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Tags: achmat akkad | nyc | health department | zohran mamdani

Anti-Israel Social Media Posts Surface From NYC Health Staffer

By    |   Monday, 16 February 2026 05:10 PM EST

A longtime New York City Health Department employee is under fire after a series of past social media posts surfaced in which he called for the elimination of Israelis and made incendiary claims about Israel and Zionists.

According to the Jewish watchdog group Canary Mission, community coordinator Achmat Akkad wrote in a post on X about a year ago that "1 Israeli left in this world would be one too many!"

Akkad has reportedly worked at the department since 2017.

In another post from Nov. 10, 2021, that was later deleted, Akkad, 40, wrote, "Jews that don't support apartheid are safe. Zionists aren't!" according to screenshots captured by the group and shared on X.

The revelations come as Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Health Department has already been facing intense scrutiny after staffers allegedly used taxpayer-funded resources to organize a "global oppression" working group session that accused Israel of genocide.

The controversy has sparked calls for both city and federal investigations.

Akkad, who was hired before Mamdani took office, reportedly made additional inflammatory statements in posts archived and later deleted from his X account.

In one, he wrote, "Israel exists by sacrificing the blood of Black and brown people as an offering to white supremacy."

In another post from about a year ago, he wrote that Zionists "are behind the attacks, far right parties being elected across the world, attacks on free speech, the wars in MENE, the dehumanization of Muslims, and increase in police power..."

When the New York Post reached Akkad by phone, he confirmed that he works for the Health Department and operated the X account but declined further comment.

He previously described himself on social media as the "US Ambassador to Harlem."

Akkad's X account has since been suspended, making independent verification of the posts impossible.

Mamdani was not involved in Akkad's original hiring, as the health department staffer predates the new mayor in City Hall.

Akkad first joined city government in 2015 as a community associate with the Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.

He reportedly earns about $65,000 a year in his Health Department role.

"If this is who gets elevated into city government, what does that say about the leadership elevating him? New Yorkers should be outraged," Canary Mission said.

Newsmax reached out to Mamdani's office and the Health Department for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Nicole Weatherholtz

Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.

© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


US
A longtime New York City Health Department employee is under fire after a series of past social media posts surfaced in which he called for the elimination of Israelis and made incendiary claims about Israel and Zionists.According to the Jewish watchdog group Canary...
achmat akkad, nyc, health department, zohran mamdani
400
2026-10-16
Monday, 16 February 2026 05:10 PM
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