Brooklyn Councilwoman Shahana Hanif, a leader of the Council’s Progressive Caucus, is calling for a boycott of any events Mayor Adams hosts next month to mark the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, citing his lack of support for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas as the civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip mounts.
Hanif, the Council’s only female Muslim member, made the boycott demand during a rally outside City Hall on Wednesday.
At the same event, Hanif urged New York City mosques to not let any of her Council colleagues attend Ramadan prayer services next month unless they’ve come out in support of a ceasefire.
“Ramadan is coming up, we got to boycott the mayor’s Iftar,” Hanif said, referring to the traditional meal Muslims have at sundown on each day during the month-long Ramadan fast. “You’re not going to let my colleagues go to the mosques in our neighborhoods if they’ve not called for a permanent ceasefire. They are not allowed.”
While saying he mourns any civilian casualties, Adams has refrained from calling for a ceasefire in the bloody Israel-Hamas war.
Asked for comment on Hanif’s boycott demand, Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said: “Instead of focusing on prayer, reflection and community, it’s unfortunate that the Council member is disrespecting the tens of thousands of Muslim New Yorkers who celebrate Ramadan and is politicizing a religious event.”
Ramadan starts March 10 and ends April 9. The mayor typically hosts an Iftar at Gracie Mansion to mark Ramadan, though a date for this year’s event hasn’t been publicly announced yet.
Speaking to the Daily News on Thursday, Hanif, who co-chairs the Council’s Progressive Caucus, said her rally comments should not be viewed as an official demand from the caucus as she spoke in a personal capacity. But she said she believes it’s important to put pressure on the mayor and other local elected officials to support a ceasefire because they have an “important voice.”
“It’s a top issue in the city, and we can’t ignore this,” Hanif said, noting that there are pro-ceasefire protests nearly daily in the city.
She also called out what she sees as an inconsistent message from the mayor and other local Democrats as it relates to atrocities in the Israel-Hamas war.
“We’ve seen our top Democratic leaders rightfully mourn and grieve the deaths of Israeli hostages and families, and that has not been the consistent message for Muslims,” she said. “You can’t erase a whole constituency.”
Brooklyn Councilwoman Sandy Nurse, Hanif’s fellow Progressive Caucus co-chair, backed up Hanif when asked if she supports her call for a boycott of the mayor’s Iftar.
“Watching the daily slaughter of Muslims in Gaza, I will support calls to actions that a coalition of Muslim faith leaders may make that they feel will end this horrific slaughter,” Nurse said in a text message.
Israel launched its invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, in which the militant group’s fighters surged into the country and killed about 1,200 civilians and soldiers. Hamas also took dozens of Israelis hostage, some of whom remain in captivity in Gaza.
According to Gaza health officials, Israeli forces have killed more than 30,000 Palestinians since the war broke out, marking one of the deadliest military campaigns in recent global history.
On Thursday, Gaza health officials reported that at least 104 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces who started shooting at them as they were lining up for food coming off a convoy. The health officials called the incident a “massacre.”
Israel’s military has confirmed troops opened fire on the crowd. The military said the soldiers opened fire because the crowd had approached in a threatening way.
Hanif’s boycott call came on the same day Council Speaker Adrienne Adams confirmed the chamber’s considering passing a resolution formally calling for a ceasefire.
“Those conversations are happening internally,” the speaker told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Legislative chambers in Chicago and some other U.S. cities have in recent months adopted pro-ceasefire resolutions, which are largely symbolic moves.
Hanif confirmed she’s part of the internal Council conversations about a resolution. She said no decisions have been made yet one way or the other whether a resolution will be drafted.
