Controversial Post Sparks Outcry in NYC Health Department

A long-time official from the New York City Health Department expressed extreme sentiments about Israelis in a recently revealed social media post.

“If there is one Israeli left in this world, it will be too many!” Ahmat Akkad, the community coordinator for the health department since 2017, reportedly wrote about a year ago. This statement, uncovered by the Jewish monitoring group Canary Mission, has raised eyebrows.

In a now-deleted post from November 10, 2021, a screenshot showed Akkad, 40, stating, “Jews who do not support apartheid are safe. Zionists are not safe!” This has added fuel to the fire surrounding recent criticisms of Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s health ministry, which allegedly used taxpayer money to organize a meeting aimed at denouncing Israeli actions.

The fallout has led to calls for investigations into both the city and federal health departments.

Akkad had previously made other incendiary remarks about Israel in archived posts that have since been deleted, as shared by those denouncing his views. He once claimed, “Israel exists by sacrificing black and brown blood as an offering to white supremacy,” under the username @AchmatX. In another earlier post, he suggested that “Zionists are behind the attacks, far-right parties elected around the world, attacks on free speech, wars in the MENA region, dehumanization of Muslims, increased police forces…”

The Post reached out to Akkad, who confirmed his affiliation with the Ministry of Health and acknowledged the existence of his social media account but didn’t comment further. He had previously described himself as “the U.S. ambassador to Harlem.”

His social media account was later suspended, making it difficult for the Post to independently verify the offensive posts.

Neither the Ministry of Health nor Mayor Mamdani provided comments on the matter. It’s worth noting that the mayor was not involved in Akkad’s hiring.

Akkad initially joined the city as a community worker in 2015 during Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration and currently earns a salary of $65,000 annually.

Canary Mission expressed concerns, stating, “If this man has been promoted to city politics, what does that mean for the leaders who promoted him? New Yorkers should be outraged.”