Election wins prove pro-Palestine US campus protests didn’t fail: Activists
Activists say recent electoral victories for candidates critical of Israeli abuses show the long-term impact of student protests, despite crackdowns and arrests.
Over the past year, the pro-Palestine protest movement in the United States may have appeared to lose momentum amid smears, crackdowns, and indifference. However, a string of electoral wins by critics of Israeli abuses indicates that activism’s success can only be measured in the long term.
In New York, Darializa Avila Chevalier, an activist who participated in pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, won a Democratic congressional primary against a five-term incumbent. “It’s just so satisfying to feel like the tide is finally turning,” said Maryam Alwan, who participated in the Columbia protest in 2024. “Public opinion has shifted to a point where it’s unavoidable and undeniable, and I think we’re finally starting to see the ripple effects of movements like the encampment that happened two years ago.”
Avila Chevalier’s win was one of several victories for pro-Palestine candidates in New York last week. Last year, Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, in part thanks to the efforts of young pro-Palestine activists. In Colorado, Melat Kiros, who was fired from her law firm in 2023 for a letter defending Palestinian rights supporters, ousted a House member who had been in Congress for nearly 30 years. Candidates backed by supporters of Palestinian rights also won key races in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Avila Chevalier’s victory stands out in the context of the long-term impact of student protests. She will represent large parts of Columbia University’s campus, where the first encampment in support of Palestinians started. Students demanded divestment from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers, but faced a security crackdown, arrests, and deportation threats under the Trump administration.
Cameron Jones, who participated in the protests at Columbia, said Avila Chevalier was always supportive of younger activists and unafraid to speak up for Palestinian rights. “It’s really inspiring to see how, even though we have faced such immense repression… the power of the people is still able to overcome all the barriers.”
Heba Gowayed, a sociology professor at the City University of New York, said the recent electoral wins would not have been possible without the student protests of 2024. “Here we have Darializa’s win, Mamdani’s win and the win of the entire socialist slate. This does not happen if those students don’t encamp; it just doesn’t happen.”
