Aber Kawas

Palestinian | Organizer | Democratic Socialist🌹 Running for NY Senate to represent Astoria, LIC, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, & Ridgewood

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

We won 🇵🇸

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Shana Tova to my Jewish friends, neighbors, and comrades who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah!

Rosh Hashanah is an opportunity to embrace possibilities for renewal and Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world.” By choosing solidarity over division, standing with immigrants and all those facing persecution, and rejecting war, oppression, and fear,  we can chart a path towards our collective liberation. 

Here’s to a sweet new year, and to continuing the work  of building a more just and peaceful world together in 5787 and beyond.

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

Muslim children should be able to learn about 9/11 without being made to feel responsible for it.

They did not carry out the attacks. They should not have to carry the burden of someone else’s crimes simply because they share a faith with the perpetrators.

In a new op-ed for @commondreams, CAIR’s Dr. Maryam Hasan explains why teaching about 9/11 must not come at the expense of Muslim students’ dignity, safety or belonging.

Read the full op-ed: https://t.co/getecmMd5M

[AMANI @AmaniUniverse]

While I was taking this photo, a woman walked up to me and said, “DISGUSTING!” She looked back at me and the crowd around Zohran with pure hate.

For the first 9/11 anniversary in my life, it didn’t bother me one bit.

Because for the first time, she was the loner. Not me.

[Darializa for Congress @DarializaforNY]

Twenty-five years ago today, our city, and our country, were changed forever. Nearly 3,000 people woke up as if it were any other day. They went to work, met friends for breakfast, boarded a plane, or answered an emergency response call, and never made it home.

Today, I am thinking of the families who have carried that loss for 25 years: the children whose parents were never able to pick them up after their schools were evacuated, the spouses who called their partners endlessly but could only reach an answering machine, and the brave first responders who gave their lives trying to save New Yorkers and protect our city in its time of need. 

Honoring the souls we lost that day – the families, and the survivors from Ground Zero – requires more than remembrance, it requires accountability. Thousands of people were exposed to toxic dust and chemicals in the months after the attacks because city officials told them the air was safe when they knew it wasn’t. Many have suffered chronic illness or premature death as a result of those lies. This is a betrayal by leaders who knew better, and who used the lives of people killed that day to call for war, but never to heal the people 9/11 and its aftermath left behind. We owe these families full, permanent funding for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, and the World Trade Center Health Program, and answers as to why this hasn’t happened sooner. 

September 11th was an attack on everything New York represents: a home for people of every background, a city where Greek food sits next door to a taqueria, and around the corner from a halal Brazilian steakhouse. Our people are what make New York what it is and we have proven time and time again that when we come together as New Yorkers, we are the greatest city in the world.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

My reflections on the 25th anniversary of 9/11

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Powerful to be at @socialismconf in Chicago this past weekend, meeting comrades from around the world fighting for a better tomorrow.

This year’s theme, “We Are Living Through the Reshaping of the World,” couldn’t feel more urgent. At a historic time of multiple crises converging, socialism can serve as a guiding light towards emancipation and justice, symbolized by the conference’s lantern logo inspired by the Underground Railroad. 

I was honored to speak on panels about the Muslim Left and Sewer Socialism for Climate Survival, and left energized by the conversations, connections, and solidarity. Another world is possible, and we’re organizing to build it.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

The first Labor Day was held in NYC in 1882, when thousands of trade unionists—including immigrant workers and socialist organizers—marched through Manhattan in a demonstration of organized labor’s power. They carried banners declaring, “Labor must use the ballot” and “To the workers should belong the wealth.” Combining militancy with joy, the march ended uptown with a massive celebratory picnic.

This Labor Day, we honor the hard-fought victories working people have won through struggle, solidarity, and collective action. When workers organize together, we have the power to transform our workplaces and communities, build lives of dignity, and move us toward a society that puts people over profit.

Solidarity forever. ✊

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

This is a dangerous attack on academic freedom and the right to organize for Palestinian rights. And far too many Democrats voted for it.

In Albany, I’ll fight to pass the Academic Freedom Protection Act sponsored by @SalazarSenate and @DianaForQueens. This would protect higher-ed workers from retaliation for political speech and advocacy.

[Jewish Voice for Peace Action @JvpAction]

The House just passed a bill attacking universities and the Palestinian rights movement.

Here are the 33 Democrats who voted with Republicans to try to block federal funds from universities that boycott Israel.

Take action with @AJPaction: https://t.co/0pCUuIXVU8

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Pierre Damas Bel was a medical student with a bright future who saw his dreams taken away as he was subjected to deportation proceedings and dehumanizing electronic monitoring following Trump’s racist repeal of TPS protections for Haitians. He took his own life, but the responsibility lies with a cruel immigration policy that doesn’t recognize our common humanity.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Congress just passed a resolution attacking @DemSocialists and condemning “socialism in all its forms” while endorsing the anti-democratic SAVE America Act, which threatens to disenfranchise voters at the ballot box.

Here’s what socialists are fighting for: universal healthcare and childcare. Free, fully funded public education. Housing for all. Jobs with dignity. Putting our planet’s future above the endless pursuit of profit.

The Democrats who joined Republicans in smearing socialists while billionaires loot this country are emblematic of why working people are disillusioned with the party and looking for an alternative for their representation. I’m proud to be part of a Democratic Socialist movement that is paving a way forward.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

It was a joy to celebrate with @drumbeatsnyc and their members who organized, knocked doors, made calls, and delivered victories across Queens this primary season.

DRUM Beats has been on the frontlines organizing for immigrant rights, economic justice, and building true working-class power rooted in South Asian communities. I’m deeply grateful for their integral partnership & I’m proud to be part of this movement with them. 

We’ll keep fighting together through November and beyond, building a politics of co-governance grounded in our shared values and the power of our communities.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

I’m deeply alarmed by the increased ICE activity in Woodside, particularly around 37th Avenue and 69th Street by General Hart Playground and the BQE entrance. Over 2,100 of our immigrant neighbors in NYC have been abducted this past month alone, with DHS Secretary Mullin threatening even more if our state doesn’t fully cooperate.

Here in Queens, we’re committed to defending our neighborhoods and standing in solidarity against their campaign of fear and violence.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Thank you to Souk Al Shater, Chakra Cafe, Nelson’s Barbershop, Fresh & Save Supermarket, El Sabor del Rancho, Paper Plus Printing, Flowers by Giorgie, Limena Pisco Bar and I Love Paraguay for welcoming us. Support our neighborhood businesses and shop local!

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

I had a great time joining @SunnysideShines for a business walk and meeting so many of the small business owners (and shop cats!) who make our community such an incredible place to call home. 

We got to try some yummy bites and hear directly about the need for small business rent stabilization, support for immigrant entrepreneurs, and investment in our neighborhood commercial corridors—all priorities that I will be fighting for when I get to Albany.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

For more info on the movement behind Bhagwat’s visit, read this report from @WeAreSavera
https://t.co/ASYvup6fQh

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

For decades, the RSS and their Hindu nationalist movement have fueled violence and persecution targeting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Dalits in India—including during the horrific 2002 Gujarat massacre–-and are increasingly spreading their harmful influence in the US through a network of affiliates.

Their leader, Mohan Bhagwat, is currently touring the US and building ties with our own far-right MAGA movement. He’ll be attending a rally at MSG tomorrow.

He’ll be greeted by New Yorkers across faiths and communities who will be there to counter-protest and send the message that the RSS’s hateful ideology is not welcome here. Join us.

Saturday, August 29
12 to 4 pm
7th Ave between W 31st & 33rd St

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Join the Nepali community in mourning at these vigils tonight:

Jackson Heights: Diversity Plaza @ 7pm
Ridgewood: 1662 Stephen Street @ 7pm

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

We mourn the devastating loss of life from disastrous floods in Nepal and stand in solidarity with the Nepali community here in Queens.

Climate change is accelerating melting glacial ice in the Himalayas, destabilizing mountains and causing disasters like this to happen. Meanwhile, Nepal contributes only a tiny fraction of the fossil fuel emissions driving the climate crisis, while America emits more than 20 times as much CO₂ per person.

Solidarity means more than mourning together. It means fighting for climate justice here in America—taking on the fossil fuel industry, rapidly cutting emissions, and ensuring the communities least responsible for this crisis aren't left to bear its greatest costs.

To support relief efforts, make direct donations here: https://t.co/LkbGu84k5D

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Mawlid al-Nabi Mubarak to all our neighbors celebrating, from the World’s Borough to around the world. 🌙

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

Mawlid al-Nabi Mubarak to Muslims in New York City and around the world.

Today, we honor the life and enduring legacy of Prophet Muhammad (May Peace Be Upon Him), whose teachings of compassion, generosity, justice, faith, and service have inspired communities for more than 1,400 years.

Here in New York City, his example reminds us that caring for one another, embracing our diversity, and serving our communities, makes us stronger as we work to build a better New York City for everyone.

Wishing joy, peace, and blessings upon all who celebrate.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Thank you to @SalazarSenate and @KarinesReyes87 for championing this bill, and to @BronxDefenders, @NYCLU, @thenyic, @MaketheRoadNY, @theCCR and the countless immigrant New Yorkers and organizers who fought for years to make this victory possible.

[Aber Kawas @AberKawas]

Starting today, Dignity Not Detention is officially the law in New York.

This means New York State and local jails can no longer be used for ICE’s cruel detention and deportation machine. This law will keep families together and protect communities across our state.

But the fight isn’t over. Local governments are enabling ICE to convert industrial warehouses into inhumane storage facilities for human beings. Surveillance technology like Flock utilized by law enforcement agencies is generating data to facilitate deportation. And we still need to pass New York for All to end all state and local law enforcement collaboration with ICE.

Let’s celebrate today’s victory, and continue organizing until all New Yorkers can live freely and safely.