Mamdani endorses former Columbia encampment organizer in congressional race

Criticism of Israel has remained a central theme of Avila Chevalier’s political message.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic Socialist congressional candidate and former organizer of Columbia University’s anti-Israel encampment movement, backing her campaign against five-term Representative Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District.

Avila Chevalier welcomed the endorsement on social media, linking her campaign to Mamdani’s political agenda.

“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.

The candidate is seeking to represent a district that includes upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.

Her platform combines local priorities such as affordable housing, federal investment in public housing repairs and abolishing ICE with a foreign policy agenda centered on opposition to US military assistance to Israel.

She has publicly supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and has repeatedly called for ending military aid to Israel.

Avila Chevalier has also said she would vote for the Block the Bombs Act, legislation aimed at preventing the transfer of certain US-made offensive weapons to Israel.

Her activism has extended beyond electoral politics.

In April, she said she was arrested while demonstrating outside the offices of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand during a protest urging them to oppose weapons sales to Israel.

Before entering the congressional race, Avila Chevalier was involved in Columbia University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment and helped organize anti-Israel demonstrations on campus.

The encampment emerged in the spring of 2024 as students demanded divestment from Israel and protested the war.

The protest movement quickly spread to universities across the country, drawing national attention.

The demonstrations became the subject of scrutiny amid debates over antisemitism and ultimately resulted in mass arrests and federal investigations.

Mamdani’s endorsement continues a pattern in which he has backed congressional candidates who oppose US military support for Israel.

All congressional candidates endorsed by the mayor have advocated ending or significantly limiting military assistance to the Jewish state.

Throughout her campaign, criticism of Israel has remained a central theme of Avila Chevalier’s political message.