Brooklyn Teacher Brazenly Praised Oct. 7 Mastermind in Coop Chat, Lawsuit Says

A Brooklyn public school teacher is under investigation by New York City education officials after a legal filing alleged that he praised Yahya al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader identified as the architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, as reported by The New York Post.

Damien Neva, 48, allegedly posted the message in November 2024 in a Signal group used by members of the Park Slope Food Coop who opposed Israel. The lawsuit quotes Neva as writing, “Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar.”

The filing, which is connected to a dispute involving the coop, described Neva as a leader of the campaign to boycott Israeli goods. His reported comments added another ugly layer to a fight that had already divided members.

“Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar.”

That text is in a lawsuit. November 2024. A Park Slope Food Coop boycott chat.

The man who sent it, Damien Neva, is now reportedly teaching special-ed kids at Brooklyn’s P.S. K077.

Sinwar planned October 7. This teacher approves of it! He must go!! https://t.co/Ieb59vpDk6

— Moshe Spern (@moshespern) October 2, 2026

Neva also allegedly wrote, “That lot does not have the votes to block our campaign” — referring to the pro-Israel and Jewish members.

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Jewish members of the grocery coop sued last week after its board voted to ban Israeli goods. The vote followed a bitter fight that had stretched across several years.

Neva became a teacher at PS 77 in well-heeled Park Slope this year. According to a post that was later deleted from his social media, he entered teaching because of an “enforced career change.”

Before entering the classroom, Neva worked as a photographer, videographer, and social media director at Next Management. The company has represented major names including Karlie Kloss and Kate Upton.

Neva told the Business of Fashion outlet that he advised incoming models about recommended practices for using social media. He also previously worked at Ford Modeling and Calvin Klein.

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His social media activity included an image of a sticker bearing Israel’s name being shredded. Other posts showed the Star of David painted over the Statue of Liberty and compared Warsaw in 1944 with Palestine in 2024.

When The Post attempted to contact Neva at his Brooklyn home on Sunday, he called the police on the reporter. No comment from Neva was included.

StopAntisemitism drew attention to the allegations and Neva’s teaching position. The Jewish civil rights organization noted that roughly 157,000 Jewish children live in Brooklyn and questioned what it would be like for one of them to sit in Neva’s classroom.

Sinwar was Hamas’ chief enforcer before taking control of the organization. He was responsible for killing multiple Palestinians suspected of serving as informants and admitted that he strangled one Gazan with his own keffiyeh.

As the leader of Hamas, Sinwar is believed to have been the principal mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack. The assault killed 1,139 people in Israel and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces killed Sinwar in Gaza in October 2024 after he spent months hiding in tunnels during the war. Neva’s alleged message praising him came the following month.

Dov Hikind, a former Brooklyn assemblyman and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Department of Education to fire Neva. Hikind condemned the prospect of an educator treating Sinwar as a hero.

“Sinwar designed what happened on Oct. 7 — the massacre, the barbarism, the rapes and cruelty,” Hikind said. “The idea that anyone connected to education — who believes Sinwar is a hero — could be teaching in the classroom is incomprehensible. How would we react if a teacher said Adolf Hitler was a great leader?”

“This teacher needs to lose his job. He needs to be fired — period,” Hikind added.

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels’ office called for an investigation into the allegation. A Department of Education representative said the matter had been reported and referred for investigation under the chancellor’s regulations.

“Antisemitism and support for terrorist organizations have absolutely no place in our school system. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming environment for every student and member of our school community,” the representative said.

Mayor Mamdani’s office did not provide a separate response to the allegations. It deferred comment to the school’s chancellor’s office as the investigation moves forward.

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