New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s statement on the third anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023, begins reasonably enough. He calls the Hamas attack “horrific war crimes,” recalls the more than 1,100 Israelis who were killed and the 251 people abducted into Gaza, and offers sympathy to New Yorkers who continue to carry the trauma of that day.

So far, so good. In the political atmosphere of the past three years, even that clarity has sometimes proved elusive.