Rama Duwaji is set to travel to Syria and Lebanon with taxpayer-funded NYPD security, despite State Department warnings against travel to both countries.
Rama Duwaji’s trip to Syria and Lebanon next month is drawing attention because the NYC first lady will travel with a taxpayer-funded NYPD security detail while heading to two countries the State Department warns Americans not to visit. The wife of Mayor Zohran Mamdani is scheduled to leave on Sept. 20, according to people familiar with the plan.
The mayor’s office confirmed the trip and said the NYPD detail will accompany Duwaji after what spokesperson Dora Pekec described as a strong recommendation from police. Duwaji, 29, is a Syrian-American artist with family ties to the region. She describes herself on her website as a Syrian illustrator, and her parents are Syrian Muslims from Damascus. A source familiar with the security arrangement said Duwaji asked for NYPD protection after traveling overseas last month without police escort.
Officials did not say anything further about the purpose of the travel, beyond the fact that she is visiting family in Syria and Lebanon. One person familiar with the trip said it is not official city business and does not help New York in any direct way. The same source said the timing of the travel, combined with the security detail, is what is fueling the backlash.
The security question sits against a broader backdrop of the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” warnings for both Syria and Lebanon, where Americans are advised to avoid dangerous conditions. Those warnings put added scrutiny on any U.S. public figure traveling to the region, especially with government-provided protection in tow. In this case, the concern is not only the destination but also whether city resources should be used for what appears to be a private trip.
Duwaji has longstanding connections to the Middle East. In 2019, she attended a residency at the Haven for Artists in Beirut, an organization that describes itself as a cultural feminist group focused on art and activism. Last month, she co-hosted a pro-Palestinian all-female spiritual retreat in Corsica, and earlier she traveled to Mallorca as an artist-in-residence at a sold-out workshop called Plants Of The Quran. The mayor’s office said she did not have NYPD protection on that trip.
“Rama Duwaji is set to travel to Syria and Lebanon with taxpayer-funded NYPD security, despite State Department warnings against travel to both countries.”
Her political profile has also drawn notice. Duwaji has been identified with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel views, and she has been linked to Spotify playlists containing anti-Israel lyrics posted after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. She also drew criticism for liking Instagram posts after the attack, including one that dismissed reports of sexual violence by Hamas as a mass hoax. Older social media posts resurfaced as well, including a 2015 message saying Tel Aviv should not exist and describing residents as occupiers. In another post from 2013, when she was a teenager, she used a racial slur.
Duwaji apologized in April for the hurt caused by the posts, though she did not directly apologize for the anti-Israel remarks. Mamdani has defended her as a private person who should not be placed under a public microscope because of her online history. She has also taken part in Democratic socialist activism aimed at candidates critical of Israel and at a proposal known as the Not on Our Dime Act, which would target charities accused of supporting Israeli settler violence.
Critics of the planned trip say the NYPD should not be sending officers into an unstable region for what they see as a personal journey. Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism and a former Brooklyn Assemblyman, said the officers could be put at risk. For New Yorkers, the episode raises familiar questions about how public security is used, who gets protected, and where the line falls between private travel and official responsibility.
The takeaway: the trip puts a taxpayer-funded NYPD detail, a politically charged first lady, and high-risk travel to Syria and Lebanon on the same front burner.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Rama Duwaji traveling?
She is scheduled to travel to Syria and Lebanon beginning Sept. 20.
Will she have police protection?
Yes. The mayor’s office said an Nypd security detail will join her after a strong recommendation from police.
Why is the trip drawing criticism?
Critics object to taxpayer-funded officers accompanying a private trip to countries on the State Department’s Do Not Travel list.
Has Duwaji traveled abroad before?
Yes. The mayor’s office said she traveled overseas last month without police protection, and she also took trips to Corsica and Mallorca.
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