High-level Mamdani appointee resigns after old antisemitic comments surface
Mayor-elect welcomes resignation of Catherine Almonte Da Costa due to her posts from 2011-12 referring to ‘money hungry Jews’
Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
NEW YORK — An appointee to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s incoming administration resigned on Thursday after old antisemitic social media posts surfaced earlier in the day.
Mamdani named Catherine Almonte Da Costa as his administration’s director of appointments on Wednesday. The director of appointments is a high-ranking role in the mayor’s office that oversees the recruitment and placement of key staff.
On Thursday, a day after Mamdani tapped her for the role, the Anti-Defamation League exposed antisemitic comments Da Costa posted on X in 2011 and 2012.
Da Costa wrote, “Money hungry Jews smh,” using an acronym that stands for “shaking my head.”
She also wrote, “Promoted to upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps,” and, “Far Rockaway train is the Jew train.”
Jewish greed and wealth are centuries-old antisemitic tropes.
Immediately after the ADL publicized the posts, Da Costa’s X account was taken down. Hours after that, she announced her resignation.
Da Costa said in a statement, “I spoke with the Mayor-elect this afternoon, apologized, and expressed my deep regret for my past statements. These statements are not indicative of who I am.”
“As the mother of Jewish children, I feel a profound sense of sadness and remorse at the harm these words have caused. As this has become a distraction from the work at hand, I have offered my resignation,” she said in a statement that a Mamdani spokesperson shared with The Times of Israel.
Mamdani accepted her resignation.
“Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements and tendered her resignation, and I accepted,” Mamdani said in a statement.
The incident came amid trepidation in the mainstream Jewish community over Mamdani’s incoming administration. Mamdani is a far-left anti-Israel activist whose antagonism toward Israel and Zionism has alarmed many Jews.
Polls have shown that a majority of Jewish New Yorkers believe that, as mayor, he will make the city less safe for Jews.
New York City is home to the largest Jewish Diaspora community and Jews are targeted in hate crimes in the city far more than any other group.
Another Mamdani staffer apologized last month for old social media posts demonizing Israel.
Mamdani’s transition team also includes a Women’s March Leader, Tamika Mallory, who allegedly engaged in antisemitism.
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