Mayor Zohran Mamdani and what critics have dubbed his “Hamas slate” of local congressional hopefuls took part in interviews last week with a commentator accused of sympathizing with terrorist groups, as part of a push to turn out voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
Bartley Blakeley, who has amassed several hundred thousand followers across social media platforms, shared the Instagram conversations with the far-left mayor and three House candidates he has backed: Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier.
“I call it the Hamas slate. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of support for the Hamas slate,” said Dov Hikind, the former Brooklyn state assemblyman who founded Americans Against Antisemitism.
“The world is turned upside down,” Hikind added. “To be part of the ‘in’ crowd, you have to support Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.”
In October 2024, Blakeley posted a video on X using the hashtag “#sinwar,” drawing a comparison between slain Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and civil-rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
“You know who else they called a terrorist? Nelson Mandela and also said that Martin Luther King Jr wasn’t popular when he was alive,” Blakeley said in the video.
“You guys always wanna praise the freedom fighters long after they’re dead but cry “terrorist’ when one fights in your lifetime. #sinwar #freepalestine.”
Months before that, Blakeley — who describes herself online as a “trash belly ring enthusiast” and “nonbinary lefty” — wrote that she neither condemned nor blamed Hamas for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
“No I don’t. I did at first after Oct. 7 and then the more that I have learned I take that back. I do not condemn them. Thanks for asking. Hope that helps,” Blakeley said on Jan. 6, 2024.
Blakeley also amplified a conspiracy theory that ISIS and al-Qaeda are controlled by Israel’s intelligence forces, writing, “Is this why they won’t let us see the 9/11 files?” in response to a post.
During Friday’s interviews, Blakeley asked the candidates what bill would they collectively push if elected to Congress.
Mamdani volunteered that they all support the “block the bombs act” that would bar the United States from delivering arms to Israel without congressional approval and in accordance with federal and international law.
Lander, the former city comptroller and ex-city councilman who is Jewish and has described himself as a progressive Zionist, said, “Democratic voters need to get the message that voters are fed up using taxpayer dollars being used for genocide.”
Blakeley said she was thrilled with the “comrade energy.
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“I asked Mayor Mamdani’s @nycmayor endorsed slate what’s a bill they can prioritize collectively once in Congress? They’ve all committed to co-sponsoring the Block the Bombs Act, which is a great start!,” Blakely posted after the meeting.
The provocateur had previously replied angrily to an April 2025 video that called Hamas a terrorist organization, as it is overwhelmingly considered across the world.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization according to who? The west. They wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the brutal Israeli occupation and you fuc***g know it,’’ the influencer raged.
In another post from January 2026, in response to Democratic New York Attorney General Tish James calling Hamas a terrorist organization, Blakeley wrote, “America is the biggest terrorist org in the world.”
In January 2024, after X took Hamas’ page offline, Blakely demanded it be immediately reinstated.
The anti-Israel advocate also claimed the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred because of America’s support for Israel.
“People do realize that Americans are going to be at risk of harm bc of what the Israeli regime has done, right? Remember that 9/11 was done in part, bc of America doing Israelis bidding & then protecting them,” Blakeley said.
“And our “leaders” don’t care. Because they hate you. And they don’t care about this country, either.”
The congressional candidates she interviewed last week got what they wanted.
“You can early vote all weekend and Election Day is June 23rd! Vote for Claire Valdez in NY-07 @claireforny Darializa Vila @darializaforny Chavelier in NY-13, and Brad Lander @brad.lander in NY-10. #vote #nyc #ny13 #ny10 #ny07,” Blakeley said.
Mamdani, Lander, Valdez and Chevalier — who has ridiculed white women as “ugly colonizer women” and black and “Arab’’ men for “fetishizing them — had no comment.
But detractors had plenty to say about the group, claiming their cozying up to a Hamas sympathizer is just another example of peddling Jew hatred.
“This is just another step forward in the demonization and isolation of Jews under the guise of antizionism, aligning with the absolute worst people supporting violence and terrorism,” said EqualProtect.org founder and Cornell University law professor William Jacobson.
“They can hide all they want, but everybody knows what they are doing. It is the first step in a very ugly administration.”
