It Keeps Getting Worse
Meet Zohran Mamdani's Mentor: A Pastor Who Justified October 7
A bombshell revelation rocks NYC’s mayoral race, frontrunner Zohran Mamdani’s “life-changing” mentor is the same activist who cheered Hamas’s October 7 massacre as “100% justified.” As voters head to the polls, Mamdani’s moral compass is under fire, and the stench of hypocrisy is impossible to ignore.
In the heat of New York City's mayoral race, frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has come under fresh scrutiny for his close ties to Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian-American pastor and activist he credits with "transforming" his life, the same mentor who, on the day of Hamas's October 7, 2023 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, posted that the attacks were "100% predictable and justified" due to the "Israeli occupation."
A resurfaced video clip, highlighted in a viral X post by Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) shows Mamdani praising El-Yateem: "My life was transformed by Khader El-Yateem."
The DSA-backed assemblyman, polling at around 43% ahead of Tuesday's election, has leaned on El-Yateem's guidance since their 2017 collaboration, when El-Yateem ran for NYC Council District 43 in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge.
El-Yateem, born October 20, 1968, in Bethlehem, immigrated to the U.S. in 1989. A Lutheran pastor known as "Father K," he founded and led Salam Arabic Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge for 23 years.
A co-founder of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York and board member of the Arab American Association of New York, El-Yateem is a prominent DSA member and community leader. He chaired Brooklyn's Community Board 10 and led voter registration drives in Bay Ridge's Arab community.
But El-Yateem's activism has sparked intense controversy. On October 7, 2023, mere hours after Hamas's brutal assault, he posted on X (@KhaderElyateem): "The problem in the Middle East is the Israeli occupation..." and "This resistance is 100% predictable and justified..."
He has been accused of comparing Jews to Nazis, mocking Israeli hostages, and expressing Hamas sympathies, drawing sharp backlash from Jewish groups.
Teitelbaum's post labels Mamdani's association with El-Yateem as evidence of "deep ties to extremist ideology." Critics, including Jewish organizations, question Mamdani's suitability for mayor amid a reported 300% surge in NYC antisemitism since October 7.
Mamdani, who has defended El-Yateem as a "transformative" figure, did not respond to requests for comment.
As Mamdani leads with 43% over Andrew Cuomo (39%) and Curtis Sliwa (~8%), El-Yateem's shadow looms large over the race. With record early voting topping 735,000 ballots, Tuesday's outcome could reshape NYC politics, but for some voters, Mamdani's mentorship raises red flags that no poll can erase.