Opinion: From Puerto Rico to Palestine, now is the time to grow our movement

This November’s decisive pro-ceasefire vote to elect Zohran Mamdani as our next mayor opens up a pathway for our movement to grow. Limiting the power of corporate-funded, war-mongering lobbies will require electing new representatives who refuse to accept donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Now is the time for change at the city, state, and federal levels. That’s why I’m proud to have the endorsement of my political home, NYC-DSA, as I consider running for New York’s 10th Congressional District.

For the past two years, social media has been flooded with videos of harrowing violence and humanitarian disasters taken by journalists on the ground in Gaza. Although Palestinians have struggled against apartheid for nearly a century, images of brutal bombings and starving children have created a new level of public awareness for the pain of both Palestinians and Israeli hostages who have been ripped away from their families.

It is no surprise that a majority of U.S. voters now oppose using our public funds to send additional weapons to Israel. Nor is it a surprise that the young people who have watched this genocide unfold were mobilized to vote en masse for a mayoral candidate who finally represented their positions. Young people are struggling most to find affordability in a changing job market. Yet, they are being told that Iron Dome funding should usurp their need for universal health care, loan forgiveness, and climate protections. Mamdani’s campaign represented a hope for new governance – one that could truly put people’s needs over military profit.

Growing up as a Boricua in Brooklyn, experiencing the legacy of radical groups like the Young Lords, I see my people’s struggles reflected in the ongoing violence in Palestine. Both Puerto Ricans and Palestinians have experienced outside colonial powers overtaking their homeland, stripping them of their rights and dignity. I have been vocal in advocating for peace in Gaza since before getting elected to the City Council because I know our shared history of exploitation is felt across New York City. A few weeks ago, I was honored to lead a historic panel in Puerto Rico to discuss the shared struggle for liberation between Puerto Rico and Palestine. I represent a vibrant Arab community, where my neighbors are experiencing extreme grief, fearing for the safety of their loved ones back home. I have heard from my Jewish neighbors and voters who reject violence committed in the name of their religion.

Some have asked me why I am so vocal about this issue as a city-level representative. But the genocide in Gaza is an issue that exists at every level of our government. Even for those without a familial connection to Gaza, New Yorkers have to live knowing $1.4 billion of their tax dollars are turned over to buy new bombs for a violent regime. 

No matter how often our residents voice dissent to additional military funding for Israel, many of their representatives still vote to aid violence. AIPAC is one of the biggest lobbies in our federal government. Funded largely by mega-corporations that profit from weapons manufacturing, AIPAC works around the clock to ensure that Democrats and Republicans alike always vote to support the Israeli government’s military aggression.

Even though voters have shown strong support for Mamdani’s staunch commitment to ceasefire, their own congressional representatives have not backed down. With AIPAC money lining their pockets, they are blind to the violence we are witnessing in Gaza – and the grief of their constituents. Midterms are right around the corner, but corporate politicians aren’t listening. 

Only once we remove AIPAC-funded politicians from positions of power will we be able to respond to the needs of New Yorkers and root out corruption from our politics.