised the question of Jon Ossoff — the Democratic senator from Georgia seeking another term, who is also Jewish — and invited Romman to share her perspective on where he stands regarding Palestine. Romman expressed satisfaction that both Georgia senators had cast repeated votes in favour of Bernie Sanders' resolution to halt arms transfers to Israel, while noting that gaps remain on the leadership and rhetorical front, and adding that she expects to bring all parties to the necessary position over time.
References to the Jewish Labor Bund — an early-twentieth-century socialist organisation that positioned itself against Bolshevism, Nazism, and Zionism alike — surfaced at multiple points during Sunday's discussion. Handouts bearing a web address and the phrase "Tell your bubbe the bund is back in town" moved through the crowd, while the event also featured a panel in which Molly Crabapple participated — her forthcoming 2026 title, "Here Where We Live is Our Country," takes the Bund as its subject.
Arlene Geiger, a longtime Upper West Side activist, told a television news outlet that the conversations resonated with her personally, adding that her bond with Judaism had never been rooted in any connection to Israel. Geiger noted that the style draws more heavily from Eastern European traditions and the Bund.
Mark, the New Jersey native who attended the event, noted that his upbringing was not defined by strong views on Zionism, though a growing unease about distancing himself from questions surrounding Israel had drawn him toward Jewish spaces with a leftist orientation — an environment he described as one where he was still learning and taking things in.
