Muslim Mayor Turns October 7 Memorial Message Into An Attack On Israel

London’s Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan sparked a firestorm Wednesday after he used his statement marking three years since Hamas’ October 7 massacre to condemn Israel.

Khan opened his message by calling the 2023 slaughter an atrocity the world must never forget. He offered condolences to grieving families and pledged to fight antisemitism in the British capital. Then he pivoted to Gaza.

“Today is also a moment to reflect on the unfathomable suffering and killing of Palestinians over the last three years, both in Gaza and in the West Bank,” Khan bloviated. “The U.K. government is right to call out the reprehensible actions of the Israeli government and apply more pressure to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive.”

Khan disabled comments under his statement on X, but the backlash still came quickly.

Israel’s embassy in London ripped the mayor for tainting a day of mourning by going after Israel, stating, “Today Jewish Londoners are marking the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. It is a day for mourning, remembrance, and solidarity with a community that has lived with fear and a surge in hatred ever since.”

Diplomats noted that London Jews were marking the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. They also said anti-Israel hate marches were set to hit the mayor’s own streets that same day, and they were still waiting for him to condemn them.

Alex Hear, who chairs Labour Against Antisemitism, said the mayor failed to comfort the city’s Jewish community.

“A mayor who represents all Londoners should understand that on this day, above all, the Jewish community needed to be heard and comforted, not told where its grief fits among other priorities,” he said.

Gavin Stollar of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel pointed to the roughly 1,200 people butchered by Hamas and the hostages dragged into Gaza. He reminded Khan that the year has 364 other days for commentary.

Campaign Against Antisemitism didn’t hold back either.

“If the Mayor of London can’t bring himself to remember the over one thousand victims of the 7th October atrocity without criticizing the Israeli government, and cannot talk about antisemitism in his city without referring to Gaza, then he may as well not say anything at all,” the organization said.

It also called the mayor’s statement “worse than nothing.” The group cited its own polling showing 85% of British Jews are unhappy with how Khan has treated their community since the 2023 attack.

It’s not the first time the mayor has drawn fire from London’s Jews.

In March, Khan faced harsh criticism after a suspected antisemitic arson attack torched four Jewish ambulances. He called it a “cowardly attack” on the Jewish community and promised more police patrols, while blocking replies to his post on X.

Critics weren’t buying it. Columnist Melanie Phillips dismissed the post as cynical virtue signaling. She accused Khan of standing by through years of anti-Israel marches featuring chants she said call for the killing of Jews. Conservative London Assembly Member Neil Garratt said Khan had once spoken at length about Gaza at a public forum without mentioning October 7, then stayed silent when challenged.

In October 2025, Khan told the Assembly he didn’t consider the slogan “from the river to the sea” antisemitic, arguing that context matters. He called protests timed to coincide with a Yom Kippur synagogue attack inappropriate but stopped short of branding them antisemitic.

Conservative MP Sir James Cleverly called that view absurd. Reform U.K.’s Alex Wilson argued the chant amounts to a call for eliminating Jews. Lord Walney, a former government adviser on political violence, said the slogan’s demand for a “free” Palestine means free of Jews.