Politics

Top Mamdani Pick Out After Single Day On Job As Antisemitic Past Resurfaces

Screenshot via Spectrum News/YouTube

A top aide to socialist New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani resigned Thursday with just one day on the job, after past antisemitic, anti-white and anti-police comments on her social media were exposed.

Catherine Almonte Da Costa, who was announced Wednesday as Mamdani’s director of appointments, stepped down after the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of New York and New Jersey flagged a series of past X posts that it described as invoking “classic antisemitic tropes.” The revelations sparked immediate backlash against Mamdani, who has faced repeated criticism for his own history of antisemitic and anti-police rhetoric.

Among the resurfaced posts were those from 2011 and 2012 in which Da Costa referred to “money hungry Jews,” described a subway route as the “Jew train,” and made comments about working with “rich Jewish peeps.”

“Tweeting about ‘Money hungry Jews’ is indefensible,” the ADL said in a statement on X, adding that the situation required an explanation not only from Da Costa, but also from the mayor-elect. The posts in question were deleted later Thursday, and Da Costa’s account was taken offline.

A resurfaced antisemitic social media post from Catherine Almonte Da Costa, who was appointed to Zohran Mamdani staff and resigned a day later. (via ADL New York / New Jersey on X)

In addition to the antisemitic posts, Da Costa’s past social media activity included repeated attacks on law enforcement.

Archived tweets show her using profanity toward police, referring to officers as “piggies,” and expressing support for defunding the New York Police Department (NYPD), the New York Post reported. During the 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd, she publicly backed calls to slash the NYPD budget by $1 billion and remove officers from schools and subways.

Beyond the anti-semitic and anti-police remarks, Da Costa also posted comments condemning white people, the Judge Street Journal reported.

“This was a harsh blow but it’s not the first time this country has let me down,” Da Costa wrote on Nov. 10, 2016, shortly after President Donald Trump was elected to his first term, according to the outlet. “It’s important that white people feel defeated.”

“For so long power has been in the hands of men and/or white people. It has brought us ruin,” she wrote on Jan. 19, 2020.

In another post dated Dec. 20, 2019, Da Costa wrote that she would not tell her children “that an old white man is the one bringing them presents.” In an Aug. 17, 2020, post referencing the Democratic National Convention, she wrote, “You can see who they are trying to win over, a lot of white people.”

Before being named to Mamdani’s administration, Da Costa worked under former Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio’s census team and most recently served as head of culture at a large communications and marketing firm, according to the outlet. Mamdani’s transition team said she was expected to help recruit senior staff into the city government.

Within hours of the ADL’s statement, Da Costa announced her resignation, saying she had become a distraction to the incoming administration.

“As the mother of two Jewish children, I deeply regret and apologize for these tweets from well over a decade ago,” she said in a statement, according to NBC New York. “These comments do not in any way, shape, or form reflect who I am or my views and beliefs today.”

Mamdani’s camp moved to distance itself from the remarks, condemning Da Costa’s past comments as “unacceptable” and saying they did not represent his values or those of his administration, according to the New York Post.

However, Mamdani has faced scrutiny over his own record.

The Democratic Socialist previously drew criticism for failing to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which is widely seen as a call to violence against Jews. He marked the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of launching “a genocidal war,” while offering only a brief condemnation of the “horrific war crime” carried out by Hamas.

During his campaign, Mamdani appeared alongside Muslim cleric Siraj Wahhaj — who has been linked to the architects of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and other terror plots — referring to him as “one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders.”

Mamdani has picked several controversial figures for his staff, including university professor Alex Vitale, who has described police officers as “violence workers,” to serve on the so-called community safety committee. He also named ex-rapper Mysonne Linen — who served seven years in state prison for armed robbery — to his transition committee on the criminal legal system.

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.