When asked about his wife’s online activities, Mayor Zohran Mamdani described her as a “private person” amid inquiries regarding her engagement with a controversial Instagram post following the October 7 attack on Israel.
The Democratic socialist addressed the media on Friday after the Jewish Insider reported on his wife, Rama Duwaji, 28, and her social media interactions.
The publication noted that she had shown approval for an image that celebrated the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
This post, shared by the activist organization The Slow Factory, featured images of people seizing an IDF vehicle with the phrase “Free Palestine” prominently displayed.
Accompanying the post was another image with the message: “Breaking the walls of apartheid and military occupation,” followed by the date.
The imagery depicted a bulldozer used during the incursion into Israel on a day that tragically resulted in nearly 1,200 casualties.
Mayor Mamdani said: ‘My wife is the love of my life, and she is also a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall.’
But Duwaji is not as shy and retiring as her husband lets on – she recently posed for a cover feature in the prestigious The Cut magazine, an offshoot of the hugely-popular New York magazine.
Another post by the left-wing group People’s Forum in which they called for a protest against Israel was also liked by Duwaji, the outlet found.
The democratic socialist took questions on Friday after a story emerged in the Jewish Insider highlighting his wife Rama Duwaji, 28, and her activity on Instagram
Duwahi is pictured here attending a fashion show earlier last month in New York City
After the Jewish Insider story went live Duwaji’s account no longer appears to have liked the post
A post the next day after the protest said: ‘FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE!”
‘Thousands have taken to the streets in #NYC to stand with Palestinian resistance and call for an end to all U.S. aid to apartheid Israel’. Duwaji also liked that post. After the article went live her account no longer appears to like the posts.
A spokesperson for the mayor told the outlet: ‘Mayor Mamdani has been clear and consistent: Hamas is a terrorist organization, October 7th was a horrific war crime, and he has condemned that violence unequivocally.’
Mamdani has come under heat in the past after apparently using anti-Israel phrases including ‘globalize the intifada’.
The city’s first Muslim mayor, he has been seen with skepticism by some Jewish New Yorkers over his ardent support of the Palestinian cause.
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, has promised to offer free daycare and free buses across the city.
He also plans to enact a millionaire tax, with critics warning that his policies could drive out the super-rich, whose taxes fund public services in the Big Apple.
At his inauguration, he made it clear that he would not be moderating his left-wing views as he took office.
Mamdani has come under heat in the past after apparently using anti-Israel phrases including ‘globalize the intifada’
Noa Argamani reacts as she and her partner Avinatan Or, not pictured, are seized by members of Hamas on October 7, 2023
‘I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,’ he said.
‘The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations. Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously.’.
He also bragged about ‘toppling a political dynasty’ and launched into a blistering attack against Trump – who has called Mamdani a ‘communist’.
‘If any city can show a nation how to stop Donald Trump, it is the city that gave rise to him,’ said Mamdani.
Mamdani first met with President Trump in the Oval Office in November 2025, with the Republican president full of praise for the new star of the Democrat party.
