Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani’s inaugural committee features a leader from the Democratic Socialist Party of America (DSA) who previously referred to two women, captured while taking down Israeli hostage posters, as “heroes.”
DSA election organizer Álvaro Lopez reacted to a November 2023 post on X about a cover story in the Post, criticizing anyone who disagreed with their actions.
Lopez commented, “All I see is a hero,” referring to one of the women who angrily shouted at a passerby by saying, “Fuck you, fuck you, Israel!”
This isn’t the first occasion where Lopez has shown an anti-Israel position. In October 2023, he accused U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) of being responsible for the deaths of Palestinian children, questioning, “What is the asking price from APAIC?” He was referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an organization that advocates for the Jewish state.
Mamdani, also affiliated with DSA, faced backlash for supporting a pro-Palestinian rally held in Times Square just a day after Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,200 people.
Lopez is among several anti-Israel activists selected to be on Mamdani’s foundational committee. The committee also includes an individual named Rachel, who has previously worked with Palestinian activist Motaz Azzaiz, known for posting on social media, “May God curse the Jews themselves.”
The committee comprises Beth Miller, the political director of Jewish Voice for Peace, who accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing war crimes against Palestinians in response to the October 7 attacks.
Additionally, Catherine Almonte da Costa, who was part of Mamdani’s transition team, resigned last week following the exposure of several anti-Semitic tweets about “money-hungry Jews.”
Lopez mentioned to the Post that he didn’t remember his comments on X, stating, “I could have been talking about the people on the poster. It was a really confusing time.” He was shown a screenshot of his post but chose not to elaborate further.
