Daijiworld Media Network - New York

New York, Dec 31: New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has triggered sharp conservative backlash after appointing Ramzi Kassem, a civil rights lawyer who once defended an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist, as the city’s next Chief Counsel — one of the most influential legal positions in City Hall.

Announcing the appointment, Mamdani described Kassem as a lawyer dedicated to protecting people “too often abandoned by our legal system.” Taking to X, the mayor-elect wrote, “Welcome to a New Era, Ramzi Kassem!” while praising his work defending immigrants and students detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through a legal clinic he co-founded.

Kassem, a Syrian-born law professor at the City University of New York (CUNY), has previously served as an immigration adviser in the Biden administration. However, his past legal work has drawn intense scrutiny. He once represented Ahmed al-Darbi, an associate of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was convicted for his role in the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen’s coast.

The controversy surrounding Kassem’s appointment has been further fuelled by resurfaced writings and campus activism from his student days. According to a report by the New York Post, Kassem studied at Columbia Law School on a fellowship linked to members of the Soros family, a frequent target of right-wing criticism.

In 1999, Kassem wrote to the Columbia Spectator objecting to the naming of a sandwich as an “Israeli wrap,” calling it offensive to Muslims and Arabs. He later co-founded Turath, a Muslim student group at Columbia. A former student alleged that the group hosted speakers who supported violence against American and Israeli civilians and defended Hamas — allegations that Kassem’s supporters have consistently denied.

In a 2000 Spectator column, Kassem argued that Israel had no right to defend Jewish settlers in the West Bank city of Nablus, stating that Israel “has no internationally recognized right to be there in the first place.” Weeks after the September 11 attacks, he also wrote that the perpetrators were not driven by “intrinsic evil,” but by resentment towards US policies.

More recently, Kassem drew national attention for representing Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil in a legal battle against ICE detention. His role in the case placed him at the centre of a heated national debate over antisemitism on campuses, academic freedom and political pressure.

Republican lawmaker Elise Stefanik had urged CUNY to discipline or dismiss Kassem, alleging that his legal advocacy contributed to antisemitism. The American Association of University Professors strongly rejected those claims, calling them “outrageous” and warning that any action against Kassem would threaten academic freedom and the independence of legal advocacy.

The appointment has now deepened political divisions in New York, even before Mamdani formally takes office.