Overview
- Duwaji provided the featured illustration for “A Trail of Soap,” an essay published last month in Slow Factory’s Everything Is Political as part of a collection compiled by Susan Abulhawa.
- Abulhawa previously wrote that the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas assault was “a spectacular moment” and has posted derogatory language about Israelis and Jews, including phrases like “Jewish supremacist vampires” and “rootless, soulless ghouls.”
- A spokeswoman for Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Duwaji was commissioned by an outside publisher, has never met or engaged with Abulhawa, and had not seen the posts highlighted in recent reports.
- The disclosure follows Jewish Insider’s earlier report that Duwaji liked a social media post celebrating Oct. 7 that included images from the attack.
- Reporting also notes Slow Factory’s own celebratory Oct. 7 posts and that Abulhawa publicly defended Duwaji as the episode draws continuing media and political scrutiny.