Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is facing backlash after it emerged that members of his inaugural committee include activists who have publicly praised or promoted antisemitic and inflammatory rhetoric in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel.

Among those selected is Alvaro Lopez, a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) electoral organizer who previously lauded two women caught on video tearing down posters of Israeli hostages in New York City. In a November 2023 post on X responding to coverage of the incident, Lopez referred to the women as “heroes,” dismissing those who confronted them as the women hurled profanities and anti-Israel insults.

The post resurfaced this week as Mamdani’s transition team announced its inaugural committee, immediately triggering outrage from Jewish leaders and community advocates who say the appointment reflects a disturbing tolerance for extremist rhetoric.

Lopez has a documented history of aggressive anti-Israel commentary. In October 2023, he accused Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) of having “Palestinian children’s blood on your hands,” while suggesting the congressman was acting on behalf of pro-Israel lobbying groups. Torres, one of the most outspoken Jewish members of Congress, has been a frequent target of far-left activists over his support for Israel.

When contacted, Lopez told reporters he did not remember making the hostage-poster comment and suggested it may have been written “during a really chaotic time.” After being shown a screenshot of the post, he declined further comment.

Lopez is not the only controversial figure tapped by Mamdani.

The mayor-elect has also appointed Rachel Griffin-Accurso, known online as “Ms. Rachel,” to the inaugural committee. Griffin-Accurso has collaborated with Motaz Azzaiz, a Palestinian activist who previously posted calls for divine curses against Jews on social media. Critics have accused Griffin-Accurso of amplifying narratives sympathetic to Hamas while ignoring Israeli victims of the October 7 attacks.

Another committee member, Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace, has publicly accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of planning war crimes in Gaza following Hamas’ massacre of approximately 1,200 Israelis.

The controversy comes amid broader scrutiny of Mamdani’s ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization that was widely condemned for holding a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square less than 24 hours after the October 7 attacks—before victims had even been identified or buried. That rally was the first in a series of demonstrations that blurred the line between political protest and celebration of terrorism.

Compounding the fallout, Mamdani’s head of appointments for his transition team, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, stepped down last week after resurfaced social media posts showed her using antisemitic tropes about “money-hungry Jews.” Her resignation did little to quell concerns about the ideological direction of the incoming administration.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)