A Yom Kippur gathering in Brooklyn that was billed as a Yizkor memorial service became the center of a fierce online backlash after organizers handed the microphone to activist Mahmoud Khalil, who used the occasion to accuse Israel of “genocide” and describe the U.S. government as complicit, according to a report by The Daily Wire.
The event, held Monday at Grand Army Plaza, was co-sponsored by a coalition of anti-Zionist Jewish organizations, including Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, and IfNotNow. It drew hundreds of participants on what is considered the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
A Sacred Day Repurposed
Yom Kippur is a 25-hour period of fasting, repentance, and spiritual purification, during which observant Jews abstain from food, drink, and physical pleasures while seeking divine forgiveness. The Yizkor prayer, traditionally recited during the holiday, is a memorial service meant to elevate the souls of deceased relatives through charity and prayer.
According to The Daily Wire’s account, the Brooklyn event instead served as a platform for political denunciations of Israel and the Trump administration. The report characterized the gathering as a “partisan circus” that transformed a holy sanctuary into a venue for anti-Israel activism, with Khalil as its featured speaker.
Khalil, who played a prominent role in the Columbia University encampments that followed the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, has been a polarizing figure. The Department of Homeland Security previously said in a statement that he “refuses to condemn Hamas because he IS a terrorist sympathizer,” a claim cited by The Daily Wire, after he avoided direct answers about the group during a CNN appearance. He has also faced federal deportation orders.
Political Figures and Immediate Reaction
Among those present was Brad Lander, a Democratic congressional nominee, who the report says joined the gathering. The participation of elected officials and candidates alongside the anti-Zionist groups drew additional criticism online.
Social media reactions cited by The Daily Wire were swift and severe. Critics described the event as a desecration of Judaism, with some labeling the organizers “kapos” — a term historically used for Jews who collaborated with Nazi authorities — and others arguing that using a memorial service to provide a platform for someone accused of terrorist sympathies amounted to the ultimate insult to the holiday. One commenter compared the appropriation of Yom Kippur for anti-Israel messaging to bringing pork and offensive displays into a mosque during Eid.
The Daily Wire framed the event as evidence that, for the far-left, hostility toward Israel and Jewish people is a central concern. The report noted that while millions of Jews observed the day in fasting and prayer, seeking to be inscribed in the Book of Life, the Brooklyn gathering demonstrated a starkly different set of priorities.
The controversy underscores the deepening divide within the Jewish community and American left over Israel, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza. While anti-Zionist groups argue their criticism is aimed at Israeli government policy, many Jewish organizations and commentators view such rhetoric — and events like Monday’s — as antisemitic and fundamentally hostile to the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftists-terrorist-sympathizer-hijack-holiest-jewish-day-to-bash-israel