Who is Aber Kawas — biography, background, and public profile?
Executive summary
Aber Kawas is a Palestinian-American community organizer and activist in New York City who has worked with Arab and Muslim organizations since about 2010 and recently moved into electoral politics as a candidate for a Queens Assembly seat; her background includes roles at the Arab American Association of New York and as an NYC Advocacy Specialist for the Campaign to Take on Hate [1] [2]. Kawas’ candidacy has become controversial in national coverage because of past online statements and associations — including a 2017 clip where she characterized 9/11 in the context of systems of “capitalism, racism, white supremacy and Islamophobia,” plus past expressions of solidarity with people convicted of terrorism-related charges — which critics and some outlets frame as evidence of radicalism [3].
1. Who she is: organizer, educator and movement staffer
Aber Kawas’s public biographies describe her as a Palestinian-American organizer active in New York since roughly 2010, with a history as Youth Lead Organizer and later Advocacy Director at the Arab American Association of New York and a role as NYC Advocacy Specialist with the Campaign to Take on Hate under the National Network of Arab American Communities [1] [2]. Multiple profiles and organizational bios also note she has been engaged on issues including immigrant rights, police surveillance, racial profiling and Islamophobia [4] [1].
2. Recent pivot: running for New York State Assembly
In 2025 Kawas moved from movement work into electoral politics, filing to run for a Queens Assembly seat (District 34 or adjacent reporting on District 36 in some outlets), drawing attention as a Palestinian-American candidate in a largely Hispanic Queens district and as a potential Democratic Socialists of America-aligned contender; she moved to western Queens in 2024 after growing up in southern Brooklyn, according to local reporting [5] [6].
3. The controversies that followed her campaign launch
Reporting highlights resurfaced online posts and comments from Kawas that critics say show troubling sympathies: a widely circulated clip from 2017 in which she downplayed the 9/11 attacks by situating them within a “long trajectory” of systemic oppression, and deleted blog posts in which she expressed solidarity with a man convicted of providing material support to al-Qaida and with the “Holy Land Five,” whom she called “imprisoned heros” — items used by opponents and conservative outlets to challenge her fitness for office [3].
4. Supporters and political networks
Kawas has ties to progressive and left-wing networks: she has worked on campaigns associated with figures like Zohran Mamdani and reportedly received his backing for her Assembly bid; DSA internal processes reportedly recommended her for endorsement over another DSA member candidate [7] [5]. Supporters frame her activism as human-rights–based advocacy for Palestinian liberation and immigrant justice [6].
5. How different outlets frame her — polarized narratives
Coverage is sharply divided: community and organizational bios emphasize long-term grassroots organizing and advocacy credentials [4] [1], while conservative and partisan outlets highlight past statements and alleged associations — Canary Mission, The Daily Mail, and other right-leaning sites portray Kawas as tied to radical networks and emphasize controversial social-media posts [7] [8] [9]. Independent or personality-focused pieces (City & State, Jewish Insider) combine profile details with reporting on the controversies and electoral dynamics [5] [3].
6. What the available sources do and do not establish
Available sources document Kawas’s organizing résumé, recent residency and campaign filing, the resurfaced 2017 clip and deleted blog posts expressing solidarity with convicted individuals, and endorsements/ties within progressive networks [1] [2] [3] [7] [5]. Sources do not contain a comprehensive, neutral adjudication of those past statements’ meaning in context or any legal findings about Kawas herself beyond reporting of others’ convictions; they do not show she has criminal charges (available sources do not mention criminal charges against Kawas).
7. Reading the coverage: agendas and limits
Readers should note the agendas behind sources: organizational bios and progressive outlets aim to contextualize her advocacy work [4] [1], while conservative and advocacy sites seek to discredit her candidacy by foregrounding controversial remarks and associations [7] [8] [9]. Some mid-range outlets report both candidacy details and controversies without resolving disputes [5] [3]. The record in these sources leaves open interpretive space about intent and evolution — critics portray past posts as radical; supporters depict them as solidarity politics and human-rights advocacy [6] [3].
8. Bottom line for readers
Aber Kawas is a veteran Arab and Muslim community organizer who has entered electoral politics in Queens and whose candidacy has triggered heated national debate because of past statements and associations now being circulated by partisan outlets [1] [3] [7]. Voters and observers should weigh her documented organizing record and policy positions alongside contemporaneous reporting about those past posts, while recognizing that the available sources present competing narratives and do not settle questions of legal culpability or intent [4] [6] [3].