The group behind the posh, Islamic-centered women’s retreat where New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji served as an “artist-in-residence” called for the destruction of Israel and for “Palestine” to be cleansed of its “oppressors” in a series of hateful social media posts.
“The apartheid colonial state of Israel has committed a genocide against the Palestinian people,” read an October 2025 Instagram post from the Women Sanctuary, the organization hosting the “Journey through Islamic Calligraphy” retreat being attended by Duwaji in Porto, Portugal.
“Abolish the colonial apartheid state of Israel. Free Palestine,” the post, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, continued.
In a lengthy May 2024 post, the Women Sanctuary hoped for freedom to “illuminate the blessed lands of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
The slogan “from the river to the sea” is considered antisemitic by many. Critics say the motto, which refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, is a call for the eradication of Israel and its people.
In September 2024, the group shared a prayer to “Allah” pleading for the “liberation of Palestine.”
“Cleanse Palestine from tyranny and from its oppressors,” the post stated.
Another eyebrow-raising Instagram from March 2025 read: “May the winds of freedom sweep across Palestine, ushering in the complete and rightful restoration of the land’s true stewards.”
Duwaji, 29, ran the Women Sanctuary retreat’s “marvelous illustration workshop” during a summer session earlier this year.
Guests paid $4,300 for a shared room to $5,260 for a private room with a private bathroom in the manor house nestled in the tranquil countryside of Arcos de Valdevez.
In July, Gotham’s controversial first lady made headlines for skipping America’s 250th birthday celebration to attend a different Women Sanctuary retreat on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca.
The news of Duwaji’s partnership with the alleged hateful group comes as her husband announced a plan to combat antisemitism — which completely ignored Zionism — in the Big Apple on Tuesday.
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