Who is Aber Kawas and what candidacy or cause is he associated with?

1. Who Aber Kawas is — organizer, advocate, and NYC resident

Aber Kawas is described in nonprofit and conference materials as a Palestinian‑American community organizer from Brooklyn who graduated from City College of New York and who has worked on immigration, anti‑hate, and anti‑racism efforts ^{[3] [6]}. She has served as Advocacy Director at the Arab American Association of New York and later as the NYC Advocacy Specialist with the Campaign to Take On Hate, part of the National Network of Arab American Communities ^{[4] [3]}. Conference bios and community profiles portray her as an experienced local advocate rather than a career electoral politician ^{[3] [6]}.

2. The candidacy or seat she is associated with — a special election for NY State Assembly, District 36

Multiple news reports and aggregated articles state that Aber Kawas is running for, or has been endorsed to run for, the New York State Assembly seat representing the 36th district in Queens in a special election to replace Zohran Mamdani ^{[1] [2] [5]}. Those pieces characterize the contest as a contentious primary, with Kawas positioned as one of the DSA‑aligned contenders and facing other local Democrats such as Brian Romero ^[1].

3. Endorsement and political context — Mamdani’s backing and intra‑left competition

Reporting says Zohran Mamdani communicated his backing of Kawas as a preferred successor and that the endorsement was disclosed in a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) forum or private meeting; outlets frame the endorsement as politically significant because Mamdani is a high‑profile left‑wing elected official ^{[5] [1]}. Coverage portrays the primary as part of broader battles on the left over Israel/Palestine stances and pro‑Israel lobbying influence, with some pieces explicitly linking Kawas’s candidacy to a challenge to pro‑Israel groups ^[5].

4. Associations and prior roles — CAIR, Arab American Association, Campaign to Take On Hate

Biographical sources and event schedules list Kawas’s organizing history: she has organized with the Arab and Muslim community since about 2010, has worked with CAIR‑affiliated activities and the Urban Justice Center, and has held leadership/advocacy roles at the Arab American Association of New York and the Campaign to Take On Hate ^{[3] [4] [6]}. Some outlets summarize those ties as part of her public profile while noting those affiliations factor into how different audiences react to her political candidacy ^[5].

5. Controversy cited in reporting — comments about 9/11 and public reaction

Several media items repeat a past remark attributed to Kawas characterizing structural factors such as “capitalism, racism, white supremacy and islamophobia” in relation to 9/11; conservative and tabloid outlets have emphasized that phrasing and used it to criticize Mamdani’s endorsement ^{[7] [1]}. The reporting shows this comment is a focal point for opponents who argue it’s disqualifying; other sources in the dataset do not provide Kawas’s fuller context or direct quotes beyond those summaries ^{[1] [7]}. Available sources do not mention Kawas’s own contemporary response to those criticisms in the collected results.

6. What reporting agrees on and what remains unclear

Across the provided items, there is agreement that Kawas is a Palestinian‑American organizer with a history in Arab/Muslim advocacy and that she has been backed by Mamdani for the 36th Assembly special election ^{[3] [4] [1]}. Disagreement or partisan framing appears around the interpretation of her past statements and the political implications of her endorsement: some sources treat the remarks as evidence of extremism, while community and conference bios present her as an experienced local advocate ^{[5] [1] [3]}. Available sources do not mention detailed policy platforms she’s running on, nor do they provide her full, sourced statement about any contested quote — those items are not found in current reporting (not found in current reporting).

7. Why this matters locally and nationally

Local observers see this special election as a test of how New York’s progressive left manages succession, intra‑DSA rivalry, and positions on Middle East policy; national outlets amplify controversies that resonate with wider debates over antisemitism, Islamophobia, and political endorsements ^{[5] [1]}. The coverage illustrates how a community organizer’s transition to electoral politics can quickly attract scrutiny beyond usual local issues, with endorsements becoming proxies for larger ideological battles ^{[5] [1]}.

Limitations: this summary uses only the provided search results and thus cannot verify details outside those items; direct primary quotes from Kawas or official campaign filings beyond what’s cited are not in the sources supplied (not found in current reporting).