Group Hosting NYC First Lady's Retreat Advocated for Israel's Destruction
Social media posts from The Women Sanctuary called for the 'abolishment' of Israel and its cleansing of 'oppressors'.
The organization that hosted a recent Islamic wellness retreat attended by New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji has posted calls for the destruction of Israel and the removal of its perceived oppressors. The Women Sanctuary, which organized the "Journey through Islamic Calligraphy" retreat in Porto, Portugal, where Duwaji served as an artist-in-residence, has shared multiple posts with anti-Israel sentiments on social media.
One Instagram post from October 2025 stated, "The apartheid colonial state of Israel has committed a genocide against the Palestinian people. Abolish the colonial apartheid state of Israel. Free Palestine." Another post from May 2024 expressed a hope for freedom to "illuminate the blessed lands of Palestine, from the river to the sea." This slogan is widely considered antisemitic, with critics interpreting it as a call for the elimination of Israel.
Further posts included a September 2024 prayer asking Allah for the "liberation of Palestine" and to "Cleanse Palestine from tyranny and from its oppressors." A March 2025 post read, "May the winds of freedom sweep across Palestine, ushering in the complete and rightful restoration of the land’s true stewards."
Duwaji, a Syrian-American animator, illustrator, and ceramist, led an "marvelous illustration workshop" during a summer session at the retreat. The program, held in a manor house in Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal, cost attendees between $4,300 and $5,260.
This event follows Duwaji's attendance at another Women Sanctuary retreat in July on the Spanish island of Mallorca, for which she reportedly skipped a 250th birthday celebration for the United States. The revelations emerge as her husband, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, announced a plan to combat antisemitism in New York City, a plan that has drawn criticism for not explicitly addressing Zionism.
