A Brooklyn middle school that blocked a Holocaust survivor from speaking did allow an anti-Semite to share her artwork with students.
In December, Middle School 447 (MS 447) Principal Arin Rusch rejected a request to host Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann, citing his thoughts on the Israelis and Palestinians.
“In looking at his website materials, I also don’t think that Sami’s presentation is right for our public school setting, given his messages around Israel and Palestine,” she said at the time, as reported by CBS News. “I’d love to explore other possible speakers.”
Rusch’s decision sparked backlash, with even then-Mayor Adam Erics weighing in:
I’ve previously met with Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann, and he is ABSOLUTELY the right person to speak with kids about the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Read my full statement on why @NYCSchools students need to hear his story: pic.twitter.com/5Guw5LUqV0
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) December 4, 2025
The backlash led the state Department of Education to go over the principal’s head and invite Steigmann to the school themselves.
Months later, MS 447 is once more caught up in controversy, this time because of reports confirming that the school had allowed an anti-Semite to share her artwork with students around the exact same time that Steigmann was denied a speaking spot at the Brooklyn school.
“Illustrations by Rama Duwaji … were showcased alongside celebrity writers, dancers and musicians like Kendrick Lamar in a course called ‘Art for Social Change’ at MS 447,” according to the New York Post.
Duwaji is the antisemitic wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Students were reportedly presented with her work and then encouraged to use it as inspiration for their own creations.
“What is the message in Syrian-American Rama Duwaji’s art?” the students were asked. “How do you think her deep culture shapes what she cares about and what she creates?”
Her artwork has also been accused of being antisemitic:
MS 447 a Brooklyn middle @NYCSchools originally refused a Holocaust survivor over falsehoods but had no issue teaching @NYCMayor wife’s antisemitic artwork!! Help this make sense??? pic.twitter.com/oJ2LroOH0K
— Moshe Spern (@moshespern) March 23, 2026
“I was concerned about a double standard and not teaching in a critical manner, and just forcing a political ideology on students,” an MS 447 parent told the Post, sharing their concerns about Duwaji.
Duwaji is so much of an anti-Semite that Israel is reportedly considering banning her from entering the country.
“An Israeli ministry has recommended … barring New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, from entering Israel, citing her social media activity, which they say includes support for the October 7 Hamas attack and posts that delegitimize Israel,” Haaretz reported last week.
“The Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said Duwaji, a Syrian American artist, has repeatedly shared illustrations and commentary portraying Israel as committing “ethnic cleansing” and promoting violence, calling her expressions beyond legitimate criticism and labeling them antisemitic,” the report continued.
“In this current war, we are facing another front, which is the global rise in antisemitism, which is fueled by people like Rama,” Ministry Director General Avi Cohen-Scali said.
It’s since been learned that Duwaji also produced artwork for an essay written by Susan Abulhawa, an anti-Semite with a history of describing Jewish people as “vampires,” “demons,” and “ghouls.”
The essay, “A Trail of Soap,” was tucked in “Every Moment is a Life,” a collection compiled by Abulhawa, who previously described the Oct. 7 terror attack as “spectacular.”
NEW from me
Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, provided illustrations for a book compiled by Susan Abulhawa — who has called Jews “rootless parasites” , “cockroaches” “rabid demons” — and many other names pic.twitter.com/NVtFP79vBf
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) March 12, 2026
Just days after the attack, she wrote a column in the “Electronic Intifada” in which she called the attack “a spectacular moment that shocked the world,” according to the Washington Free Beacon.
“Whether or not Israel indeed knew of the plans in advance, those few freedom fighters inspired not only the whole of Palestine, but the oppressed masses worldwide, to imagine what freedom looks like; what resistance is possible; and what life is attainable,” she wrote.
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- NYC middle school promotes artwork of Mamdani’s anti-Semite wife, but blocked Holocaust survivor from speaking - March 24, 2026
- NYC middle school promotes artwork of Mamdani’s anti-Semite wife, but blocked Holocaust survivor from speaking - March 24, 2026
- NYC middle school promotes artwork of Mamdani’s anti-Semite wife, but blocked Holocaust survivor from speaking - March 24, 2026
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