New York City’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has recruited for his inaugural committee a children’s YouTuber whose anti-Israel advocacy earned her a nomination for “Antisemite of the Year” by a Jewish watchdog group — the latest in a series of controversial hires.

Rachel Accurso, known online as Ms. Rachel, was among the activists and public figures Mr. Mamdani tapped to help plan and host his January 1 swearing-in block party. Other committee members include “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon.

Mr. Mamdani announced the inaugural committee Wednesday, saying he was “honored to be joined by some of the most creative and experienced minds in the city as we build an inauguration that is truly by and for New Yorkers.”

Ms. Rachel, a former New York City preschool teacher, has built a massive following with educational children’s videos covering topics from potty training to reading skills. She has become one of social media’s most recognizable children’s educators, boasting 18.2 million YouTube subscribers.

She has also established herself as an outspoken critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, leveraging her platform as a children’s advocate to accuse Israel of inflicting unjustifiable suffering on Palestinian children. Her political commentary — focused almost exclusively on attacks against Israel — has alarmed Jewish advocacy groups, which argue she effectively serves as a Hamas propaganda conduit to millions of social media followers.

Critics have accused her of amplifying Hamas’s inflated casualty figures, repeating claims that Israel indiscriminately bombs children, and dismissing allegations of bias by insisting that “wanting kids to live isn’t antisemitic.” She drew further backlash after she platformed a Palestinian photojournalist who had celebrated Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

Ms. Rachel’s anti-Israel activism prompted the antisemitism watchdog group StopAntisemitism to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi in April to investigate whether the YouTuber was “being funded by a foreign party to push anti-Israel propaganda to skew public opinion.” It remains unclear whether the Justice Department launched an official probe.

In December, the same group nominated Ms. Rachel for its annual “Antisemite of the Year” contest alongside former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson and The Young Turks hosts Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur. Past winners include podcaster Candace Owens and rapper Kanye West.

Ms. Rachel denounced the group — whose 350,000 X followers pale beside her 4.7 million Instagram following — for trying to “ruin people’s lives, cause them to receive threats and need security, try to get all business partners to drop them, accuse them of a serious crime (being paid by HAMAS) and get news to cover it with no evidence.”

StopAntisemitism defended its nomination, starting that “Since 10/7, Ms. Rachel has pushed Hamas propaganda to millions—sharing debunked images, inflated casualty claims, and almost entirely ignoring Israeli child victims. We stand by our feature of Ms. Rachel.”

The title ultimately went to Mr. Carlson, named 2025’s “Antisemite of the Year” this past weekend.

Ms. Rachel is one of several controversial figures Mr. Mamdani has brought onto his transition team. In November, he named to his community safety committee a social justice activist allegedly forced out of the Women’s March movement over ties to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and for allowing antisemitism to “become a part of the platform.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League, at least 20 percent of Mr. Mamdani’s more than 400 administrative appointees have connections to anti-Zionist groups.