Recent days have offered a tale of two New York public officials\u2019 wives and a revealing look at inconsistent standards from some mainstream media outlets on how they scrutinize the families of elected officials\u00a0depending on the political viewpoints expressed.<\/p>\n
The first was a New York Times story focused on the pro-Israel social media posts of Rep. Dan Goldman\u2019s (D-NY) wife. Under the headline \u201cCongressman Faces Questions About Wife\u2019s Social Media Stances on Israel,\u201d the Times wrote of the instances \u2014\u00a0believed to be 10 in all \u2014 that Corinne Goldman, who served as treasurer on her husband\u2019s campaign, liked posts related to the Israel-Hamas war in the weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, including one comparing \u201cJews for Palestine\u201d to \u201cChickens for KFC.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Days later, Jewish Insider uncovered the social media activity<\/a> of Rama Duwaji, the Syrian-American wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in the days after the attacks. That activity included liking posts that unambiguously celebrated Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attacks \u2014 as they were underway \u2014 and included still images from the attacks, in which more than 1,200 were killed and 251 taken hostage.<\/p>\n The only Jewish communal official quoted in the Times\u2019 story was Sophie Ellman-Golan, the director of strategic communications at the far-left Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, which endorsed Mamdani in last year\u2019s Democratic mayoral primary.<\/p>\n A day after JI\u2019s report, The Free Press published<\/a> its own investigation that found Diwali had liked dozens of additional anti-Israel posts, including one saying Israel was waging a \u201cvile land grab\u201d and another that suggested that the Times, which had done its own investigation into sexual violence on Oct. 7 had \u201cfabricated\u201d a \u201cmass rape\u201d hoax.<\/p>\n In his first public statement addressing JI\u2019s reporting, Mamdani said<\/a> his wife \u2014 who less than a month ago was the subject<\/a> of a cover profile and photo shoot for The Cut \u2014 was a \u201cprivate person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It was a response that was unsatisfactory to some. Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration\u2019s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, responded to Mamdani\u2019s statement by rhetorically asking<\/a>, \u201cBut Jessica Tisch has to apologize when her brother says something?\u201d \u2014 referring to the NYPD commissioner\u2019s recent apology over her brother\u2019s assertion that Mamdani was an \u201cenemy of the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n The Times, which covered Mamdani\u2019s response, changed its headline on the story at least twice after publication, from \u201cMamdani Says His Wife\u2019s Views on Gaza Are No One\u2019s Business,\u201d to \u201cMamdani Defends Wife Amid Criticism of her Support for Palestinian Cause,\u201d eventually landing on \u201cAfter Social Media Scrutiny, Mamdani Says His Wife Is a \u2018Private Person.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In response to the second headline, Tel Aviv-based research analyst Daniel Paul Rubenstein wrote on X<\/a> that he \u201cdid not expect to see the New York Times refer to the October 7 Massacre as an expression of the \u2018Palestinian Cause\u2019 \u2013 but here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n The social media defense of Duwaji from elements of the left was swift, with many arguing that New York City\u2019s first lady \u2014 who lives in Gracie Mansion at the taxpayer\u2019s expense \u2014 should not be subject to criticism over her views, despite those views including the embrace of terrorism.<\/p>\n In a misdirection, some turned their ire toward Bari Weiss, after CBS News shared a 60-second clip confirming JI\u2019s reporting.<\/p>\n