New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, has reportedly expressed regret over the “hurt” caused by her past social media posts that praised Palestinian terrorists and derided Israel, but notably stopped short of offering a direct apology for their content, the New York Post reports.
The 28-year-old first lady of New York City addressed the controversy in an interview with the arts outlet Hyperallergic. Duwaji spoke about her “shame” after tabloids resurfaced tweets and Tumblr posts she had written as a teenager, many of which were described as harmful and inflammatory.
“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; being 15 doesn’t excuse it,” Duwaji said, adding, “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.”
The resurfaced posts, first revealed by the Washington Free Beacon and linked to her through facial recognition technology, date as far back as 2013 — when Duwaji was reportedly only 15. Among them was a 2015 post declaring that Tel Aviv “shouldn’t exist,” describing its residents as “occupiers.” Other posts included a racial slur and inflammatory statements about Western actions abroad.
Her now-deactivated Tumblr page contained tributes to Leila Khaled, the notorious Palestinian plane hijacker, and members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Duwaji also reposted messages accusing American soldiers of “mercilessly slaughtering” civilians to protect “American hegemony,” and one 2015 entry blamed “white people” for creating al Qaeda, insisting Muslims were not responsible for terrorism.
The social media firestorm intensified further when, days before those posts resurfaced, Duwaji faced backlash for previously liking Instagram posts that celebrated Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. Some of those posts shockingly dismissed reports of sexual violence by the terror group as a “mass hoax.”
Amid growing criticism, Duwaji remained silent as her husband, a self-described socialist and outspoken critic of Israel, defended her as a “private person” who holds no official role in his administration and shouldn’t be judged for her past online activity, according to The Post.
In her interview, Duwaji seemed less focused on addressing the specifics of her posts and more on the experience of being thrown into the public eye.
“This experience has absolutely changed my life,” Duwaji said. “I am still figuring out how it applies to me as an artist and as a person, both thinking of the future and the past. My focus isn’t on being a public figure, but continuing my work with care and responsibility, and allowing my art to speak for itself.”