New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed scrutiny over his past associations, particularly his co-founding of the Bowdoin College chapter of the anti-Israel Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which actively supported Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, a convicted terrorist later deported for immigration fraud, The New York Post reported Sunday.
Odeh, 70, was convicted in 1970 for her involvement in two bombings in Israel in 1969, carried out under the banner of the US-designated terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). One attack, at a Supersol supermarket, tragically killed two college students, while the other targeted the British Consulate.
Odeh was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 1979 as part of a prisoner exchange. She subsequently arrived in the US in 1994 and became a citizen in 2004.
In 2017, Odeh was ordered deported for lying about her criminal history on both her visa and US citizenship applications. Her plea agreement from that year explicitly stated she admitted to concealing her convictions and acknowledged the illegality of providing false information to the US government. She was ultimately stripped of her citizenship, barred from the country for life, and deported to Jordan.
Despite these facts, in 2014, the same year Mamdani graduated from Bowdoin College, the SJP chapter shared an article about Odeh’s case from The Hill on Facebook, proclaiming, “Justice for Rasmea Odeh!” A Facebook account linked to Mamdani "liked" this statement, according to The Post.
Mamdani helped establish the Bowdoin SJP chapter during his time at the elite institution. The group’s activities have continued to draw attention; in 2013, it invited radical Lebanese-American speaker As’ad AbuKhalil to address students. AbuKhalil has publicly stated that Israel poses a greater terror threat than Iran and has boasted of being significantly influenced by a Palestinian leader he referred to as the “godfather of Middle Eastern terrorism.”
Independent New York City mayoral candidate Jim Walden criticized Mamdani on X for SJP’s supportive social media post regarding Odeh, stating it “praised her as a victim” and labeling it “radical extremism and antisemitism.”
Mamdani has faced scrutiny for past statements and social media posts appearing to sympathize with known terrorists. In one resurfaced tweet, Mamdani seemingly defended Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al-Qaeda figure later eliminated in a drone strike. During his career as a rapper, Mamdani also reportedly praised the leaders of the "Holy Land Five," referring to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a non-profit convicted of funneling over $12 million to the terror group Hamas.
He has also declined to condemn the chant "globalize the intifada" despite repeated questions.
At a recent mayoral forum at B’nai Jeshurun Synagogue, Mamdani was confronted by fellow candidate Whitney Tilson, who accused him of inciting antisemitic mobs. Mamdani responded by quoting far-left Israeli activists and reiterated his belief in equality for all lives. He further pledged that if elected, he would ensure New York complies with international law, including honoring potential arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court against figures such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When asked about the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Mamdani avoided a direct answer but stated he would ensure his actions do not violate international laws.
US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently condemned Mamdani for his anti-Israel statements, following Mamdani's victory in his party's primaries.
"ON OCTOBER 8, he couldn’t bring himself to condemn Hamas, the murder of 1200 Jews, or the rape of women & little girls," Cruz wrote on X. "Instead, he just…blamed Israel. On October 8."
