Aber Kawas has been elected to the New York State Senate, becoming the first Palestinian American to hold a seat in the state legislature.
Kawas marked the result on X with the words "We made history."
Who Is Aber Kawas?
Kawas is a community organiser and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). She won the Democratic primary in June before taking the general election.
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She spent over 15 years working on labour rights, immigrant communities and Palestinian causes before standing for office, according to Middle East Eye.
Growing Up In Brooklyn
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Kawas is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who arrived in the US in the 1990s.
She has said the 9/11 attacks changed how safe she felt when she was a child, as Muslim families in her community lived with fears of surveillance and deportation.
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Her father was deported to Jordan while she was in high school, and she has described how the family's finances shifted afterwards.
Road To Politics
In 2023, Kawas was part of a group of activists who looked to local government as a place to challenge funding for Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. The group backed a bill, sponsored by state senator Jabari Brisport, aimed at stopping New York charities from funding settlement-linked groups.
Zohran Mamdani, then an assembly member, helped draft it. The bill failed to pass after resistance from lawmakers.
Campaign Priorities
Her campaign slogan was "Fund dignity, fight destruction". On the domestic side, she campaigned for universal healthcare, fast and reliable public transport and affordable housing.
She also pushed climate action and opposed funding for war. She has promised to push the New York For All Act, which would stop state and local agencies from working with federal immigration enforcement.
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Activism And Arrest
Kawas has taken part in direct action as well as politics. She was arrested this year at a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to New York for the UN General Assembly.
She was later released. More recently, she criticised a $750,000 NYPD deal with the surveillance firm Cognyte. The department withdrew from it last week after civil rights groups objected.
Political Backing
Mamdani, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib endorsed her. Her win comes as DSA-backed candidates gain ground in New York politics, following Mamdani's victory in last year's mayoral race.
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