Rama Duwaji

Rama Duwaji, the wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, works as a professional animator and illustrator. She has drawn controversy for using her illustrations and social media presence to reject the world's only Jewish state and promote antisemitic rhetoric.

Rama Duwaji occupies a unique and consequential position. While Mayor Mamdani has described her as a private citizen, she also serves as the first lady of one of the world's most influential cities - a city that is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. By virtue of her proximity to city leadership, her public statements and advocacy carry influence beyond that of an ordinary private individual.

What message does it send to New York City's Jewish community when the city's first lady publicly embraces rhetoric that is hateful and hostile to Jews?

Rama Duwaji posting her animation with the caption: "whatever sand you can throw on the gears of genocide, do it now... get in the way however you can."

On October 7, 2023 as Jews faced the deadliest day since the Holocaust, Rama Duwaji liked Instagram posts that praised the barbaric attacks. In the days that followed, she engaged with social media posts that minimized the brutality of the atrocities.

Duwaji reportedly liked posts including:

• Calling the 10/7 massacre "breaking walls of apartheid."
• Showing Palestinians sitting on an IDF vehicle with a caption "resisting apartheid..."
• Accusing Israel of genocide immediately following the Hamas-led attacks.
• Claiming reports of Hamas rapes were a "hoax" and "fabricated."

Earlier this year, Rama Duwaji's past X posts containing hateful rhetoric resurfaced; she has since apologized for the posts, which include:

• Claiming that Tel Aviv "should not have existed in the first place" and describing all of its residents as "occupiers."
• Voicing slurs against Black people and Japanese people, as well as the LGBTQ community.
• Praising Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled and members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (a U.S. and European Union designated terrorist organization).

Rama Duwaji claiming Mahmoud Khalil's actions were "free speech" and instructing her followers to "resist."

Rama Duwaji's statements are not confined to the past. Recently, her concerning actions include:

• Illustrating a book for known antisemite, Susan Abulhawa who refers to Jews as "rootless soulless ghouls," "Jewish supremacist vampires," and "parasites on earth" while pushing dual loyalty tropes.
• Co-hosting a "Women's Wellness retreat" in Corsica on the 4th of July that propagandizes Jesus's mother, Mary, as a "Palestinian woman giving birth under occupation."
• Creating and posting an animation on her public Instagram page with the words "I urge you to not let chains silence you or borders hold you back" before the words turn into a Palestinian flag. The caption says, "whatever sand you can throw on the gears of genocide, do it now... get in the way however you can."
• Creating and posting an animation that accuses Israel of "deliberate starvation" against Gazans.
• Advocating for the release of Mahmoud Khalil, calling his actions "free speech" and telling her followers to "resist."

This past January, Mamdani referred to Duwaji as the "best advocate" for influencing his policy decisions. It is deeply troubling that someone with these views is positioned so close to the city's decision-making process and is described by the mayor himself as a key influence on his policies.

How can Jewish constituents feel safe in Mamdani's New York when the first lady, Rama Duwaji, has openly supported and contributed to rhetoric that is deeply antisemitic?