The New York Post revealed Tuesday that Rama Dweji, the terror-supporter wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, will fly on September 20, 2026, to visit relatives in Syria and Lebanon. The private visit is set to take place in countries designated by the U.S. State Department with the most severe travel warning level, and Dweji will be accompanied by officers from the NYPD’s security detail—funded by taxpayers.
1+The mayor’s office confirmed details of the planned trip and said the decision to assign security officers came following a strong recommendation from the police, due to the security situation in those countries. However, sources involved in the details emphasized that this is an entirely private trip to visit family members, unrelated to the mayor’s duties or New York City affairs.
The plan to attach police officers to the private trip is drawing sharp criticism. Local leaders and public activists argue that sending officers to combat zones and areas of security tension puts them in unnecessary danger and makes them targets. Dov Hikind, a former state assemblyman and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, argued that the officers are the ones who will be in danger in these war zones, adding that in his view, Dweji doesn’t need security in those places.
1+Dweji, a 29-year-old Syrian-American artist, is known for her harsh positions against the State of Israel. It was previously revealed that she expressed support in social media posts that praised Hamas’s October 7 attack while also casting doubt on the atrocities committed. Critics point out that while on previous private trips abroad she flew without police security, it’s specifically for the planned family visit to the Middle East that she’s using taxpayer-funded guards.