New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed former Columbia encampment organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier for Congress on Thursday evening.
The mayor’s endorsement comes as a major boost to Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist and staunch Israel critic who is running against five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District that covers upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.
“I look forward to fighting for our shared vision of a more affordable New York, one where we invest in our communities, not in bombs abroad, in Congress,” Avila Chevalier wrote on X/Twitter, thanking Mamdani for his endorsement.
Avila Chevalier vocal in anti-Israel activism
Avila Chevalier has been vocal throughout her campaign about opposing US support for Israel. She outlines her foreign policy vision on her campaign website.
“We must end the genocide and occupation in Palestine, divest from Israeli apartheid, stop all funding to the Israeli government, and reinvest in us,” the website reads.
She says she would vote in favor of the Block the Bombs Act, which prohibits the sale of certain US-made offensive weapons to Israel, and says she was arrested in April while protesting outside the offices of Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, calling for them to vote against weapons sales to Israel.
Avila Chevalier’s campaign priorities also include abolishing ICE, adding affordable housing, and securing federal funds to repair the city’s public housing.
She has been involved in pro-Palestinian activism since before she graduated from Columbia University in 2016, when she was part of the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine group, and in the 2016 formation of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which is aligned with the larger Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement against Israel. She later helped organize Columbia’s Gaza encampment as an alumna in 2024.
Mamdani lauded Avila Chevalier for her work on issues like protecting immigrants and affordability on Thursday, and did not mention Israel or foreign policy in his statement endorsing her.
“Her campaign is powered by working people ready to reject a politics of big money and demand something better,” wrote Mamdani. “Let’s go win this.”
Mamdani endorses anti-Israel congressional candidates
Mamdani, an anti-Zionist, has also endorsed New York City congressional candidates Brad Lander and Claire Valdez. All three of his endorsees oppose US military aid to Israel.
Critics of Mamdani have pointed out that, during last year’s mayoral general election, the now-mayor was endorsed by Espaillat. The New York Times reported that Mamdani had vowed to back Espaillat and was now reneging on that commitment. (Before endorsing Mamdani, Espaillat had endorsed his opponent, Andrew Cuomo, leading up to the Democratic primary.)
“Challenging incumbents is one thing - going back on your word is another,” City Council member Eric Dinowitz wrote on X/Twitter. Dinowitz, who is Jewish, has been at odds with the mayor, having introduced a “buffer zone” bill limiting protests around educational institutions that Mamdani vetoed.
Avila Chevalier has accused Espaillat, who has earned the endorsement of the pro-Israel group AIPAC, of being “bought by the Israeli lobby.”