White House, Jewish advocates slam Mamdani for hosting accused Hamas sympathizer Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion
President Trump and Jewish advocates slammed Mayor Zohran Mamdani Tuesday for hosting anti-Israel activist and accused Hamas sympathizer Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion for Ramadan.
“No one should be feting the anti-American, pro-terrorist activities of Mahmoud Khalil, who made his name as a ringleader of violent anti-American and anti-Semitic university protests that harmed American foreign policy interests,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Post in a statement.
At a their White House meeting last month, Mamdani gave Trump and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, a list of four students detained by ICE in New York — including Khalil — asking for his help dismissing those cases.
But the White House salvo Tuesday indicates Trump won’t support the former Columbia University grad student, who dined with Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, at the mayoral residence on the Upper East Side Monday night — sparking outrage from pro-Israel advocates and conservatives.
“The mayor of New York City openly promoting someone who went out of his way to harass Jewish students at Columbia on a government social media account is a clear sign of disrespect to the Jewish community, said Moshe Spern, president of the United Jewish Teachers.
“This is beginning to feel purposeful and an unfortunate signal that Jewish safety in this city isn’t a priority at all,” Spern, a city public high school teacher, said.
Khalil, a Syrian-born activist and
former Columbia University grad student, was arrested by ICE early last
year, and faced deportation after the Trump administration accused him
of committing fraud on his green card application.Menachem Rosensaft, author of the post-Holocaust poetry book “Burning Psalms: Confronting Adonai after Auschwitz,” lamented that Gracie Mansion was “being used to promote exclusively a radical anti-Israel, anti Zionist agenda” — and urged Mamdani to invite survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.
Mamdani “has to recognize that by effectively honoring Khalil, he is giving fuel to Khalil’s supporters and followers who have at times been violent and explicitly antisemitic and engaged in some of the more extreme demonstrations at Columbia in the past,” Rosensaft said.
Lishi Baker, a Jewish Columbia University senior who previously headed the pro-Israel group Aryeh on campus, said it was beyond the pale for Mamdani to host Khalil.
“[Mamdani] is glorifying and lifting up this pro-Hamas, anti-American protester for a meal at Gracie Mansion,” Baker said.
Baker, whose major is Middle East studies, said Mamdani has not made any attempt to speak to pro-Israel Jewish students.
“He claims to be the mayor for everyone. He’s certainly not the mayor for everyone.”
Others said the get-together should come as no surprise since Mamdani made his own Israel-bashing positions known during last year’s campaign.
Mamdani is a true believer … He supports terrorism through his actions and who he invites over for dinner,” charged former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism.
“It gets worse and worse,” Hikind said. “We’re stuck with this guy for the next four years.
Khalil, a Syrian-born activist who participated in anti-Israel campus protests, made disturbing comments about the Oct. 7, 2023, slaughter of Israelis by Hamas, calling it an unavoidable moment justified by the terror group’s “struggle.”
He was arrested by ICE early last year, and faces deportation after the Trump administration accused him of committing fraud on his green card application. The White House, which claims Khalil is a Hamas supporter, is attempting to use a rarely deployed statute that allows for non-citizens to be deported if their beliefs could pose a threat to US foreign policy interests.
But Khalil has become a darling of the political left, which claims Trump is seeking to deport him for exercising his First Amendment right to speak his mind.
“Last night, as we marked the one year anniversary of his detention, Rama and I were honored to welcome Mahmoud, Noor [his wife], and their son Deen to Gracie Mansion to break our fast together,” Mamdani wrote in a Monday social media post.
The mayor included a photo of the celebration, showing Duwaji holding a plate of food while standing next to a seated Khalil, who was enjoying his meal with a giant smile.
Last week, it was revealed that Duwaji liked a celebratory Instagram post on the day of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that shared images from the murderous assault on Israel.
The Jewish civil rights group StopAntisemitism wrote Monday night: “NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani breaking bread with one of the city’s most vile antisemites, Mahmoud Khalil.
“By the way, he should already have been deported back to Syria.”
The Anti-Defamation League also ripped Mamdani for welcoming Khalil as an “honored guest” at the mayor’s official residence.
“Welcoming someone known for justifying the October 7 Hamas terror attacks as an honored guest at Gracie Mansion — while some in the Mayor’s inner circle have amplified antisemitic content and posts dismissing the atrocities of that day — sends a deeply troubling message,” an ADL spokesperson said.
“Gracie Mansion belongs to all New Yorkers. Public office must never be used to legitimize hate, and New York’s Jewish community deserves a mayor who makes that clear in both words and actions.”
Trump did agree to release another Columbia University student detained by ICE, Elaina Aghayeva, following Mamdani’s appeal.
The only surprise here is that anybody is surprised.
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