NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
At least 20 percent of the elected mayor of New York Zoran MamdaniAccording to a report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), US presidential executive appointees are associated with groups characterized as anti-Zionist.
The report found that more than 80 of Mamdani's more than 400 transition and administrative appointees either have ties to such groups or have a “documented history of anti-Israel statements.”
The organization said Mamdani's appointees to the Transition Committee were affiliated with groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestinian student activist network; Jewish Voice for Peace, an American Jewish anti-Zionist organization; and During Our Lives, a New York-based anti-Zionist group “known for leading protests outside synagogues.”
For example, the ADL said at least four appointees have ties to Louis Farrakhan, the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam. One appointee, Jacques Leandre, was cited for reportedly attending a conference where Farrakhan denounced “the Jews and their power.”
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to the media at Corona Park in Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York, on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Several other appointees have also been cited for statements that appear to support or justify violence against Israel and the terrorist attacks of October 7. According to the ADL, Qazi Fouzia wrote on Facebook hours after the attacks that “Resistance [sic] Justified when people are busy” with video footage of the anti-Israel protest that took place that day in Manhattan.
The report continued to identify other appointees who publicly expressed hostility toward Zionism.
An example is Fahd Ahmed, who allegedly stated:Zionism is racismRuha Benjamin, who reportedly signed a statement that Israel is “ideologically based on Jewish supremacy”; Lisa Ota, who was accused of mentioning the “genocidal ideology of Zionism”; and Mohammed Karim Chowdhury, who shared a post purportedly claiming that “Zionists are worse than… Nazis.”
A protester waves a Palestinian flag during a protest on university campuses in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2025. (ANDREW THOMAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
The organization also identified Zakiya Shakir-Ansari, who is accused of allegedly posting a photo of herself at the camp in front of a banner with an inverted red triangle, a symbol associated with Hamas, next to the text “LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE.”
The report also found that at least 12 appointees publicly expressed support for anti-Israel camps on campuses in the spring of 2024, with at least five personally attending protests. The ADL singled out Gianpaolo Baiocchi, who was reportedly arrested at the NYU camp and later insisted there was no hate speech. The ADL disputes this claim, citing leaflets distributed in the camp calling “Death to Israeli Real Estate” and “Death to America.”
Demonstrators raise the Free Palestine flag, October 4, 2025. (Dan Gaynor)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Mamdani, who takes office on January 1, has previously repeatedly stressed his opposition to anti-Semitism.
The ADL noted that many appointees did not express concern and emphasized that at least 25 people expressed support for the Jewish community, including Rabbi Joe Potasnik, Felix Matos Rodriguez, Wayne Ho, John King and Jerry Goldfeder. However, the organization said it remained concerned about the state of Mamdani's team as a whole.
“Many of Mayor-elect Mamdani's appointments to the Transition Committee are inconsistent with his campaign commitments to prioritize security Jewish community of New York“, the ADL report states.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani for additional comment.
