New York candidate tears into billionaires after benefiting from one
Aber Kawas, a Democratic candidate for new York’s 12th state Senate District, has a background rooted in activism adn has received endorsements from NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani. She previously worked at activist groups funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, including the Arab American Association of New York, the Arab Community Center for economic and Social services, and the CUNY’s Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Obligation project-these organizations received over $4.1 million from Soros’s Open Society Foundations. Kawas’s recent role is as associate director of partnerships at CUNY’s CLEAR project, which was also funded by Soros. Her activist history includes positions at ACCESS and the National Network of Arab American Communities, both linked to Soros funding. Kawas is known for her progressive platform advocating for global healthcare, opposition to aid to Israel, and reforms on immigration. She has a history of controversial statements, including remarks suggesting that 9/11 was exploited by America, which she later claimed were “cherry-picked.” She is also associated with broader leftist and pro-activist movements supported by Soros funds. Her campaign emphasizes resisting wealthy oligarchs and implementing a “Tax the Rich” campaign. Kawas has faced criticism from conservatives for her past comments and associations, and she has publicly expressed solidarity with figures like Linda Sarsour, defending her amid controversy over alleged ties to Hamas.
New York state Senate candidate Aber Kawas worked at three activist groups funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros before blasting “oligarchs and billionaires” on the campaign trail.
Kawas, who has New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsement, built her activist resume for over a decade at the Arab American Association of New York, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, and the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility project at City University of New York, according to her media interviews and professional profiles. Those groups received at least a combined $4.1 million from Soros’s Open Society Foundations and an affiliated nonprofit group before or during her tenures, records show.
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The daughter of Palestinian refugees won the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th state Senate District on June 23, one of several victories by Mamdani-backed socialists seeking more party control. Her platform includes promises for universal healthcare, stopping aid to Israel, and halting state and local officials’ “collusion” with immigration authorities. Conservatives called Kawas out on the campaign trail for her 2017 comments claiming that America exploited 9/11 to advance oppressive capitalism, white supremacy, and “Islamophobia” — remarks she later said were “cherry-picked.”
“While the oligarchs and billionaires of New York City and State attempt to roll back the gains we are making, we hold on to these values in the long walk towards freedom,” Kawas said in a May X post commemorating the Eid al-Adha holiday. She also launched a “Tax the Rich” campaign in March and declared it is “long past time for millionaires and billionaires to pay what they owe.”
Soros, who passed down his philanthropy empire to his son in 2023, has drawn criticism for years over his vast financial influence over American politics. Kawas’s campaign did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment about how Soros’s wealth supported the groups that boosted her political status. The OSF, CLEAR, ACCESS, and AAANY also did not respond to requests for comment.
Kawas began her most recent activist role in 2024 as associate director of partnerships at CUNY’s CLEAR project, which Soros’s Foundation to Promote Open Society awarded more than $3.2 million to between 2017 and 2022, an OSF grant database shows. Mamdani’s chief counsel and former Biden-era White House immigration adviser Ramzi Kassem founded CLEAR in 2009 after attending law school with a fellowship funded by the Soros family. CUNY School of Law, which hosts CLEAR, did not respond to a request for comment.
The candidate was also an “advocacy specialist” as recently as 2018 at ACCESS for its suborganization, the National Network of Arab American Communities. The OSF, formerly called Open Society Institute, gave ACCESS $875,000 between 1998 and 2009, according to its records. ACCESS also reported getting between $100,000 to $499,999 from OSF between 2015 and 2016.
Additionally, OSF awarded an undisclosed amount in 2016 to AAANY, where Kawas was a lead organizer from 2015 to at least 2017. OSF partner Proteus Fund described the 2016 grant as an “Advocate Travel & Convening Fund.”
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Kawas joined the chorus of leftists defending former AAANY Executive Director Linda Sarsour in 2017 after Sarsour sparked controversy for her personal ties to Hamas and harsh rhetoric, such as claiming conservative female commentators did not “deserve to be women.”
“Linda is someone who has stood by my side for years, supported me, mentored me, given me opportunities I can never pay back,” Kawas posted on Facebook at the time. “She is both friend and family to me.” She chalked up the criticism to “white supremacists, the right wing & Zionist lobbies.”
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