This article is from: srnnews.com
‘A Misunderstanding’: NYPD Will Not Escort Mamdani’s Wife on Syria, Lebanon Trip
By The Media Line Staff
The New York Police Department (NYPD) will not provide security for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, during a planned September trip to Syria and Lebanon, after the department said officers would not be sent to countries covered by the State Department’s highest-level travel advisory for a personal visit.
Mamdani’s office had “strongly” recommended that NYPD officers accompany Duwaji, the New York Post reported Tuesday. Mamdani did not dispute the report but attributed the request to a “misunderstanding.”
“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,” an NYPD spokesperson said early Tuesday.
“This is not an investigative trip, and therefore, NYPD personnel will not be traveling there for it.”
Duwaji, whose parents are Syrian-American Muslims originally from Damascus, is scheduled to begin the trip Sept. 20 and visit relatives in Syria and Lebanon. Both countries are on the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” list for Americans because of dangerous conditions.
The mayor did not say whether other security arrangements would be made for his wife. His office provided no additional details about the visit or whether its sole purpose was to see relatives.
“It’s not official business. It’s not doing anything for the city,” a source familiar with the trip told the Post.
The dispute comes after Mamdani campaigned on reducing NYPD funding and limiting the department’s responsibilities in responding to crime. He accused the department of discrimination against marginalized communities, advocated reallocating police funding, and criticized NYPD surveillance practices.
Since becoming mayor, however, Mamdani has faced criticism from the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which he is a member, over his approach to policing.
The DSA objected to his commitment to add 580 officers to the NYPD, saying the move “runs counter to the values of the socialist and working-class movement that elected him.”
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