Mayor Mamdani was at the center of a maelstrom prompted by First Lady Rama Duwaji’s illustration of a story in an anthology from Gaza, edited by the prominent Palestinian author, Susan Abulhawa. Calling Abulhawa’s social media rhetoric “reprehensible,” Mamdani also distanced his wife from the author, claiming they had never met. On Sunday, Abulhawa issued a lengthy video response that has been widely circulated, where she reaffirmed her claim that no one has the right to tell Palestinians– who have suffered unimaginable brutality– how to manage their rage. There has been no further response from Mamdani.