A senior official in the mayor-elect’s transition team resigned after past antisemitic social media posts from 2011 surfaced in US media reports.
NEW YORK: An official appointed by incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani resigned one day after her appointment following the emergence of past antisemitic social media posts.
Catherine Almonte Da Costa, named as Mamdani’s “head of appointments,” stepped down on Thursday, according to US media reports.
NBC News reported that antisemitic statements in old Twitter posts from 2011 had surfaced, uncovered by The Judge Street Journal newsletter.
“I spoke with the Mayor-elect this afternoon, apologized, and expressed my deep regret for my past statements,” Da Costa told an online outlet.
“These statements are not indicative of who I am.”
She added that as a mother of Jewish children, she felt profound sadness and remorse for the harm caused.
“As this has become a distraction from the work at hand, I have offered my resignation,” she said.
One alleged post from January 4, 2011, read “Money hungry Jews smh (shaking my head).”
The account, which had posted several other antisemitic tropes, is no longer online.
Mamdani’s transition team did not comment on the resignation.
The Muslim mayor-elect has faced repeated accusations of antisemitism during his campaign over his strident support for the Palestinian cause.
Conservative figures have vowed to closely scrutinize his administration when he takes office on January 1. – AFP
