Mamdani defends wife when confronted on work with anti-Israel author, decries rhetoric

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended his wife, Rama Duwaji, on Friday during a press conference when confronted about her work with an author who called the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, "spectacular," and described Jewish Israelis as "rootless, soulless ghouls."

During the conference, a reporter asked Mamdani whether his wife was aware of the author's rhetoric before she took the job and whether such rhetoric was acceptable.

"I think that that rhetoric is patently unacceptable. I think it's reprehensible," Mamdani stated.