Aber Kawas is not concerned about splitting the progressive vote

On the heels of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the mayoral election, the New York City chapter of Democratic Socialists of America are in the process of endorsing a whole slate of state legislative candidates. One of the most talked about is Aber Kawas, a Palestinian American organizer who has filed to run for Assembly in Queens.  

Similar to Mamdani, Kawas is running on an affordability platform, but she also doesn’t shy away from criticizing Israel. She is an outspoken advocate for the civil rights of Muslim communities in New York City and has condemned the government’s post-9/11 surveillance and targeting of Muslim communities – comments that have led conservative critics to accuse her of minimizing the 9/11 terrorist attacks and defending al-Qaeda conspirators.

Kawas grew up in southern Brooklyn but moved to western Queens in 2024. She is running to represent Assembly District 34, which is currently represented by Assembly Member Jessica González Rojas, who has her eyes set on the state Senate. González-Rojas has endorsed her own former chief of staff, Brian Romero, to succeed her. Although Romero is also a DSA member, the democratic socialist organization’s Electoral Working Group has recommended endorsing Kawas over him. Mamdani has also reportedly said he plans to support Kawas’ run. But Romero has pledged to run anyway, setting up a potentially messy intra-DSA primary in Assembly District 34.

City & State caught up with Kawas to ask her about why she decided to run, her anti-Zionist politics and whether progressives will split the vote. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why did you decide to run for Assembly District 34?

I kind of started to think about running after being approached by the DSA recruitment team. It took me a while to decide on it, because it’s something I had not seen myself doing, but it felt like the right move forward, and it also felt like the political atmosphere that we’re in was opening up the opportunity for a different kind of elected official to run for office. I think (Zohran Mamdani) represented a different kind of politician. I had worked with Zohran in the past, and we worked in coalition together while he was an Assembly member. And I saw that there was an opening to do this in a different kind of way, and that it was something that myself as an organizer should maybe push myself and challenge myself to do now, because it would only be more beneficial for our communities for us to be on the other side of the advocacy table.

Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas endorsed Brian Romero, a DSA member and her former chief of staff, to succeed her. Did you consider backing him for the seat instead of running yourself?

I did not know Brian very well. When I was considering whether to run, this entire process was a process for myself to decide if I would run for office, and this felt like the moment for me and the right opportunity and time and place to do that. So I was just looking forward to my own race and all the things that I could represent and also fight for if I were to run in the district.

Once DSA formally endorses you, do you think that Brian, as a DSA member, should end his campaign to avoid running against the candidate that DSA is supporting in the race?

For me, the only way that I would want to run is to run as a DSA-endorsed candidate, because I believe that gives people the opportunity to work in a coalition and accountability process, a collaborative process with other socialists in office, and so that's the only way that I'd want to run. I think everybody has the right to run. I am also looking forward to building in coalition with many different progressive partners beyond the DSA, because I think right now is a moment for us to build together in the left to reinforce each other and to support each other. So I can't speak for someone else, but I can speak for the way that I would approach wanting to run for office.

What kind of organizing have you done in the district?

I've been an organizer in New York City for almost a decade now. I'm somebody who has worked very closely, especially with Arab and Muslim communities, on issues that have affected them. That's been immigration, unjust policing. Also fights for affordability, fights for a fair wage and health care in this district. I have close ties to the Muslim communities in the district and some of the mosques in the district, and I have organized with them as a youth organizer.

If both you and Romero run in the Democratic primary, are you concerned it could split the progressive vote?

What I’m hoping for is that there is no split. I’m not necessarily concerned about that. I think that this is a time where there’s an immense opportunity on the left. Everybody’s very excited about the political moment, and I think there’s many people who want to run at the moment – like really brilliant, amazing people who are also maybe in the same shoes that I am in, where they’re seeing the possibilities and opportunities for us to grow and to hold places of power. And I think that since we are all comrades and know each other and have worked with each other that we’ll be able to kind of work in coalition with one another.

I think we also all are invested in getting the best people in office at this moment, and we’re all also invested in sustaining the energy that exists at this moment, and fighting for working-class communities, immigrant communities (and) workers right now, and making the best decisions in order to do that.

If you are elected to the Assembly, what would be your top priorities in office?

Well, my top three priorities will be: one, protecting immigrant communities, and two, I want to run on an affordability agenda, and three, I want to focus on fast and free transit.

Some elected officials are wary of joining DSA’s State Socialists in Office project because they don’t want to sacrifice any of their discretion and decision-making to the organization. They believe they know what is best for their district, even if it goes against DSA members’ consensus. How would you navigate that tension?

It's not a process where, you know, you don't have any agency. Everybody has agency, and there's many voices that get to be heard. And as someone who is an organizer, I've worked in coalition, I work in spaces where many different organizations come to the table and then have to decide together how they're going to strategically move forward. That's something that I can bring into the SIO project, because it's going to be a space of discussion, negotiation, everybody bringing different points of view and trying to come to the conclusion that best serves everybody with a centering of socialist values and commitments. So I'm not concerned about that, and I think that it's actually quite a robust, beautiful democratic process that many people should want to be part of, not something that people should shy away from.

You would be the first Palestinian member of the state Legislature. Is that a reason why people should vote for you?

I don’t think people should vote for anybody just because of their identity or their background, but I will say … I’m a proud Muslim and Palestinian New Yorker, I was born and raised here – and for too long, people have tried to tell people like me that we should not be allowed to have a seat in office or at the table, and that’s why I’m running for office.

One of the things that really helped move me and compelled me to make this decision (to run for office) was watching the genocide in Gaza. There have been many ways that that genocide has opened up people's eyes and has really galvanized communities and people across the country, but especially in New York state, who are struggling to afford their groceries, who are struggling to afford child care, who are not, you know, living dignified lives, and the government is not funding social services for them. Instead, the government is sending money to bomb people in Gaza, sending bombs over to Gaza and supporting a genocide. So I think that these political conditions will make people really excited to fight for something different.

Would you identify as an anti-Zionist?

I would identify as an anti-Zionist. I would identify as somebody who is fighting for and who believes in Palestinian freedom and agency, somebody who wants an end to the occupation and apartheid and genocide in Palestine that’s happening right now.

Do you support BDS? Would you co-sponsor the Not on Our Dime bill that Zohran introduced?

Yes. I would not only co-sponsor Not on Our Dime, I am somebody who has been part of the development of the Not on Our Dime coalition, and I've been part of that coalition since day one, since the inception, and it's something that I'm extremely proud of. It's a bill that I think is something that many New Yorkers are going to want to support in the next legislative session.

The New York Post has accused you of minimizing or even justifying the 9/11 attacks. What’s your response to that?

The attacks that are being made from the right wing are coming from cherry-picked comments from a video where I’m (talking about) 9/11 and the consequences to Arab and Muslim communities as a long history of Islamophobia and racism. So I’m connecting the post-9/11 Islamophobia to a long history of Islamophobia and racism that predated 9/11, and that has been twisted.

You’ve also come under fire for comments you made about Syed Fahad Hashmi, who was charged in 2006 with conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida and later pled guilty. Do you believe he was railroaded by the government?

Well, Fahad Hashmi’s case is a quintessential case of post-9/11 abuse of the judicial and carceral system against Muslim defendants. Many civil rights organizations raised serious concerns about the fairness of his trial. And as a young high school student, this was a galvanizing case for me. Fahad Hashmi is also a Queens resident, and he was a Brooklyn College student. There was a strong youth movement led by college students who were paying attention to his case. He was held under extremely restrictive measures in federal jail in downtown Manhattan. At that time, I attended vigils and court dates and advocated for a fair trial. This is how I met many community members, lawyers and academics and activists who I am now friends with and who I’ve been organizing with for years and who are passionate about the rights of Muslim New Yorkers. So I won’t apologize for having participated in advocating for a fair trial.

Do you think your willingness to advocate for people victimized by the carceral system and the surveillance state will lead people in the district, especially immigrant communities, to support you?

That is my hope. That is the track record of work that I have done. I have consistently advocated for the rights of immigrant communities, for the rights of people who have been targeted, to have their civil liberties protected, and I will continue to fight for those rights. I hope that will be a comforting factor to the constituency that I serve.

At the same time, are you concerned that people in the district who are supportive of Israel or concerned about antisemitism will be unwilling to vote for you due to your anti-Zionism?

I would hope not. I believe that my commitment to anti-Zionism is a commitment that is rooted in deep humanity and deep care, and for wanting all people, but especially for wanting Palestinians to live in a state where they have political agency, where they're not living under occupation, they're not living under conditions of apartheid. Those are all admirable things to fight for, I think, and I think that it's something that many Jewish New Yorkers also want to see at this time, especially after two years of a horrific genocide that all of us have witnessed.

Latinos make up the largest demographic group in Assembly District 34. Do you speak Spanish?

I speak a little bit of Spanish, but I’m not Latina, you know? And yes, half of the district is Latino, and I think that’s like a really exciting opportunity. I’m not Latina, but I’m a renter. I take the bus every day, and I can relate to some of the biggest issues that that demographic would care about. If it’s immigration and ICE, I’m somebody who, you know, my own father was detained in ICE detention and deported. I know the exact experience of what it’s like to live with parents who are undocumented and the fear and stress that instills in people’s lives – not just the lives of those who are undocumented, but their families and their children. I think that there’s going to be a great opportunity with all of the different demographics in the district for us to unite around these issues of protecting immigrant communities, of fighting for an affordability agenda, of fighting for better public transport that we all take. So I don’t see that as a concern. I actually see it as something that’s really exciting, and I’m looking forward to working with everybody in the district on these issues.