A pro-Palestinian Brooklyn City Councilmember is facing a strong primary challenge in a race roiled by local fallout from the conflict in the Middle East.
Challenger Maya Kornberg, who is Jewish, and incumbent Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to the City Council, both say the race is not about Israel—an issue the City Council has zero power to influence. Yet pro-Israel donors have flocked to the contest, funding Kornberg’s campaign and a super PAC to help defeat Hanif in the politically engaged Park Slope district. Pro-Palestine activists and groups on the left, meanwhile, are rallying to defend Hanif, who co-chairs the Council’s Progressive Caucus.
Hanif has been vocal about her pro-Palestine views, getting arrested at a Midtown protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in October 2023. Along the way, she picked up critics who said she was not quick or forceful enough to condemn Hamas and objected to her response to antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel graffiti in the neighborhood.
“I’ve been a top target of conservatives and special interests since the very beginning,” Hanif told Hell Gate. “As co-chair of the Progressive Caucus and the first Muslim woman Councilmember, it comes with the territory—but the vitriol has been intense. MAGA extremists, the right-wing New York Post, and REBNY-affiliated developers are targeting me, precisely because of my effective leadership and progressive vision for our city.”
Kornberg, a researcher at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, launched her campaign in December. She did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
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