New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned as 'patently unacceptable' and 'reprehensible' past statements by author Susan Abulhawa, who described the October 7 Hamas attacks as 'spectacular' and used inflammatory language about Jewish Israelis. He addressed the issue during a press conference when questioned about his wife, illustrator Rama Duwaji, working on a commissioned project connected to Abulhawa.

Mamdani said his wife was hired by a third party to illustrate an excerpt of a book and had no direct contact with the author or knowledge of the social media posts in question. He emphasized that his administration opposes bigotry in all forms and noted that the first lady does not hold a role within the administration.

The controversy follows reports highlighting Abulhawa’s past writings and social media posts, as well as separate criticism of Duwaji for allegedly liking posts related to the October 7 attacks. In response, Abulhawa released a video denying accusations of antisemitism and expressing disappointment in Mamdani’s condemnation.