Meet Aber Kawas, DSA-Backed Palestinian American Who Won New York State Senate Primary

The Democratic Socialists of America’s slate dominated the New York primaries last week, with Aber Kawas winning the Democratic nomination for a New York state Senate seat in the New York City borough of Queens with a 20-point lead against progressive State Assemblymember Steven Raga. Born and raised in New York to Palestinian parents, Kawas campaigned on affordable housing, universal healthcare, immigration reform, public transit, climate action and opposition to U.S. support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Over the past decade, the DSA has grown from about 5,000 members to over 100,000 members in 200 chapters across the United States. “What we are saying is that we want to make sure that people who are struggling are provided the best social services possible by our government,” says Aber Kawas of DSA candidates. “That is not a threat to people. That is a really hopeful message that so many Americans and so many people are looking for, and that is why we were able to win in these landslide victories.” Transcript AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. After a string of victories of democratic socialists in primaries across the United States, centrist Democrats, as well as President Trump, are pushing back. The DSA, or Democratic Socialists of America, endorsed about 150 candidates this year, with 35 either winning primaries or advancing in races in Oregon, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine, Washington, D.C., and New York. In the Colorado primaries today, the DSA is backing 29-year-old Melat Kiros against incumbent congressmember, longtime Congressmember Diana DeGette. And former DSA member, state Senator Julie Gonzales is looking to unseat Senator John Hickenlooper. Over the past decade, the DSA has grown from about 5,000 members to over 100,000 members in 200 chapters across the country. On Monday, President Trump called the democratic socialists the greatest threat to the nation. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It’s not socialism. It’s really communism. They use the word “social democrat” because it sounds so nice, but it’s really communism you’re talking about. I think it’s the biggest threat to our nation there is, maybe since our founding. That includes World War I, World War II, September 11th. It includes the Pearl Harbor attack. I think this is the biggest threat to our nation. AMY GOODMAN: Just two days after the DSA sweep in New York primaries last week, a group of centrist Democrats, led by Long Island, New York, Congressmember Tom Suozzi, signed a letter titled “Promise to America,” distancing themselves from the DSA. The letter states, quote, “We are capitalist, not socialist. … We want safety, not lawlessness. … We are mainstream, not extreme. … We are proud, not ashamed of America,” Suozzi wrote. Well, we’ll be joined shortly by a proud democratic socialist who won her primary for the New York state Senate last week. If she’s elected in November, she’ll be the first Palestinian American and the first Muslim woman in the New York state Legislature. This is Aber Kawas, speaking to supporters after winning her primary with a 20-point lead against State Assemblymember Steven Raga last Tuesday. ABER KAWAS: If, after October 7th, imagine if every single Democratic politician said, “In order to end this cycle of violence, we need an end to occupation.” Imagine if every single Democratic politician, whether they were a city councilor or they were a state legislator or a congressperson, said, “We want to end occupation and not fund genocide.” We could have saved thousands, hundreds of thousands, of lives of Gazans and Palestinians. And that is why we say another world is possible. That is a world where Gaza is free to live. That is a world where working-class communities in Queens, in New York, all over the United States, but all over the world, have dignity in their lives. That is a world where student activists, like Mahmoud Khalil, like Leqaa Kordia, could have spent the last year with their families instead of missing the birth of their child and languishing in prison for a year. And that is a world where my father, whose family was displaced from Palestine in the Nakba, who came to the United States and was incarcerated for three years and then deported — that would be a world where my father could be in this audience to witness his daughter make history. AMY GOODMAN: That’s Aber Kawas, Democratic nominee for the New York state Senate from Queens, joining us now in our New York studio. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Aber. Congratulations on your victory in the Democratic primary. ABER KAWAS: Thank you. AMY GOODMAN: If you win in November, you’ll be the first Palestinian American to hold a seat in the New York state Senate? ABER KAWAS: Yes, I believe, with the entire New York state. AMY GOODMAN: If you can go through your platform, as President Trump not only calls DSA members like you the greatest threat the United States has ever known, to, on the same day, talking about the housing bill, that he has yet to sign — calling it a yawn, and calling affordability a con job? ABER KAWAS: Mm-hmm. Well, firstly, I want to say it’s incredible to be the first Palestinian and Muslim woman in the New York state Legislature. And that is for many reasons, but beyond representation, I believe that is really mostly because, as a Palestinian, I come from a group of people who have been waiting for years and years and years for politicians to speak out against the human rights abuses, the genocide, the occupation of our people. And we are a group that has been erased, has been ignored and has been denied our rights by people in office. And so, to actually have the opportunity to be elected into office in this moment is so monumentous, because it really gives a chance for us to not only go in and advocate for working-class communities, for communities that are struggling, but also advocate for communities that are erased, like the Palestinian community. But it also gives us a chance to go in with strength and to say this is what people want to see. Now, you mentioned, you know, the president and him talking about democratic socialists as if we are a threat, when really what we are saying is that we want to make sure that people who are struggling are provided the best social services possible by our government, are provided the best transit, the best education, you know, the best healthcare possible, the most affordable healthcare possible, by our government, our same government that is spending billions of dollars killing people abroad. So, for me, that is not a threat to people. I think that is a really hopeful message that so many Americans and so many people are looking for, and that is why we were able to win in these landslide victories. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Aber, I wanted to ask you about some legislation that was introduced by Zohran Mamdani, when he was an assemblymember, and State Senator Jabari Brisport, the Not on Our Dime! Act. And what’s been your role in that campaign? ABER KAWAS: Yes. So, I worked with then-Assemblymember Mamdani years ago to help write and introduce a bill called Not on Our Dime! Now, we had found out, as Palestinian activists on the ground, that millions of dollars were being raised in New York state to fund settler entities, to fund settlers going to Palestine to steal Palestinian land, to commit atrocities against Palestinians, to commit violence against Palestinians. And we said that is not OK for these organizations that are raising these moneys to do that under the guise of charitable status. And that was something that we introduced to the New York state, both through socialists in office, then-Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Senator Jabari Brisport. And one thing that is really fundamental about what we did was that when we introduced that bill, people thought that that would be the end of Zohran Mamdani’s career. People had said that to him. People had said that this was, you know, one step too far. And what we saw was that in the mayoral election, that his being part of introducing the Not on Our Dime! bill, him standing up for Palestinian human rights, him having a politics of conscience and consistency on this issue was something that really pierced through to voters’ hearts and made them really feel committed and feel like he could actually deliver on the affordability agenda that he promised, because of how consistent he was in his politics. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And could you talk about the enormous change that has occurred among the voting public, especially in New York, but across much of the country, on the issue of Palestine and the Israeli occupation? Has that surprised you? ABER KAWAS: Yes, of course. I mean, it has not surprised me, because as an activist on the ground, I know that there have been millions of people — and you have all reported on millions of people — for years now, who have hit the streets, who have said, “We want an end to the genocide in Gaza,” that “We want an end to the occupation in Palestine.” This is what most people on the streets are saying. And truly, when we went to knock on doors — and this was for a local state election, where, you know, the main issues that our constituents are facing are dealing with affordable housing, are dealing with their inability to afford healthcare — right? — who are looking for better education policy, all those things. They also were looking for candidates who were speaking out about Palestine. They were also looking for candidates who are antiwar. And when they found out that I was somebody who was part of introducing Not on Our Dime!, that made people extremely enthusiastic to vote for our campaign in our district. And so, I think that what we are seeing is a reflection of the frustration that so many New Yorkers, but so many Americans, have felt about having a perspective about going and watching the news every single day, or looking at their phones, and being so disgusted by the world that they are seeing, and not seeing that be reflected by their politicians, and not seeing their politicians act in urgency or reflect what they are thinking about and what they’re looking for. AMY GOODMAN: If you can talk about the debate, not between the Democrats and the Republicans right now, but within the Democratic Party? I mean, Chuck Schumer is the head of the Democratic Party in the Senate. He’s the minority leader. And he also is a senator from New York. Have they endorsed you? ABER KAWAS: No, they have not endorsed me. And, of course, you know, I just got through a primary campaign where you often have less endorsements than when you go into the general. But what I will say is that we ran a campaign against a progressive legislator, and what we are seeing right now is a redefinition of what people want to define as progressive politics, and that Palestine needs to be part of that fold. Having an antiwar platform needs to be part of that. If you are saying, “I want to deliver affordability,” if you’re saying you’re against ICE, then people will only see that as consistent in your politics if you’re also saying that you’re against a genocide in Palestine. So, in many ways, we are transforming the Democratic Party and also the progressive voice in the Democratic Party to make sure that it includes speaking out about Palestine. And that is what we’re seeing in this race, that the thing that differentiated us from another progressive was us being on the forefront of that. AMY GOODMAN: What did your dad say when you won, your deported dad? ABER KAWAS: Yes, my dad is so proud and happy. But, of course, it was really difficult to win. I mentioned in my speech, to be someone who is making history but not to be able to have my dad in the room is really devastating for us. It was a — it was a sad moment, because he couldn’t be there with us. And until now, you know, he is celebrating, and I can’t celebrate with him. He’s celebrating with his family. He’s buying knafeh, you know, this like Palestinian sweet, for all his family members. But this is the idea of family separation that I often talk about, and it’s not just my family. It’s been happening to so many families. It’s continuing to happen, is that when somebody is separated from their family, they miss out on some of the most beautiful, transformative moments of their lives — their birthdays, their graduations — right? — them getting their first job, graduating from college. And in this case, it meant a lot to win a position that I, in many ways, worked up to, because I was always an organizer and advocate because of what happened, you know, to my father. But to not have him there to witness that was, you know, devastating for my entire family. AMY GOODMAN: Aber Kawas, I want to thank you so much for being with us, DSA-backed Democratic nominee for the New York state Senate from Queens. If elected in November, she’ll be the first Palestinian American and Muslim woman in the New York state Legislature. Coming up, we go to Venezuela. More than 1,700 people have died in devastating earthquakes, but the number is expected to soar. Over a hundred Venezuelans died after being deported, hours before the earthquakes, to Caracas from the United States. Stay with us. [break] AMY GOODMAN: Down Hill Strugglers singing “When First Unto This Country.” Media Options