Overview
- The mayor scheduled a Monday sit‑down expected to last 15–20 minutes with mainly Orthodox community leaders, and at least one invitee declined after calling it a photo op.
- The Anti‑Defamation League, the Jewish Community Relations Council, and the American Jewish Committee said they were not invited to the meeting.
- The ADL warned of a troubling pattern, criticizing both the collaboration tied to Abulhawa and Mamdani’s recent hosting of activist Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion.
- Mamdani defended his wife, Rama Duwaji, saying she was hired through a third party to illustrate an excerpt, had not met Abulhawa, had not seen the cited posts, and that his administration opposes bigotry.
- Coverage has highlighted Duwaji’s past likes on posts related to Oct. 7 and her illustration for a collection featuring a piece compiled by Abulhawa, who released a video rejecting antisemitism accusations and framing her comments as critiques of Zionism.