Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is considering a lawyer who defended an Al-Qaeda terrorist and a radical anti-Israel campus leader for the most senior legal position in New York City’s incoming administration, the New York Post reported.
Ramzi Kassem, a law professor at the City University of New York and a member of Mamdani’s transition team for legal affairs, is the leading candidate for Chief Counsel, the city’s top advisory role, a source close to the transition told the newspaper.
Kassem, 47, represented Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born leader of Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian Arab encampment, who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and marked for deportation. After 104 days in detention, a judge ordered his release.
He was also among the attorneys defending terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi, an Al-Qaeda terrorist convicted in 2017 for bombing the French oil tanker Limburg off Yemen in 2002.
“Kassem’s appointment to corp counsel wouldn’t sit well with the Jewish community,” said Democratic political operative Ken Frydman. “Everyone’s entitled to legal representation... even Mahmoud Khalil. But that doesn’t mean Ramzi Kassem had to represent him.”
Born in Syria, Kassem attended Columbia Law School on a fellowship funded by members of the Soros family, records show. During his university years, Kassem took part in anti-Israel protests and wrote several controversial editorials for the Columbia Spectator.
In 1999, he objected to the naming of a sandwich as an “Israeli wrap,” calling it offensive to Muslims and Arabs. In other columns, he accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and claimed Jews came to the Middle East “with the intention of conquering the land.” He dismissed a two-state solution as “not viable, nor desirable.”
In 2009, Kassem founded the CLEAR project - Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility - at CUNY, providing free legal aid to Muslims and other New Yorkers. The organization has received more than $3 million from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and over $1 million from MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to public filings.
In 2022, the Biden administration appointed Kassem as a senior policy advisor on immigration.
Neither Kassem nor Mamdani’s campaign responded to requests for comment.
Mamdani is notorious for his anti-Israel actions, including his criticism of Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel, as well as his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada”.
He has repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes in its battle against Hamas in Gaza, and has vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City.