A growing anti-Semitism scandal erupted this week after former Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory—removed from the organization for her ties to anti-Jewish rhetoric—reappeared on NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team. Mallory, who will serve on the Committee on Community Safety, joins more than 400 appointees announced Monday.
The Women’s March cut ties with Mallory in 2019 after founder Teresa Shook said Mallory and others had “allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment, and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform.” Shook argued their extremism had “steered the Movement away from its true course.” Tablet reported in 2018 that Mallory “asserted that Jewish people bore a special collective responsibility as exploiters of black and brown people,” and allegedly claimed Jews led the American slave trade. She also told a Jewish co-founder, “Your people hold all the wealth.”
Mallory’s long relationship with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan fueled further concerns. She once called him “the GOAT” and attended an event where he denounced “Satanic Jews” and claimed “the Jews have control over those agencies of government.” When asked on The View to condemn the remarks, Mallory said they were not her “language” but refused to disavow them.
Her activism has generated backlash even among victims’ families. Samaria Rice, whose son Tamir was killed in 2014, called Mallory a “clout chaser” who was “benefitting off the blood” of police brutality victims.
Mamdani’s transition team includes other controversial figures, including Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer who represented al Qaeda members, and Abby Stein, a transgender rabbi previously ejected from a White House pride event for anti-Israel chants. Another appointee, Alex Vitale, has urged Americans to “Abolish the FBI,” “abolish prisons,” and implement “open borders.”
