Israel's top diplomat in New York has publicly invited Mayor Zohran Mamdani to sit down and watch a 47-minute film documenting the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, footage that includes video captured by the attackers themselves on GoPro cameras. The invitation landed as New York marked the third anniversary of the assault, with a screening scheduled for Wednesday in the city.
Consul General Ofir Akunis extended the invitation Monday evening, according to the Jerusalem Post, and followed up by sending an official letter to Mamdani's City Hall office. As reported by the New York Post, Akunis made the invitation at a commemoration ceremony tied to the attack's anniversary. Akunis told the mayor that on Oct. 7, the consulate would screen in New York City the 47-minute footage compiled by the Israel Defense Forces, per JNS.
Roughly 1,000 people attended the memorial event where Akunis made the public appeal, according to the Algemeiner. During the ceremony, a video played depicting the brutality of Oct. 7, the same JNS report notes, as the gathering marked three years since the attack that triggered the war in Gaza.
A Diplomatic Message Wrapped in an Invitation
Akunis framed the invitation as an attempt to make the mayor confront the reality of the attack directly. He wrote that watching the film would help Mamdani truly understand why the Jewish State is so important and why we will continue to defend ourselves, according to the Washington Examiner's report on the exchange.
The consul general also tied his appeal to the political climate in the city, saying Mamdani's rhetoric against the State of Israel was the fundamental reason for the rise of antisemitism in New York City, per a liveblog entry from the Times of Israel. The documentary itself contains footage captured by Hamas terrorists on GoPro cameras during the attack, the Washington Examiner reported, pairing attacker-recorded video with other material compiled afterward.
What's Reportedly Inside the Film
The documentary was assembled by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit under the title Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre, according to an opinion piece published by JNS. That same account describes the footage as including burned bodies, burned babies, civilians shot inside their homes, rape scenes, and the mutilation and beheading of bodies — though those specific descriptions come from commentary rather than straight news reporting. The film had previously circulated only in closed-door sessions rather than being shown publicly, the Times of Israel reported in an earlier liveblog entry on the IDF's planning around the footage.
Death and hostage tolls from the attack have been reported with some variation. PBS NewsHour has reported that some 1,200 people in Israel were killed and 251 were taken hostage, while the Washington Examiner's account put the death toll at about 1,200 and the number abducted to Gaza at roughly 250.
A Mayor's Record Under Scrutiny
The invitation arrives amid a backdrop of friction between Mamdani and Israeli officials. Mamdani has been an outspoken critic of Israel, the New York Post reported, noting he has supported the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and pushed legislation to limit state money flowing to nonprofits that supported Israeli settlements on the West Bank. The mayor has also refused to say he believed Israel had the right to exist as a Jewish state, according to the same report, and at one point threatened to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before conceding, after months in office, that New York City had no power to arrest a foreign official.
That tension sits alongside a broader political reality: Israel's war in Gaza has been a flashpoint in the race for mayor, as CNN reported following Mamdani's own statement on the Oct. 7 anniversary last year. New York City was expected to see anti-Israel protests around this year's anniversary as well, the Post noted, with several left-wing groups promoting an anti-Zionist resistance rally outside City Hall on the day of the screening, according to the Washington Examiner.
Antisemitism Numbers Frame the Dispute
The clash over the invitation comes as Mamdani's administration has rolled out its own response to antisemitism in the city. His budget allocated $1 million to bolster security at synagogues and other houses of worship and $6.4 million for Partners Against the Hate grants, according to The Hill. That same report cited NYPD data showing hate crimes against Jews in New York City rose 8 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
It remains unclear whether Mamdani will accept the invitation or attend the screening. What is confirmed is that Akunis asked the mayor to attend with an open heart, hoping the footage would convey the reality of what happened on Oct. 7 — a reality the consul general says he wants New York's mayor to see for himself.
