New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D.) is backing a far-left candidate for New York State Assembly who said 9/11 was a manifestation of America's "system of capitalism," "racism," "white supremacy," and "Islamophobia."
Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, endorsed Palestinian activist Aber Kawas at a DSA meeting on Wednesday, the New York Daily News reported. The endorsement, the mayor-elect's first foray into local politics since his election win, is already garnering pushback because Mamdani did not support Kawas's primary opponent, a Spanish speaker with close ties to the Queens district, which is predominantly Hispanic.
Kawas, who holds a master's degree in "Islamic Liberation Theology" from a South African university and who moved to the district last year, told a panel in 2017 that "the system of capitalism and racism, and white supremacy, et cetera, have all, and Islamophobia, have all been used, you know, to colonize lands, right, 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."
"Historically, right, you know, a lot of us come from lands that were colonized, lands where wars are being waged, right, and a lot of times because of U.S. policy or the policies in Europe," Kawas said in an attempt to criticize people who are "asking us to respond about, you know, an attack."
"The idea that we have to apologize for, like, a terror attack that, like, a couple people did, and then there is no apologies or reparations for genocides and for slavery, um, et cetera, is something that I kind of find, like, reprehensible," Kawas went on.
Kawas also had a Tumblr account in which she defended attempted terrorist Ahmed Ferhani, who in 2011 was sentenced to 10 years for plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue, Drew Pavlou first reported on X.
She "felt the deepst [sic] low" when she heard that Ferfani had attempted to commit suicide while behind bars, describing him as her "brother" whose family she knew.
"But then this weekend, I felt the deepst [sic] low. I heard the news of my brother, whose case I've followed & whose family I knew—Ahmad Farfani. After being pursued for years by the NYPD and eventually caught up in an entrapment case, last weekend he attempted suicide in order to escape his circumstance," Kawas wrote. "He saw nowhere out but death. This is the state our people are in."
Ferfani told the judge in his case, "I intended to create chaos and send a message of intimidation and coercion to the Jewish population of New York City, warning them to stop mistreating Muslims."
In addition, Kawas defended convicted al Qaeda financier Fahad Hashmi, writing of him and other terrorists, "Therefore each day they are locked up is a day that our hearts cannot be at ease. We cannot rest until each and everyone is free. Their lives are a sources of inspiration to us for they are living martyrs, teaching us lessons in patience, sacrifice, and integrity. We must strive to keep them in our remembrance and work for their sake, continuing on with the freedom we have, that has unjustly been taken awat [sic] from them."
Kawas is not the only extremist with close ties to the mayor-elect. Hassaan Chaudhary, a top adviser on Mamdani's transition team, used the word "Jew" as a slur, praised former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying Israel is a "cancer which will be eliminated very soon," and called the Jewish state a "bloody country," according to reports Sunday. The transition team has not said it will fire Chaudhary for the comments.
Jewish New Yorkers have been particularly worried following Mamdani's victory. The mayor-elect said during the campaign that he stands by "the idea" of the anti-Semitic phrase "globalize the intifada," which calls for violence against Jews and the State of Israel.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum in June blasted Mamdani's use of the phrase, saying, "Since 1987 Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history." Months later, Mamdani campaigned with a radical imam who once advocated for "jihad" in New York City and pledged to arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An adviser to Kawas cheered on Mamdani's win and said railing against the "Israeli lobby" is a focal point of Kawas's campaign, the Daily News reported.
"We have to actually run a Palestinian Arab in this race because we need to draw the fire of the Israeli lobby, and we have to beat them," adviser Joe Stanton reportedly said at the Wednesday DSA meeting. "We did it with Zohran, and people have started realizing that they don't run things."
Update 5:40 p.m.: This piece has been updated with information on Kawas's Tumblr account.
