Iman Abdul, a former campaign worker for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is facing arrest after allegedly urging followers to target a Jewish high school in Brooklyn.
A former organizer for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been arrested after allegedly posting an online call to “attack” a New York City public high school attended by Jewish students, the New York Post reported.
Iman Abdul, 27, posted a Google Maps location of Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences in Manhattan Beach last Thursday, writing:
“If anyone needs a public school in NYC to attack for whatever reason … Lexus-driving Israhell-loving Zionists all attend here.”
Abdul further claimed — without evidence — that “all” Jewish students at the school had participated in Birthright trips to Israel. In reality, Birthright is only open to Jewish adults aged 18 and over, making high school participation impossible.
Abdul, who previously worked for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 primary campaign and New York State Senator Julia Salazar’s primary campaign, deleted the post after backlash. She later claimed she was calling to “attack” the school, not its students. She was arrested on Friday, one day after her post.
The remarks drew swift condemnation. Tova Plaut, a NYC Department of Education pre-K staffer, blasted the post:
“A map. A pin. A call to harm Jews, fellow New Yorkers, children, teachers. This isn’t just dangerous. It’s evil. Jew-hatred doesn’t stop with a threat. It escalates.”
The StopAntisemitism movement reposted Abdul’s message and demanded full prosecution:
“This incitement against Jews, specifically minor children, must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The arrest comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic hate crimes in NYC following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel. In 2024, 55% of hate crimes targeted Jews, up from 44% in 2023. NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force chief Deputy Inspector Gary Marcus warned in April 2025 that antisemitic incidents now make up 62% of all hate crimes in the city.
