Ex-AOC youth organizer Iman Abdul busted for urging 'attack' on Jewish students 'grew up in a mansion,' classmate says
She was one of the popular students and definitely had a good time there,' Alina Bernstern said of Iman Abdul, a fellow 2016 alum of Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences in Manhattan Beach, adding that Abdul took part in the school's annual SING! musical show and 'grew up in a mansion.'
'She didn't show any kind of radical tendencies back then,' recalled Bernstein, who took an elective on social justice with Abdul.
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3 A former classmate said Abdul was a popular student at Leon Goldstein HS — which she identified in a social media post as 'a public school in NYC to attack for whatever reason.'
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'Fear is stupid, so is regret,' reads a quote, attributed to Marilyn Monroe, under Abdul's yearbook photo.
Abdul, 27, went on to become the 'face of youth organization' and volunteered on AOC's successful 2018 congressional campaign, Bernstein said.
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A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) insisted to Fox News that Abdul was never 'staff.' 'Their comments are appalling and we condemn threats of violence without hesitation,' the spokesperson said.
Abdul said in a 2019 interview she worked as a youth organizer for the socialist pol, but the web page with the article was deleted after her arrest.
But critics note that the congresswoman, who has an audience of 9.4 million on Instagram, included Abdul among the 3,126 accounts she followed.
'I think it proves that she was part of AOC's campaign or knew her in some way,' Bernstein said.
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3 Abdul was named as the school's 'biggest flirt,' the yearbook shows.
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Abdul is accused of posting a screenshot of the location of Goldstein HS on Google Maps. The caption: 'If anyone needs a public school in NYC to attack for whatever reason … Lexus driving Israhell (sic) loving Zionisits (sic) all attend here.'
'That made me laugh,' said Bernstein, who is Jewish, 'because she grew up in a mansion, having more money than most of the Jews in our school, and drove a Range Rover.'
In Instragam posts added by Abdul, she called Bernstein 'a Zionist bitch,' adding, 'Zio girls always be the most p—y'
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The NYPD arrested Abdul on Aug. 9, a day after her post appeared, charging her with making a terroristic threat, acting in a manner injurious to a child, aggravated harassment, and making a threat of mass harm.
3 Abdul, whose social media post sparked her arrest on a charge of making a terroristic threat, quickly hired a high-profile criminal defense attorney.
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She was released without bail and set to face the charges on Nov. 19.
Abdul immediately hired criminal defense attorney, Geoffrey St. Andrew Stewart. He is the son of the late Lynne Stewart, an infamous lawyer convicted and imprisoned for helping client Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian terrorist, communicate with his followers.
'It is alarming that Iman Abdul has retained a high-profile attorney associated with someone who defended individuals accused of terrorism,' said Matthew Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers.
'The fact that she is out on no bail until November should be a significant concern for all New Yorkers.'
Stewart did not return messages seeking comment.
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Abdul, who could not be reached for comment, worked as a director of the AM:PM Gallery in Brooklyn. The gallery did not return a message about Abdul's employment.
Representatives of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to requests for comment.
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