Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is leveraging his new political capital in a heated local race, backing a candidate whose past remarks about the 9/11 attacks and a strategist’s pledge to confront the “Israeli lobby” have ignited immediate debate.
The endorsement of Aber Kawas for a Queens State Assembly seat, communicated at a private DSA meeting last week, represents Mamdani’s first significant political move since his election and sets up a contentious primary. It also exposes a rift within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), as Kawas is challenging a candidate backed by the district’s current DSA incumbent.
A Clash of Candidates and Ideologies
The open 34th Assembly District seat, currently held by Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, has become a battleground for the soul of the local left. Gonzalez-Rojas, who is running for state Senate, has thrown her support behind her chief of staff, Brian Romero, emphasizing his long-standing community ties and fluency in Spanish.
In a competing vision, Mamdani’s political team voiced his support for Kawas, a Palestinian activist and organizer. The case for her candidacy was framed in part as a direct challenge to pro-Israel lobbying groups. According to sources present, Kawas’s adviser, Joe Stanton, told the DSA’s Electoral Working Group that they needed to “draw the fire of the Israeli lobby, and we have to beat them.”
The group subsequently voted to endorse Kawas, a critical first step in the DSA’s formal process.
There are claims that Kawas moved to NYC only last year.
🚨 BREAKING: NYC Socialist Zohran Mamdani just endorsed his hand-picked replacement for the New York State Assembly… and it’s WILD.
Meet Aber Kawa:
– Moved to the U.S. literally LAST YEAR
– Holds a Master’s degree in “Islamic Liberation Theology”
– Hardcore Palestinian activist… pic.twitter.com/A6tjw9WXhh— Reverend Jordan Wells (@WellsJorda89710) November 18, 2025
Resurfaced Remarks Fuel the Fire
The endorsement has drawn new attention to Kawas’s background and public statements. A resurfaced video shows her making controversial comments about the September 11th attacks – the video is from 8 years ago.
She goes on to criticize the expectation for an apology “for a terror attack that a couple of people did” without what she described as equivalent apologies for historical atrocities like slavery.
In the clip, she says, “…the system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy and Islamophobia have all been used to colonize land, to take resources from other people and so this is like a long trajectory and we’re just seeing the manifestations of that continuation right with 9/11 and so a lot of times when people are asking us to respond about the attack, when if we look back historically, a lot of us come from lands that were colonized, lands where wars are being waged, a lot of times because of US policy or the policies in Europe and so I find that we can connect over that but then also that the idea that we have to apologize for a terror attack that a couple people did and then there is no apologies or reparations for genocides and for slavery etc is something that I kind of find reprehensive..”
These remarks, along with her work with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and her recent completion of a master’s degree in Islamic Liberation Theology from a South African university, have become focal points in the early stages of the race.
Kawas – she is alleged to be listed as a speaker with CAIR. A 2017 post on the CAIR website lists Kawas as a speaker.
It is noteworthy that CAIR has built a sophisticated, multi-layered political influence network in the U.S., using tax-exempt institutions, lobbying arms, and a Super PAC to shape elections and public policy. Its 501(c)(3) infrastructure focuses on community mobilization and legal activism, while its 501(c)(4) arm conducts lobbying with anonymous, potentially foreign-backed donations.
The Unity & Justice Fund Super PAC can spend unlimited money to boost preferred candidates, including Zohran Mamdani. CAIR leaders openly describe using mosques as organizing hubs and promoting long-term political recruitment to place thousands of journalists, lawyers, and officeholders in key institutions forming a generational strategy to expand ideological and political influence nationwide.
A Test of Mamdani’s Influence
Romero, in response to the DSA’s preliminary backing of his opponent, stated he would continue his campaign regardless, grounding his pitch in local representation. “As a queer Latino and democratic socialist, I believe that at this time when Trump and ICE are attacking our Latino, immigrant and queer and trans communities I can best represent my neighbors,” he said as reported in NY Daily News.
The intra-party conflict offers an early glimpse into Mayor-elect Mamdani’s strategy to shape the next generation of New York progressives. His involvement in this Queens race contrasts with reported efforts to discourage a primary challenge against U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, suggesting a nuanced approach to consolidating power.
The outcome will serve as a key indicator of Mamdani’s sway and the priorities of the city’s socialist movement as it transitions from an insurgent force to one holding the levers of City Hall.
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