First Palestinian woman in New York Senate calls aid halt a public victory

Abeer Kawas, a hijabi who won about 75% of the vote, said Trump's partial retreat from military support for Israel was the result of nearly three years of pressure.

Abeer Kawas, a Palestinian American who won a seat in the New York State Senate, described U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that military aid to Israel would be halted as a victory for the people.

Kawas won about 75 percent of the vote in the midterm elections held on November 3, becoming the first Palestinian and the first hijabi woman elected to the state Senate. After the results were announced, she wrote on social media that they had made history.

Abeer Kawas delivers a speech to her supporters in New York on the night of November 3

The result of years of pressure

In an interview with CNN, Kawas said nearly three years of efforts had been devoted to stopping U.S. military aid to Israel. She said Trump's partial retreat on the issue should be viewed as a victory for Americans.

She said New Yorkers and many others across the country want their tax dollars invested in their communities, not spent on war and genocide or on assisting foreign armies. She called on politicians to act on the issue for ethical reasons, not merely financial ones.

$4 billion

On election day, Trump announced that the United States would halt $4 billion in aid to Israel that had been scheduled, saying an agreement had been reached to stop the aid by the end of the year. Israel's official public broadcaster Kan reported that the decision surprised the Israeli Defense Ministry and military leadership.