Palestinian-American wins New York State Senate primary, vows to halt funding to Israel

Aber Kawas, a Palestinian-American candidate, has won the Democratic primary for a New York State Senate race in Queens. Running on a platform of democratic socialism, Kawas centered her campaign on defunding "Israel's genocide in Gaza" and advocating for significant changes to the immigration system and New York's affordability crisis.

Kawas's victory marks a historic moment, making her the first Palestinian Muslim woman elected to the New York State Senate. Her campaign received a key endorsement from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has been working to reshape the Democratic Party into a democratic socialist force. Mamdani himself secured three major primary wins as part of this effort.

A significant aspect of Kawas's platform is her involvement in the "Not On Our Dime!" campaign, co-developed with Mamdani. This initiative aims to prevent New York-registered organizations from channeling funds to Israel. Their website states the campaign's goal is to end "New York State is subsidizing Israel's illegal settlement expansion and state violence against Palestinians," using the slogan "end NY funding of Israeli war crimes."

The campaign's materials describe "strategies of genocide" in the West Bank and Gaza, detailing "egregious horrors" committed by Israel. Notably, the narrative regarding Palestinian deaths since October 2023 omits specific mention of the October 7 attacks. A proposed bill associated with this effort sought to amend New York's nonprofit law, prohibiting not-for-profit corporations from supporting Israeli settlement activity deemed illegal under international law. Mamdani estimated this could halt approximately $60 million annually from New York-based charities to these settlements. The bill also proposed fines or lawsuits for New York synagogues or Jewish corporations donating to specific Israeli aid organizations.