Wins by Mamdani-backed candidates deal blow to pro-Israel camp in US
Palestinian rights advocates hail ‘political earthquake’ in New York as progressives beat several pro-Israel candidates. Over the past two years, pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University
Palestinian rights advocates hail ‘political earthquake’ in New York as progressives beat several pro-Israel candidates. Over the past two years, pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University have faced a security crackdown, academic sanctions, attacks by politicians from both major parties and a deportation campaign. Now, large parts of the school’s New York City campus will likely be represented in the United States Congress by an activist who helped organise the protests against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. When Darializa Avila Chevalier, draped in a keffiyeh, first announced her candidacy in November of last year, few outside her immediate circle knew her name. But her message was clear: she presented herself as an organiser working to unite families torn apart by the immigration system and against “what we all know is a genocide in Palestine”. On Tuesday, Avila Chevalier – who was backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani – won the race to unseat veteran Congressman Adriano Espaillat, securing the Democratic nomination in one of the biggest upsets of the election cycle. The victory of Avila Chevalier and other candidates endorsed by the democratic socialist mayor shows the waning popularity of pro-Israel politics in Democratic circles, advocates say. “Last night was a political earthquake in New York City, and the Democratic establishment has been put on notice,” said Beth Miller, the political director at the advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action.
“What we’ve shown is that unapologetic support for Palestinian freedom is not just the moral position, it is the path to victory for progressive candidates.” Three primary victories Two other Mamdani-backed candidates also prevailed in US congressional races on Tuesday. Brad Lander, a former city comptroller who opposes military aid to Israel, defeated the staunchly pro-Israel incumbent, Dan Goldman, and Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist state legislator, won the nomination for an open seat. Both winning nominees are running in safe Democratic seats and are expected to comfortably win in the general elections in November. On the local level, voters also elected several vocal critics of Israel, including Aber Kawas, who is well on her way to becoming New York’s first Palestinian state senator. “What we’re seeing is a real transformation in what is acceptable and what is desirable in American politics,” said Heba Gowayed, a sociology professor at the City University of New York (CUNY). Gowayed told Al Jazeera that Tuesday’s results – especially Avila Chevalier’s victory against a well-connected incumbent – represent a major defeat to the “cynical establishment politics that perceives criticism of Israel as a nonstarter”. “Americans have gone to the polls and said we don’t want this s*** anymore,” she said. The professor emphasised that – similarly to Mamdani – the progressive candidates who won in New York did so because of – not despite – their advocacy for Palestinian rights.
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