Senior Mamdani adviser tries walking back virulently antisemitic social media posts

Chaudhary called former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “fearless” while circulating claims that Israel was a “cancer” that would be removed.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hassaan Chaudhary, a senior figure in New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition effort, is under growing scrutiny after years-old social media posts emerged showing harsh attacks on Jews and Israel.

The comments, first highlighted by The New York Post, were written around 2012, when Chaudhary was a teenager, and include praise for Iranian leaders who openly threatened Israel, as well as crude language directed at Jewish people.

Several of the posts accused Israel of committing atrocities against Palestinians, with Chaudhary describing the country as a “barbaric nation” and a “bloody” state.

In one message, he echoed then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hostile rhetoric toward Israel, calling the Iranian leader “fearless” while circulating claims that Israel was a “cancer” that would be removed.

He also used an Urdu slur aimed at Jews in a reply to a Pakistani journalist and dismissed a discussion on gay rights as nonsensical.

More recent activity surfaced as well. In late 2024, Chaudhary reshared a post implying that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, supported harming children in Gaza.

Chaudhary, now 31, issued an apology, telling the Post that the remarks no longer reflect his beliefs. He said he views the decade-old comments with regret and insisted they do not represent the person he is today.

A spokesperson for Mamdani said the mayor-elect rejects the views expressed in the resurfaced posts and emphasized that Chaudhary’s role in the campaign focused on Muslim community outreach.

The spokesperson described the comments as “reprehensible” and stressed that they do not align with Mamdani’s approach during the campaign or the transition.

Jewish leaders reacted sharply. Former New York assemblyman Dov Hikind called the language reminiscent of “Adolf Hitler language,” arguing that such attitudes point to deeper problems within Mamdani’s political circle. .

Chaudhary previously worked for Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and held digital organizing roles with progressive political groups.