NY-13: Avila Chevalier attended the Oct. 8 pro-Palestinian rally Lander condemned

One of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed congressional candidates cut ties with the Democratic Socialists of America for promoting a controversial pro-Palestinian rally the day after Hamas attacked Israel. The other candidate attended that rally.

Brad Lander said at a NY1 debate Monday he canceled his decades-old DSA membership after the socialist organization “advertised a rally that I thought was heinous, that spoke about Hamas in ways that I just thought were vile.” He was referring to the gathering in Times Square on Oct. 8, 2023 organized by leftist groups like The People's Forum and Al-Awda New York, where rallygoers held signs such as “Resistance is Justified when People are Occupied.”

The rally was widely criticized by political leaders who saw it as condoning the violence by Hamas fighters, who killed nearly 1,200 Israelis the day before. Gov. Kathy Hochul called it “abhorrent and morally repugnant” when it was announced. NYC-DSA even distanced itself from the rally, and apologized for the “confusion” caused by its social media post advertising the event. All of the democratic socialist legislators, including then-Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, avoided the rally.

But Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is now running for Congress against Rep. Adriano Espaillat, was there in Times Square.



https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2026/06/avila-chevalier-attended-oct-8-pro-palestinian-rally-lander-condemned/413981/?oref=csny-category-lander-river