Criticism grows over social media activity linked to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife
Rama Duwaji is facing criticism after liking social media posts about the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that are drawing strong reaction, particularly within the Jewish community.
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Controversy is growing after a report about social media activity linked to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife.
Rama Duwaji is facing criticism after liking social media posts about the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that are drawing strong reaction, particularly within the Jewish community.
An investigation by The Free Press found that Duwaji liked an Instagram post that referred to sexual violence reported during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack as a “mass rape hoax.”
News 12 independently located the post and another that Duwaji liked, describing the attack, which killed about 1,200 people, as “collective liberation.”
The findings have prompted strong reactions in New York, which is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. Myra Clark-Siegel of the American Jewish Committee said she was horrified by the report.
“I was shocked," she said. "I checked my phone several times to make sure that I read it correctly, because I think that that speaks for itself,” Clark-Siegel said. “The fact that anybody is liking a social media post…That celebrates the murder or the sexual assault, the kidnapping of women is unacceptable, and it’s got to be called out publicly whether the person is a public official or not. That cannot ever be normalized.”
Mayor Mamdani addressed the report during a news conference Friday, emphasizing that his wife is not involved in his administration.
“You know, my wife is the love of my life, and she’s also a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall,” Mamdani said. “I, however, was elected to represent all 8.5 million people in this city, and I believe that it’s my responsibility, because of that role, to answer any questions about my thoughts and my policies and my decisions.”
When asked whether the mayor or his office should provide further clarification, Clark-Siegel said the issue goes beyond whether someone holds public office.
“I think that it doesn’t matter who the person is, whether you’re a private citizen or you’re a public official,” she said. “If you’re on the cover willingly of a news magazine, then you are not simply a private citizen, but whether you are or not, it doesn’t matter.”
The controversy comes as antisemitic incidents continue to rise nationwide and in New York, where more than 2 million Jews live in the Metropolitan area.
