Typically, an anniversary commemorates a past event that occurred on that day. In the case of heinous episodes, the victims are remembered and the story is retold. Few anniversaries, if any, are used to indict the victims of the crime itself.
But on October 7, 2026, that’s exactly what I saw happening in New York. At protests across the city, participants dressed up as terrorists, chanted for Hamas, and menaced counterprotesters. The day was nothing resembling a peaceful protest and was more akin to a guerilla mob teetering on violence.
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One well-advertised protest took place at Columbia University. Since 2023, Columbia has been a hotbed of anti-Israel action, some of it descending into violence.
Three years after October 7, Columbia’s protest was smaller than in past years, with only about 50 participants. But it was no less impassioned. Students representing “Columbia Intifada” chanted in favor of their namesake, which they described as “the only solution.” The atmosphere was thuggish: a group of masked participants, many covered in keffiyehs and concealing their identities.
When I and City Journal reporter Adam Lehodey tried to ask protesters questions or understand what their chants meant, they refused to respond. One favorite chant was “NYPD-KKK, up at the top they’re all the same.” Police officers stood nearby, overseeing the demonstration.
Anyone who challenged their cause was shouted down or intimidated. In one particularly bizarre moment, a member of Neturei Karta—a radical and fringe anti-Zionist group—darted toward us and threatened to kill us, seemingly in an attempt to provoke a reaction. Police intervened and instructed him to leave us alone.
The protest took place outside Columbia’s gates, ensuring that the actual campus remained relatively calm. One group of protesters held a sign reading, “Open up the prison gates.” A passerby shouted, “go to class!”
We followed the protesters downtown to City Hall, where the group Within Our Lifetime was leading a rally “to bring glory to our martyrs”—a reference to Hamas terrorists. One demonstrator held up a caricature depicting Zohran Mamdani rolling out the red carpet for Benjamin Netanyahu while shouting, “Somebody stop this man.” Another sign read, “Keep up the good work Iran. Down with U.S. imperialism.”
Palestinian flags were everywhere. At least one demonstrator wore the traditional green headband associated with Hamas, emblazoned with the organization’s motto: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger.” Chants such as “when people are occupied, resistance is justified” were repeated throughout the rally.
Few protesters would speak with us. Of those who did, many said they had voted for Mamdani. Though most remained supportive of the mayor, several were angry over his decision not to fire “Zionist” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch or disband the Strategic Response Group, a division of the New York Police Department. (Mamdani recently reiterated his promise to do so.) At a vigil for Israeli and Palestinian victims that evening, protesters shouted at Mamdani, “traitor, traitor, come on out, you sold all your people out.”
As we left, we were handed a satirical version of the New York Times called the New York War Crimes. Its front page featured an article titled “One Struggle on All Fronts,” accompanied by a quote attributed to Mohammad Sadegh Shahbazi, a senior Basij official: “The cost of compromise and surrender is far greater than the cost of resistance.” The quote, however, was actually originally attributed to former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
If what we saw yesterday represents the views of some significant portion of students and young adults, something is deeply wrong with the soul of America. When students at our most prestigious universities and protesters in our public spaces openly glorify terrorism, chant for “intifada,” and celebrate violence as resistance, we should be alarmed.
Three years after October 7, American radicals have a clear message: “There is only one solution: intifada, revolution.” We ignore that message at our peril.