NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji ditched America’s 250th anniversary, jetting off this week for an Islamic “spiritual wellness” retreat on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca ahead of the patriotic celebration, The Post has learned.
The Dallas-raised, Dubai-educated, Syrian-American artist – who has a long history of bashing the US — was spotted at Newark International Airport on Monday, boarding an eight-hour flight to Palma, Mallorca’s capital city in the Western Mediterranean.
She was heading to a sold-out retreat run by The Women’s Sanctuary. The 29-year-old illustrator and ceramist is the for-profit’s “artist in residence” and among the gathering’s hosts.
The “Plants Of The Quran” retreat costs $3,400 in US dollars for guests to attend. It began Wednesday and runs through Monday, and revolves around sacred flora mentioned in Islamic texts through art, botanical workshops, and spiritual reflection, according to the group’s website.
Duwaji is then scheduled to help host another sold-out retreat for The Women’s Sanctuary in Corsica, France, running from July 9-14. Titled, “Mary In The Quran,” it “explore[s]” in “depth” the luminous legacy of Mary, the most honored woman in the Qur’an.”
Conservative commentator and comedian Arynne Wexler posted photos Friday on X of Hizzoner’s aloof wife sitting at a United Airlines gate waiting to board her flight and wrote: “Funny how when @ZohranKMamdani was telling New Yorkers to lower their AC his wife Rama Duwaji was boarding a flight to party in Mallorca.”
“Reminder that I can’t tag her because she deleted her account after her insanely offensive tweets were discovered. Champagne socialists,” added Wexler, referring to racial, homophobic and other controversial comments the first lady made over a decade ago that were unearthed in the spring.
A friend of Wexler’s was on Duwaji’s flight, took the photos and shared them with Wexler, who posted them on X “to make sure people were aware,” Wexler’s publicist told The Post Saturday.
It’s unclear how much the flight cost, but as of Saturday the cheapest round-trip ticket to Palma from Newark for later this month was running $930.
Critics on Saturday ripped the first lady of America’s largest city for blowing off the birthday bash.
“Nothing says ‘America 250’ quite like skipping the celebration for a Mediterranean vacation, but I am not surprised because she has made her hatred for America very evident,” ripped Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens.)
“It’s disappointing that the First Lady chose to be overseas instead of taking part in one of the biggest civic events our city and country will mark this year,” said Councilman Frank Morano (R-Staten Island).
“No one is saying elected officials and their families can’t take vacations, but this was a moment to show up for the city and for the country, and she missed it.”
The Mayor’s Office declined to address the criticism but said Duwaji was not accompanied on her trip by cops assigned to the First Couple’s taxpayer-funded NYPD detail.
Duwaji’s since-deleted social media posts include some praising Palestinian terror groups and others attacking US service members for assisting Israel, the Washington Free Beacon reported in March.
In 2015, she reposted a tirade on Tumblr, saying “American soldiers fighting in imperialist wars are not brave nor are they fighting for anyone’s freedom. They are mercilessly slaughtering 3rd world civilians and fighting to maintain American hegemony.”
Mamdani, also a staunch critic of Israel, has claimed his wife shouldn’t face scrutiny over her social media activity because she holds no formal position in his administration. Duwaji has since apologized for many of her past posts.
The silver-spoon socialist Mamdani remained behind in New York City the past week to deal with his first heat wave as mayor – and came under fire for imploring New Yorkers to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees, while temps in parts of City Hall were cooled as low as 54 degrees.
His participation in the America 250 celebration included decrying capitalism and the country’s involvement in foreign wars during a tone-deaf 15-minute address on Friday from City Hall— while sitting at George Washington’s former desk.
On Saturday, he attended the Sail4th 250 International Parade of Sail on Governors Island and later in the evening was scheduled to oversee a Fourth of July lighting ceremony at the Empire State Building.
