Two Democratic Socialists of America candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, both with long records of anti-Israel activism, won their races in heavily Democratic districts on Tuesday.
Darializa Avila Chevalier won New York's 13th Congressional District, which covers Upper Manhattan and parts of the west Bronx. She defeated Republican Manuel "Jomo" Williams, and the Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed. In Queens, Aber Kawas won the State Senate seat in District 12 with about 75% of the vote. Middle East Eye reported that the New York Times called the race with 90% of ballots counted. Kawas is the first Palestinian American elected to the New York State Legislature.
Both races were effectively decided in June. Avila Chevalier unseated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the Democratic primary by about 3.5 points, in a contest where AIPAC's role was a central issue for her supporters. Kawas beat Assemblyman Steven Raga with about 60% of the primary vote, running for the seat long held by Michael Gianaris.
Avila Chevalier is a Columbia University graduate who helped organize the 2024 anti-Israel encampment on campus. Her campaign platform calls for ending all U.S. funding to the Israeli government and divesting from what she calls Israeli apartheid. City & State reported that she attended the October 8, 2023 rally in Times Square, held one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel. The rally was organized by groups including The People's Forum and Al-Awda New York, and Mamdani condemned it.
Avila Chevalier has also faced scrutiny over deleted social media posts, including claims that "Israel doesn't exist," according to Mediaite. She told CNN the posts do not reflect who she is today. Snopes confirmed a 2019 post in which she said she wiped her hand on an American flag after forgetting napkins. Rep. Tim Burchett has said he will try to block her from taking office.
In July, City & State reported that Avila Chevalier has been in a relationship since 2023 with Ramzi Kassem, Mamdani's chief legal counsel. Kassem represented Guantanamo detainee Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty in 2014 over a 2002 al Qaeda plot to bomb the French oil tanker MV Limburg off the coast of Yemen.
Kawas spent more than 15 years as a community organizer. She helped lead the "Not On Our Dime" campaign, which sought to bar New York charities from funding Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib endorsed her alongside Mamdani.
Her campaign drew criticism over a 2017 podcast. In it, she linked the September 11 attacks to a long history of American capitalism, racism and Islamophobia, and objected to Muslims being expected to apologize for "a terror attack that a couple of people did." Kawas later said the comments were cherry-picked and that she was addressing the scapegoating of Muslim Americans. Critics have also circulated video they say shows her with a Hamas headband at a pro-Palestinian rally.
