“I had told her I’m Miss Israel, and then she didn’t want to engage with me anymore. Shocker.”
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New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji is once again facing backlash after Miss Israel 2025 Melanie Shiraz claimed the mayor’s wife abruptly ended a friendly interaction when she learned she was Israeli.
The exchange allegedly took place Sunday at a Williamsburg café, where Shiraz said she unexpectedly found herself seated next to the notoriously antisemitic Duwaji while visiting New York for an event hosted by the Israeli Consulate. “She sat right next to me. What are the odds?” Shiraz told The California Post.
According to Shiraz, the interaction initially appeared cordial. The Israeli beauty queen even began filming a selfie-style video with Duwaji before the mood suddenly shifted. “I had told her I’m Miss Israel, and then she didn’t want to engage with me anymore. Shocker,” Shiraz said. “She was polite but clearly changed her tone.”
Shiraz claimed that after introducing herself, Duwaji declined to continue posing for the video and distanced herself from the conversation. “Right before I took that [footage], I asked her if we could take a photo and introduced myself. As soon as I did, she said, ‘Sorry’ and asked if it was a video, and said she didn’t want to anymore,” Shiraz said.
The Miss Israel winner also said she attempted to discuss Duwaji’s previous online remarks about Israel and urged “productive dialogue” that does not “dehumanize the other side.”
“And she politely brushed me off and then refused to engage anymore,” Shiraz said.
The encounter has reignited controversy surrounding Duwaji’s past social media activity, which has already drawn national controversy since her husband, Zohran Mamdani, took office earlier this year. In March, reports surfaced detailing a series of old Tumblr and X posts in which Duwaji allegedly praised members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a US-designated terrorist organization, shared anti-American rhetoric, and amplified anti-Israel content.
Among the resurfaced posts was a 2017 image of infamous plane hijacker Leila Khaled accompanied by the caption: “If it does good for my cause, I’d be happy to accept death.” Duwaji also reposted content praising Palestinian “resistance” fighters, shared imagery associated with the First Intifada, and amplified posts claiming Tel Aviv “shouldn’t exist in the first place.”
Another resurfaced post reportedly accused American troops of “mercilessly slaughtering 3rd world civilians” to preserve “American hegemony,” while one social media post blamed “white people” for creating al Qaeda.
The controversy intensified further after reports alleged Duwaji had liked Instagram posts celebrating Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel, including content dismissing reports of sexual violence against Israeli victims as a “mass rape hoax.”
Last month, Duwaji issued a public apology over some of the resurfaced content. “I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused, and am truly sorry,” she said.
Shiraz, meanwhile, has become an outspoken pro-Israel advocate, speaking on college campuses across the United States following her Miss Israel victory. The 27-year-old previously studied at UC Berkeley and worked in Silicon Valley before returning to Tel Aviv.
“She has publicly addressed comments she made that were sympathetic to October 7 and dehumanizing of Israelis, yet she couldn’t allow herself to engage with me,” Shiraz said of Duwaji.
The exchange allegedly took place Sunday at a Williamsburg café, where Shiraz said she unexpectedly found herself seated next to the notoriously antisemitic Duwaji while visiting New York for an event hosted by the Israeli Consulate. “She sat right next to me. What are the odds?” Shiraz told The California Post.
According to Shiraz, the interaction initially appeared cordial. The Israeli beauty queen even began filming a selfie-style video with Duwaji before the mood suddenly shifted. “I had told her I’m Miss Israel, and then she didn’t want to engage with me anymore. Shocker,” Shiraz said. “She was polite but clearly changed her tone.”
Shiraz claimed that after introducing herself, Duwaji declined to continue posing for the video and distanced herself from the conversation. “Right before I took that [footage], I asked her if we could take a photo and introduced myself. As soon as I did, she said, ‘Sorry’ and asked if it was a video, and said she didn’t want to anymore,” Shiraz said.
The Miss Israel winner also said she attempted to discuss Duwaji’s previous online remarks about Israel and urged “productive dialogue” that does not “dehumanize the other side.”
“And she politely brushed me off and then refused to engage anymore,” Shiraz said.
The encounter has reignited controversy surrounding Duwaji’s past social media activity, which has already drawn national controversy since her husband, Zohran Mamdani, took office earlier this year. In March, reports surfaced detailing a series of old Tumblr and X posts in which Duwaji allegedly praised members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a US-designated terrorist organization, shared anti-American rhetoric, and amplified anti-Israel content.
Among the resurfaced posts was a 2017 image of infamous plane hijacker Leila Khaled accompanied by the caption: “If it does good for my cause, I’d be happy to accept death.” Duwaji also reposted content praising Palestinian “resistance” fighters, shared imagery associated with the First Intifada, and amplified posts claiming Tel Aviv “shouldn’t exist in the first place.”
Another resurfaced post reportedly accused American troops of “mercilessly slaughtering 3rd world civilians” to preserve “American hegemony,” while one social media post blamed “white people” for creating al Qaeda.
The controversy intensified further after reports alleged Duwaji had liked Instagram posts celebrating Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel, including content dismissing reports of sexual violence against Israeli victims as a “mass rape hoax.”
Last month, Duwaji issued a public apology over some of the resurfaced content. “I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused, and am truly sorry,” she said.
Shiraz, meanwhile, has become an outspoken pro-Israel advocate, speaking on college campuses across the United States following her Miss Israel victory. The 27-year-old previously studied at UC Berkeley and worked in Silicon Valley before returning to Tel Aviv.
“She has publicly addressed comments she made that were sympathetic to October 7 and dehumanizing of Israelis, yet she couldn’t allow herself to engage with me,” Shiraz said of Duwaji.
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