International issues invade local politics, by Oscar Fock

2025 is election year in New York City. Focus of most New Yorkers is, of course, on the mayoral race which is poised to be an interesting one, following Mayor Eric Adams’s string of mishaps, alleged criminal activities and flirting with Donald Trump, likely selling out many New Yorkers in his so far successful search for legal relief in the DOJ case against him.

But aside from the probable unseating of the city’s top official, all 51 seats on the city council are also on the ballot. As New York still remains a blue city, it is the Democratic primary on June 24 that will contain the most exciting races. As a rule incumbents generally win these races, often unchallenged, but this time both District 38 and 39 have races.

Alexa Avilés, who represents all of Red Hook will be facing Ling Ye, a former aide to Rep. Dan Goldman, Rep. Nydia Velazquez and former Council member Carlos Menchaca (who preceded Avilés in District 38).

Ye, who immigrated to the U.S. when she was 14 and grew up in Sunset Park and Dyker Heights launched her campaign on Jan. 26 at a rally in Sunset Park, where she addressed the crowd in both English and Chinese. At her rally, Ye advocated for improving education and public safety, including giving the police “the funding they need,” reads her press release. sent out by the political PR firm Berlin Rosen.

In the neighboring District 39, incumbent Shahana Hanif, who, just like Avilés is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), is being challenged by Maya Kornberg, senior research fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU.

On her campaign website, Kornberg has a tab exclusively for her plan to fight against President Trump and his administration various efforts to restrict rights of, among others, women, people of color, LGBTQ people and immigrants. Kornberg has been endorsed by the Independent Neighborhood Democrats and the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.

While classic issues like housing, public safety and the environment are priorities for all four women vying for a spot on the Democratic ticket, a perhaps unexpected issue appears to be at least a contributing factor to Avilés and Hanif facing challengers in the first place: Israel’s war on Palestine.

Both Avilés and Hanif have appeared at rallies in support of Palestinian citizens, as has Brad Lander, who preceeded Hanif in her seat and is currently running for mayor. Both Nydia Velazquez, who until a couple of years ago represented Sunset Park and Red Hook in the US Congress, and Menchaca have openly supported local Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour in the past. As mentioned, Ye has worked for both Velazquez and Menchaca in the past.

In the wake of the current Israel/Palestinian war, pro-Israeli Political Action Committees (PACs) like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) have moved from just lobbying to actively inserting themselves in campaign to oust progressive and left-wing elected officials across the country who are deemed were not helpful to Israel’s public image.

Last February, the likely first explicitly pro-Israel PAC in New York, the  Solidarity PAC was formed. They identify themselves as a “membership organization for New Yorkers who have a tight-knit relationship with Israel personally and politically.”

The PAC  began endorsing candidates running for the New York State Assembly, contributing with hundreds of thousands of dollars to at least nine candidates.

Now, they have moved on to the City Council, endorsing several candidates who are running against politicians who are members of — or endorsed by — groups like DSA or the Working Families Party.

Ye is one of the candidates who has received endorsements from Solidarity PAC. They actively seek donations to the Ye campaign, as shown on the graphic that appears on the Solidarity PAC website.

Kornberg, who is Jewish, has also received official support from the pro-Israel PAC. She has been adamant that she is not running because of the Israel-Palestine conflict. In an interview with Jewish Insider, Kornberg said that the debate is a “distraction from more pressing local issues shaping the district,” and listed the housing crisis, maternal health care, public safety and climate change as more important for her district.

A glance at Kornberg’s public filings show that her largest individual donors ($1050 is the max) come from these zip codes: 10065, 10021, 10528, 94027, 10023, 10583, 10024, 10021, 11231, 94131, 6345405, 94027, 11020, 90210. While some of these donors may be friends and family members, all except one are from outside of Brooklyn.

The largest local donor is $875 from Mark Shames, who lives in Park Slope.

Both Avilés and Hanif seem to have been good advocates for their communities. In normal times that would have precluded any challenge from within the party, but times have changed and national and even international issues have invaded local politics.