Rama Duwaji, the wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has expressed regret over past social media posts, which includes posts in which she made anti-Israel statements and praised Palestinian terrorists. Duwaji, a 28-year-old American artist of Syrian descent, made the apology in an interview with online arts magazine "Hyperallergic."
“When a tabloid recently published old tweets I wrote as a teenager, I felt a lot of shame being confronted with language I used that is so harmful to others,” Duwaji said. She added that “being 15 doesn’t excuse it. I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused and am truly sorry." She did not specifically mention the content of the posts.
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Rama Duwaji, the wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani
(Photo: Andres Kudacki/AP)
The posts, exposed last month by conservative media outlets, include statements from 2013. In one post from 2015, Duwaji wrote that Tel Aviv “should not have existed in the first place” and described all its residents as “occupiers.” In other posts, she used slurs against Black people and Japanese people, as well as derogatory terms toward the LGBTQ community.
Duwaji also praised Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled and members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an organization designated as a terrorist group by both the United States and the European Union. She previously shared a claim that white people established and funded al-Qaida.
Public criticism has also extended to Duwaji’s more recent social media activity. Following the October 7 massacre, she “liked” posts celebrating the Hamas attack, including images of breaches of the border fence and terrorists entering Israel. One post she liked claimed that rape carried out by Hamas terrorists was a “mass hoax.” In addition, Duwaji created illustrations for a book edited by Susan Abulhawa, a Palestinian American author who described the massacre as a spectacular event and recently referred to Israelis and Zionists as “parasitic filth.” The interview did not deal with her recent posts.
Her husband distanced himself from her remarks but avoided directly criticizing the posts themselves. Mamdani defended her, arguing that she is a private individual who holds no official role in the city administration or his campaign. Regarding Abulhawa, Mamdani said her rhetoric was unacceptable, adding that his wife had not met the author and was unaware of her statements prior to working on the illustrations.
Jewish community leaders and Mamdani’s political opponents criticized the attempt to describe Duwaji as a “private individual.” Officials close to the mayor, including elected representatives, argue that as New York City’s first lady, who resides in the official residence, she has her own staff and police security and should be considered a public figure.
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Mamdani defended her, arguing that she is a private individual who holds no official role in the city administration
(Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Images North America / AFP)
Tanisha Grant, a political activist in New York, said it is shameful that the mayor had not addressed the issue and that it is impossible to hide behind the claim that his wife is a private individual when she benefits from taxpayer funding. Rabbi Moshe Davis, former head of the Office to Combat Antisemitism under former Mayor Eric Adams, added that “the mayor’s silence only strengthens the accusations of antisemitism against him.”
Duwaji herself addressed her new status in the "Hyperallergic" interview, saying her focus is not on being a public figure but on continuing her work responsibly and “allowing my art to speak for itself.” In an earlier interview this year with "The Cut," she was quoted as saying she would use her new role in the best way she can as an artist. In the meantime, she has chosen to wear clothing by Palestinian designers at public events to “send a message.”
The controversy surrounding Duwaji comes amid a rise in incidents targeting Jews in New York, with city police reporting a 182% increase in antisemitic incidents in January compared with the previous year. Recently, Mamdani’s appointments director resigned over posts about “greedy Jews,” and a campaign activist was fired after expressing support for Hamas. The mayor himself, who has described the war in Gaza as "genocide," has repeatedly denied accusations of antisemitism, arguing that they constitute legitimate criticism of the Israeli government.
First published: 12:54, 04.16.26