Avila Chevalier, a far-left congressional candidate from New York, has built her platform around anti-Zionism.
By Shula Rosen
An aide to pro-BDS New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly confronted ABC executives after a co-host of “The View” described a congressional candidate endorsed by Mamdani as “an antisemite,” The New York Post reported.
During a recent episode of the daytime talk show, co-host Sara Haines said she would “full-blown call” Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier “an antisemite.”
According to the report, the unnamed aide contacted ABC executives following the broadcast and warned that Haines’ comments could influence whether Mamdani and other democratic socialist candidates would agree to appear on the program in the future.
The dispute also involved ABC’s handling of candidate appearances. The report said the network declined a request from Mamdani’s team to feature two of the mayor’s congressional allies on “The View” — Avila Chevalier and Queens Assemblywoman Claire Valdez.
The decision could potentially violate the Federal Communications Commission’s equal-time requirement that television programs provide equal time to political candidates on each side, according to the report.
Avila Chevalier, a far-left congressional candidate from New York, has built her platform around anti-Zionism.
She attended a rally in Times Square on October 8, 2023, one day after Hamas’s attack on Israel. Video from the event showed her wearing a keffiyeh near demonstrators holding signs reading “Zionism is genocide.”
The report also cited a 2020 social media post in which Avila Chevalier reportedly wrote, “Israel does not exist.”
The exchange between Mamdani’s aide and ABC executives followed Haines’ on-air criticism of the candidate and came amid broader disagreements over how candidates associated with the mayor are portrayed in the media.
Neither the unnamed aide nor ABC executives were quoted directly beyond the reported account of the exchange.