Melat Kiros in Denver and Darializa Avila Chevalier in Harlem and the west Bronx could be the two most dreadful people ever elected to serve in Congress. Both come close to inciting genocide – of Israelis, that is. They are so far the worst of the worst of democratic socialists who bear no love for Israel nor sensitivity toward American Jews.
The 29-year-old Kiros, an attorney, wrote an open letter after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that argued that seeking Israel’s elimination is not antisemitic. She was soon bounced from a job in the New York office of the Sidley Austin law firm, according to The New York Post.
She could not bring herself to call the fatal firebombing in Boulder, Colorado, in June 2025 an act of antisemitism. It occurred during a march in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza. In an interview, she described Oct. 7 as an “inevitable consequence” of Israel’s actions.
As I previously noted, Chevalier was such a champion for Hamas that she attended a rally in NYC the day after Oct. 7. Before the June 23 primary, she showed off her ability to deceive voters when she thought she was explaining her reason for showing up at the Oct. 8 demonstration:
“I have been advocating for the human rights of Palestinians for my adult life. And as someone who has seen a pattern, whenever anything happens on the ground (in Israel), there’s always a really outsized reaction that costs thousands of people their lives. That is what I was worried about.
“At the core of it all for me is human dignity,” she continued. “And I think so often we get lost in the ‘well on this date, and that date’ when it’s all cyclical, if we don’t get to the core of how we disregard the human rights and dignity of some people over others.”
Chevalier and Kiros should readily become fast friends in Congress. On June 23, Chevalier ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the primary after he built up nearly 10 years in seniority. The district covers much of upper Manhattan and the west Bronx. On Tuesday, Kiros unseated Rep. Diana DeGette with an estimated 48 percent of the vote; the district covers most of Denver and some neighboring suburbs.
All current and likely future members of Congress who bash Israel scare me, but there is something horrifying about this pair. Their influence is not inevitable. We can make certain of that.
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Bruce S. Ticker is a Philadelphia-based columnist.