NYC Mayor’s Wife Sparks Outrage by Taking Police Security on Private Middle East Trip

Rama Dawoudi, wife of New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, is scheduled to travel next month for a private family visit to Syria and Lebanon, countries listed under the highest travel warning by the U.S. State Department. Despite the trip being personal and unrelated to the mayor’s official duties, Dawoudi will be accompanied by police officers from the New York Police Department’s security unit, funded by taxpayers. The mayor’s office confirmed the travel plans and said the decision to include security personnel was based on police recommendations due to the security situation in those countries.

The arrangement has sparked sharp criticism from local leaders and public activists who argue that sending officers to conflict zones unnecessarily endangers them and makes them targets. Dov Hikind, former U.S. House Representative and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, stated that Dawoudi does not need such protection in these areas and that the officers will be put at risk.

Rama Dawoudi, a 29-year-old American-Syrian artist, is known for her strong anti-Israel views and previously expressed support for Hamas’s October 7 attacks, casting doubt on the reported massacres. Critics also highlight that in her previous private international travels, she did not receive police security, raising questions about the justification for taxpayer-funded protection on this particular family trip to the Middle East.