ADL Report Documents 20 Percent of Appointees With Antisemitic, Anti-Israel Connections Amid Controversy
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team faced intensifying scrutiny over personnel vetting procedures following the revelation of antisemitic statements by appointees and the resignation of a top aide in the wake of social media posts containing offensive language about Jewish people. The controversies have raised questions about the transition’s protocols for evaluating appointees and cast a shadow over Mamdani’s efforts to reassure the city’s Jewish community about his commitment to combating rising antisemitism.
Director of Appointments Resigns Over Decade-Old Posts
Da Costa’s Problematic Statements
Catherine Almonte Da Costa, selected by Mamdani to serve as director of appointments, abruptly resigned on December 18 after social media posts from around 2011-2012 containing antisemitic language resurfaced publicly. The posts, which included references to “money hungry Jews,” echoed classic antisemitic tropes and elicited swift criticism from the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish community organizations.
Resignation and Accountability
NBC News reported that Da Costa announced her resignation in a statement acknowledging the harmful nature of the posts. “I spoke with the Mayor-elect this afternoon, apologized, and expressed my deep regret for my past statements. These statements are not indicative of who I am,” Da Costa said. “As the mother of Jewish children, I feel a profound sense of sadness and remorse at the harm these words have caused.” Da Costa’s brief tenure in the pivotal position–which would have given her responsibility for identifying and recruiting personnel for the administration–lasted less than 24 hours. Mamdani stated in response that he was unaware of the previous posts: “Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements and tendered her resignation, and I accepted.” A transition spokesperson told NBC News that the antisemitic posts were not detected during the vetting process.
ADL Report Documents Broader Concerns
Comprehensive Findings
The Da Costa resignation preceded a comprehensive report from the Anti-Defamation League detailing concerns about other transition appointees. On December 22, the ADL released updated findings from its “Mamdani Monitor,” concluding that more than 20 percent of the 400-plus transition committee members have documented connections to groups or activities deemed antisemitic or anti-Israel.
Scope of Issues
Jewish Insider reported that the ADL identified specific appointees and concerning statements, including remarks made by transition committee members. The ADL found that several appointees have expressed support for or participated in anti-Israel campus encampments, shared antisemitic tropes, and maintained connections to organizations advocating for the elimination of Israel.
Specific Cases of Concern
Campus Activist Concerns
Among the appointees singled out by the ADL is Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, co-executive director of Alliance for Quality Education and named to the youth and education committee. Photos uncovered by the ADL showed Shaakir-Ansari in front of a banner displaying an inverted red triangle–a symbol popularized by Hamas to identify targets–accompanied by the words “long live the resistance.” The ADL also flagged a cartoon posted by Shaakir-Ansari depicting imagery the organization characterized as antisemitic.
Additional Appointee Issues
Another appointee, Mohammed Karim Chowdhury, shared a post claiming that “Zionists are worse than Haman of ancient times, the Inquisition, and the Nazis,” according to ADL findings. The ADL further noted that Kazi Fouzia, serving on the worker justice committee, posted on social media: “Resistance are justified when people are occupied,” less than 24 hours after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Connections to Controversial Figures
Farrakhan Ties
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the ADL identified at least four transition appointees with ties to Louis Farrakhan, the antisemitic leader of the Nation of Islam.
Women’s March Organizer
Among those flagged was Tamika Mallory, a former Women’s March organizer selected to serve on Mamdani’s newly established community safety committee. Mallory previously resigned from her role as Women’s March co-chair following allegations that she had made antisemitic statements, including a widely discredited claim that Jewish people had played a significant role in the slave trade.
Mamdani Responds to the ADL Report
Criticism vs. Antisemitism Distinction
During a December 23 press conference, Mamdani rejected characterizations that his appointees held antisemitic views. Instead, he argued the ADL conflated legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies with antisemitism. AmNewYork reported on Mamdani’s statement: “We must distinguish between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government. When we’re thinking about critiques of Zionism and different forms of political expression, as much of what this report focuses on, there’s a wide variety of political opinion, even within our own 400-plus transition committee.”
Vetting Process Improvements Announced
Outside Firm Engagement
In response to the Da Costa resignation, Mamdani’s transition team announced it would bring on an outside firm to support its vetting procedures. Transition press secretary Dora Pekec stated: “This unacceptable oversight in the vetting process does not meet the Mayor-elect’s standards for this transition or the incoming administration. We’ve taken swift action to bring on an independent firm for additional support.” Pekec did not identify the outside firm or detail the specific improvements it would implement, noting only that it would support the existing vetting process.
Division Among Jewish Leadership
Progressive vs. Establishment Views
The ADL findings sparked division within Jewish community organizations. While some groups applauded the swift action taken in the Da Costa case, others criticized the ADL for conflating anti-Israel sentiment with antisemitism. Common Dreams reported that progressive Jewish organizations including Bend the Arc, T’ruah, and the Nexus Project expressed concern about the ADL approach.
J Street Perspective
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami criticized the ADL for focusing “disproportionate attention on left-of-center activists’ views on Israel while failing to apply the same scrutiny to the Trump administration and MAGA leaders, whose blatant antisemitism and ties to white nationalist movements pose a clear and dangerous threat to American Jews.”
Rising Antisemitism Context
NYC Hate Crimes Crisis
The controversies occur against a backdrop of unprecedented levels of antisemitic incidents in New York City. The city has experienced record numbers of hate crimes and antisemitic attacks in recent years, creating heightened sensitivity among Jewish leaders about municipal leadership’s commitment to addressing the crisis.
Mamdani’s Anti-Hate Commitment
Mamdani has pledged an 800 percent increase in anti-hate crime prevention funding and has appointed Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, to an emergency response committee.
Moving Forward
Continued Monitoring Needed
As Mamdani prepares to take office on January 1, the appointment and vetting process will continue under the oversight of the newly contracted outside firm. Jewish leaders and civil rights organizations will likely continue monitoring the transition to ensure that appointees to actual administration positions meet appropriate standards for addressing antisemitism and working effectively with Jewish community stakeholders in a city home to the nation’s largest Jewish population.
