NYC Mayor Mamdani Hosts Pro-Hamas Activist for Gracie Mansion Iftar

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted controversial anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil and his family for a Ramadan dinner at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from political figures and Jewish community leaders.

In a post on social media Monday, Mamdani said he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, welcomed Khalil, his wife Noor, and their young son Deen to break the Ramadan fast together. The mayor said the gathering also marked the one-year anniversary of Khalil’s detention by federal authorities for immigration fraud.

“Last night, as we marked the one-year anniversary of his detention, Rama and I were honored to welcome Mahmoud, Noor, and their son Deen to Gracie Mansion to break our fast together,” Mamdani wrote.

Khalil, a Syrian-born activist and former Columbia University graduate student, became a prominent figure in the anti-Israel protest encampments that swept the campus during the Gaza war. Federal immigration authorities arrested him in March 2025, accusing him of committing fraud on his green card application and seeking his deportation under a rarely used statute that allows removal of noncitizens whose actions or beliefs could threaten U.S. foreign policy interests.

Khalil spent several months in federal custody in Louisiana before a three-judge panel ruled that he should be allowed to continue contesting his immigration case outside detention. The federal government is still pursuing deportation proceedings.

The activist has also sparked controversy over remarks about the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel. In an interview last year, he described the violence as a “desperate” moment in the Palestinian struggle and said such an escalation was difficult but ultimately unavoidable. Those comments drew condemnation from several political leaders and the White House.

Critics say Mamdani’s decision to host Khalil at the mayoral residence sends the wrong message, particularly to Jewish residents of the city. The Republican Jewish Coalition called the dinner “disgraceful,” arguing that Khalil should face deportation rather than be welcomed by the mayor.

Leo Terrell, who leads a Justice Department task force on antisemitism, also criticized the event and questioned the mayor’s judgment in hosting Khalil. New York City Council member Inna Vernikov said the invitation was offensive to Jewish students who experienced harassment during the campus protests where Khalil was active.

Rabbi Steven Burg, chief executive of the Jewish organization Aish, said Khalil had spent years antagonizing Jewish students and that honoring him at an official residence was inappropriate regardless of the ongoing immigration case.

Mamdani, however, has repeatedly defended Khalil and framed the activist’s detention as part of a broader threat to free speech. Speaking at a press conference earlier this year, the mayor said the case represented “a larger attack on the freedom of speech,” particularly when that speech involves criticism of Israeli policy or advocacy for Palestinian rights.

Khalil’s son, the couple’s first child, was born while he was being held in federal custody. The child will turn one in April.

“Mahmoud is a New Yorker, and he belongs in New York City,” Mamdani wrote in his social media post announcing the dinner.

The gathering has intensified an already heated debate in the city over campus activism, immigration enforcement, and how elected officials should engage with figures tied to the pro-Palestinian protest movement.