The political views of New York City’s incoming first lady are drawing renewed attention after a series of controversial social media posts resurfaced during the mayoral campaign.
Rama Duwaji, the wife of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, is an illustrator whose work has prominently featured pro-Hamas messaging.
Her art includes graphics accusing Israel of committing “war crimes” and denouncing U.S. support for the Jewish state.
Several posts were created or shared in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, when terrorists killed 1,200 Israeli civilians.
One graphic created by Duwaji depicted a stack of U.S. bills labeled “Israeli war crimes.”
🤬🤬🤬
Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji rages against US ‘imperialism’ and ‘Israeli war crimes’ in crude, talentless 'art work' lapped up by leftie libs.She's far more extreme than Stalking Horse hubs Xohran Kwame.
She works with Woke White Women publications from Vanity Fair… pic.twitter.com/UAlAwiLGmr— wyntre (@Wyntre999) November 8, 2025
Mamdani promoted the image in July 2024, writing:
“New York charities send over $60 million every year to fund Israeli war crimes, and that number is only growing.
“It’s time to bring an end to this.”
Another illustration she shared in November 2020 showed a family in Gaza as an Israeli aircraft passed overhead.
Reem Ahmed’s story of becoming trapped in Gaza
(🗯️ art by Rama Duwaji) pic.twitter.com/oedtofpEFd
— Angie Stewart (@Usual_Anomaly) May 3, 2024
The caption read:
“Presidents come and go, but American imperialism never changes.
“Thinking of the Palestinians, who suffer no matter who’s in office.”
Fun fact. His wife, Rama Duwaji, is an artist like Hunter. Any chance her art “career” is being used to launder/funnel money into his pockets? It certainly is convenient. By the way, her “art” looks like something a not particularly talented elementary student would draw. pic.twitter.com/ji8LVv38f9
— SkoolTeecher (@skoolteecher1) October 14, 2025
Duwaji also raised eyebrows more recently when she posted four broken-heart emojis above a photo of pro-Hamas influencer Saleh Al-Jafarawi, known online as “Mr FAFO.”
Al-Jafarawi, 28, was killed by an anti-Hamas militia armed by Israel.
Videos circulating online appear to show Al-Jafarawi celebrating the October 7 attacks.
Duwaji, who identifies as Syrian and was born in Houston, will formally become New York City’s First Lady on January 1, 2026.
She appeared alongside Mamdani on election night at Brooklyn’s Paramount Theater, wearing an elegant black lace outfit as she greeted supporters.
The Dubai-raised artist has amassed more than a million Instagram followers, drawn to her stylized aesthetic and carefully curated public persona.
She and Mamdani met on the dating app Hinge in 2021, when she was 24 and he was a rising political figure in Queens.
They married in a civil ceremony at Manhattan’s City Hall earlier this year, followed by an elaborate engagement celebration and Islamic wedding (Nikkah) in Dubai in December 2024.
Duwaji is a graduate of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, having studied in both Doha and Richmond before returning to Dubai and eventually relocating to New York in 2021.
Mamdani, then a newly elected state assemblyman representing Astoria and Long Island City, launched his mayoral bid on October 23, 2024.
Initially polling below one percent, he gained traction among younger voters attracted to his social media presence and his promises of aggressive communist-style government intervention in housing and “free” public services.
His socialist platform, including freezing rent for stabilized tenants, making city buses “free,” and opening government-run grocery stores, drew criticism from Republicans and moderate Democrats but energized his progressive base.
Mamadani has yet to reveal how he intends to fund his agenda.
Despite early expectations that former Governor Andrew Cuomo would dominate the Democratic Party primary, Mamdani overtook him in the first round of ranked-choice voting, 43 percent to 36 percent.
Cuomo conceded on election night.
Mamdani then defeated Cuomo again in the general election this week, completing a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidate.
READ MORE – Mamdani Supporters Struggle to Explain Why They Voted for Him
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