NYC public middle school shows Mamdani's wife's art after blocking presentation from Holocaust survivor

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, is at the center of a new antisemitic controversy after her artwork was used in a Brooklyn public school classroom, but a Holocaust survivor was barred from speaking to students.

MS 447 in Boerum Hill incorporated the New York City First Lady’s illustrations into a seventh-grade course titled “Art for Social Change,” featuring her work alongside figures such as Kendrick Lamar, Misty Copeland, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. According to the New York Post, students were asked, “What is the message in Syrian-American Rama Duwaji’s art?” and “How do you think her deep culture shapes what she cares about and what she creates?”

Her illustrations, which were introduced as “mentor art,” include phrases such as “People Will Rise Against Tyranny,” “Pulse of Protest,” and “Quiet Refusal to Be Spoken For.” The outlet obtained a notice to parents last fall in which a teacher said students were exploring identity, culture, and “social justice issues” through selected artists, including Duwaji. The school had previously chosen to deny a request for Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann to speak. However, the invitation was later approved after public backlash.

Moshe Spern, a New York City public school teacher and head of Jewish United Teachers, posted on X, “MS 447… originally refused a Holocaust survivor over falsehoods but had no issue teaching [the] mayor’s wife’s antisemitic artwork.”

Mamdani’s wife previously shared posts praising members of the US-designated terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), including a 2017 post featuring plane hijacker Leila Khaled and one of her quotes declaring her willingness to die for the cause. She also promoted content related to the First Intifada, reposted material attacking the US military, and spread claims blaming “white people” for the creation of al Qaeda. Other posts included anti-Israel rhetoric, including statements that Tel Aviv “shouldn’t exist in the first place.” She also used a racial slur against blacks in 2013.

More recently, she had liked Instagram posts celebrating Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis, including one dismissing reports of sexual violence as a “mass rape hoax.” Following the backlash, Duwaji deleted her old X account, but kept her Instagram page, where she has about 2 million followers.

Mamdani’s wife also created artwork for the Democratic Socialists of America’s “PalestineOnTheBallot.com” campaign, which promoted candidates critical of Israel and supported legislation targeting pro-Israel charities.