Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil addressed hundreds of people at an outdoor Yom Kippur Yizkor service in Brooklyn on Monday, accusing Israel of genocide and closing with a call for God to "hold Israel accountable."
The service at Grand Army Plaza was organized by Rabbis for Ceasefire, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow and the American Council for Judaism. It drew on traditional Jewish mourning rituals, including Yizkor prayers, kriah, the tearing of garments, and the reading of names, but was dedicated to Palestinians killed in Gaza. Participants placed stones at the plaza's Bailey Fountain as the service ended.
Khalil, a Columbia graduate who was previously detained by ICE over his role in the 2024 campus protests, told the crowd that repentance is difficult "when our tax dollars, our votes are being used to kill, to maim, to displace Palestinians." He also pointed to Lebanon and Iran, and referenced his family's displacement in 1948.
A plaque on the podium where he spoke read "for the sin of genocide we atone."
Other speakers included Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for Congress, who is Jewish.
The event is the latest in a series of similar Yizkor services for Gaza that progressive Jewish groups have held at the same plaza since 2024.
Video of Khalil's remarks has since circulated widely.
