Mamdani under fire for controversial inauguration committee picks

In November 2023, Lopez reacted to footage of women tearing down Israeli hostage posters in Manhattan, writing, “All I see are heroes.”

By World Israel News Staff

As New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani prepares to be sworn into office in just a few days, the makeup of his inauguration committee is drawing mounting criticism, with several appointees facing scrutiny over past statements and actions widely condemned as antisemitic.

The controversy intensified after reports revealed that Alvaro Lopez, a senior organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), was appointed to Mamdani’s inaugural committee despite previously praising the public tearing down of posters showing Israeli hostages.

According to a New York Post report, Lopez reacted in November 2023 to footage of two women ripping down hostage posters on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The women were filmed cursing at passersby who objected, with one shouting, “f—k you, f—k Israel.” Lopez responded online, writing, “All I see are heroes.”

Lopez has also used social media to accuse pro-Israel Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres of having “Palestinian children’s blood on your hands,” further fueling concerns over his rhetoric.

The tearing down of Israeli hostage posters became a flashpoint across New York City following the October 7 Hamas massacre. At the time, then-Mayor Eric Adams condemned the practice, calling it “deeply misguided” and stressing that “every hostage should be immediately released.”

“Tearing down a poster of a hostage is a deeply misguided act of disrespect to victims of terrorism,” Adams said, adding that hate “has absolutely no place” in New York.

State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who represents a heavily Jewish district in the Bronx, was more blunt, describing the individuals removing the posters as “loathsome” and motivated by hatred of Jews.

“The psychology is they hate Jews,” Dinowitz said at the time.

Criticism of Mamdani’s picks has broadened beyond Lopez. The mayor-elect recently added Rachel Griffin Accurso, the children’s video educator known online as Ms. Rachel, to his inaugural committee.

Accurso has faced sustained backlash for repeatedly amplifying claims sourced from Hamas or UN-linked organizations without verification.

According to watchdog group StopAntisemitism, Accurso has promoted debunked allegations about starvation, hypothermia deaths, and civilian casualty figures in Gaza, while accusing Israel of war crimes based on data later shown to be false or misleading.

Also recently added to Mamdani’s orbit is actress Cynthia Nixon, who has publicly aligned herself with the BDS movement and signed petitions calling for boycotts of Israeli cultural institutions.

StopAntisemitism has accused Nixon of spreading antisemitic tropes by absolving Hamas of responsibility while singling out Israel with what it calls an impossible double standard.

Both Accurso and Nixon were among nominees for StopAntisemitism’s “Antisemite of the Year” designation, which was ultimately awarded to media personality Tucker Carlson.

When pressed about his growing list of controversial transition team appointments, in addition to the inaugural committee picks, Mamdani downplayed the criticism, saying the selections reflect a diversity of political views.

Critics argue that the pattern points not to pluralism, but to a troubling tolerance for rhetoric and activism that has helped normalize hostility toward Israel and, increasingly, toward Jews in New York.