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New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley (D) once called Palestinian Arab-American activist Linda Sarsour “one of the most thoughtful and strong but also gentle people I know,” when she hosted an event for the controversial figure in 2017, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Wiley has been moving up in the Democratic primary polls. She is now in second place.

Sarsour endorsed Wiley's mayoral bid in a June 10 tweet.

In 2017, Wiley invited Sarsour to speak at at The New School, where she is a senior Vice President for social justice. Sarsour was invited to speak for a course titled “Race in the US.”

Wiley reportedly gave Sarsour a warm welcome and implied that the two were close friends.

"I, from a personal standpoint, am so honored that Linda is here with us today. She is someone whose generosity of spirit and courage are things, I think, that we should celebrate in this country,” said Wiley by way of introduction.

"I also want to say that she’s one of the most thoughtful and strong, but also gentle, people I know. And I say that because if you read accounts of her it really paints her in a way that is not a Linda that I know or recognize. I think it’s an important opportunity to actually help see the human side of Linda Sarsour because she is a deep and important human being,” she added.

Sarsour called herself "an admirer of (Wiley’s) for so many years and had the privilege of working with her in many different times of my very short life."

During her speech to the university, Sarsour attacked the Trump administration, alleging that there were "people who are actually neo-Nazis, or actually I’d say Nazis" in the White House. She also said that she wasn’t an anti-Semite but a “critic of the State of Israel.”

Sarsour has previously tweeted that “Nothing is creepier than Zionism. Challenge Racism.”

In 2019, she said that Israel supporters were white supremacists, according to the Free Beacon. "How can you be against white supremacy in America and the idea of being in a state based on race and class, but then you support a state like Israel that is based on supremacy, that is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else.”

In August 2020, then candidate Joe Biden disavowed Sarsour for her anti-Israel and pro-BDS views that critics have charged cross the line into anti-Semitism.