The organization behind the upscale, Islamic-focused women’s retreat where New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, appeared as an “artist-in-residence” has published social media messages calling for Israel’s abolition and for Palestine to be cleansed of its “oppressors.”
“The apartheid colonial state of Israel has committed a genocide against the Palestinian people,” the Women Sanctuary wrote in an October 2025 Instagram post. The group hosted the “Journey through Islamic Calligraphy” retreat that Duwaji attended in Porto, Portugal.
“Abolish the colonial apartheid state of Israel. Free Palestine,” the post added. The message was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
In an extensive post published in May 2024, the Women Sanctuary expressed hope that freedom would “illuminate the blessed lands of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
Many regard the phrase “from the river to the sea” as antisemitic. Opponents argue that the slogan, which invokes the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, amounts to a call for Israel and its people to be eliminated.
The group posted a prayer in September 2024 asking “Allah” for the “liberation of Palestine.”
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“Cleanse Palestine from tyranny and from its oppressors,” the message said.
Another Instagram post, published in March 2025, stated: “May the winds of freedom sweep across Palestine, ushering in the complete and rightful restoration of the land’s true stewards.”
Duwaji, 29, led the Women Sanctuary retreat’s “marvelous illustration workshop” during a summer session earlier this year.
Participants paid between $4,300 for a shared room and $5,260 for a private room with its own bathroom at the manor house in the quiet countryside of Arcos de Valdevez.
In July, New York City’s controversial first lady drew attention after missing the nation’s 250th birthday celebration to attend another Women Sanctuary retreat on Mallorca, the Spanish resort island.
Reports about Duwaji’s ties to the organization, which has been accused of promoting hateful views, emerged as her husband unveiled a plan Tuesday to fight antisemitism in New York City—while making no mention of Zionism.
