Mamdani-backed Queens Assembly candidate hates American holidays like Veterans Day and Fourth of July
Aber Kawas (far right) in a group photo with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (center) posted on Instagram last month. Instagram/Aber Kawas
A far-left Queens Assembly candidate backed by NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has said federal holidays are no reason to celebrate.
“Whether it is July 4th, Thanksgiving, Veterans, Columbus or now Labor Day, we enjoy days off that are supposed to be victories for people, when they truly represent the silencing & destruction of our movements,” Aber Kawas, a longtime Palestinian-American activist, wrote in an online journal on Sept. 7, 2015 — Labor Day.
“Today I do not celebrate a day off, I only recommit myself to a global movement that fights against the death, displacement, and exploitation of people for capital. For this movement, a day off is not a victory. A day off means nothing, because liberation means everything,” added Kawas, who, like Mamdani, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
“Dignity, justice & equality is the true victory. Don’t get it twisted.”
The remarks by the 33-year-old, Brooklyn-born Kawas, who moved to Queens last year, have drawn criticism from some who say they contradict American ideals such as liberty and equality.
“When Zohran Mamdani backs candidates like Aber Kawas who openly oppose Labor Day, Veterans Day, and the American Dream, it’s a warning sign that we need to stop electing people who despise this country and everything it stands for,” said Councilman Robert Holden, a conservative Queens Democrat. “Socialism has failed everywhere, and it’s flat-out un-American.”
Kawas is running for the 34th District Assembly seat representing Corona and parts of Queens. Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas is vacating the seat to challenge state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens).
Despite Mamdani’s endorsement, Kawas is not guaranteed a win in the largely progressive district and is expected to face a competitive Democratic primary against another DSA-backed candidate. Gonzalez-Rojas has endorsed her chief of staff, Brian Romero, while the DSA’s Electoral Working Group has recommended Kawas, according to City & State.
Kawas previously interned with the Council on American-Islamic Relations and has maintained ties to the organization through her activism for more than a decade. She has faced criticism for comments about 9/11 that resurfaced last month. In an unearthed video posted by Australian political activist Drew Pavlou, she said:
“The system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy et cetera — and Islamophobia — have all been used, you know, to colonize lands, to take resources from other people, and so this is a long trajectory and we are just seeing the manifestations of that continuation … with 9/11. The idea we have to apologize for like a terror attack that like a couple of people did and then there is no apology or reparations for genocides and for slavery, et cetera — is something I find reprehensible.”
Mamdani’s team and Kawas did not respond to requests for comment.
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