Damien Neva
Introduction
Damien Neva is a 48-year-old Brooklyn public-school teacher and former fashion photographer who became the subject of a New York City Department of Education investigation after a lawsuit accused him of praising Yahya Sinwar — the Hamas leader who masterminded the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel — in a Signal group chat of co-op activists. According to the suit, Neva, who teaches at PS 77 in Park Slope, wrote “Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar” in November 2024 in a chat of anti-Israel members of the Park Slope Food Coop, where he was described as a leader of the boycott campaign. The allegation was reported by the New York Post on October 5, 2026, and the DOE said the report has been referred for investigation under the Chancellor’s Regulations. Neva has not been charged with any crime, the claim comes from a civil complaint, and no public statement from him had appeared in coverage as of that date.
Background Information
Neva spent roughly two decades in fashion photography before his enforced career change. He worked as a photographer, videographer and social-media director at Next Management, an agency whose roster has included Karlie Kloss and Kate Upton, and previously worked at Ford Models and Calvin Klein; in an interview with Business of Fashion, he described advising incoming models on social-media practices. In a since-deleted social-media post, Neva said he became a teacher at PS 77 this year because of an “enforced career change.” The Post reported that when its reporter came to his Brooklyn home for comment on Sunday, Neva called the police.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Allegations from a civil complaint, unadjudicated. The claims about Neva come from a lawsuit filed in Kings County Supreme Court by the National Jewish Advocacy Center on behalf of five Jewish members of the Park Slope Food Coop, which quotes chat messages it says show his conduct. They were never admitted by Neva, never criminally charged, and never adjudicated in court, and no public response from Neva appears in the coverage reviewed. The DOE’s investigation of the report is ongoing.
The allegation emerged from Neva’s parallel life as a boycott activist. In late May 2026, the Park Slope Food Coop’s board and membership approved a boycott of Israeli goods after a years-long fight, dropping the co-op’s 75 percent supermajority requirement in a remote vote that a lawsuit filed on September 30, 2026 by the National Jewish Advocacy Center alleges violated the co-op’s own bylaws and New York anti-discrimination law. The complaint, built in part on internal communications of the “Members for Palestine” activist group, alleges that one BDS activist messaged a co-op group “Long Live Yahyah Al-Sinwar” — and the Washington Free Beacon’s reporting on the suit identified that activist as Damien Neva, writing that he posted “Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar” to the M4P Signal group in November 2024 as members planned strategy, drawing approval from at least one other participant. According to the complaint, Neva wrote immediately before: “That lot does not have the votes to block our campaign,” referring to the co-op’s pro-Israel and Jewish members.
The New York Post carried the allegation to a mass audience on October 5, 2026, identifying Neva by name, quoting the chat message and reporting that he is now under investigation by city education officials. The Post also catalogued what it described as Neva’s social-media history — a post of a sticker with Israel being shredded, another showing the Star of David painted over the Statue of Liberty, and a post comparing Warsaw in 1944 to Palestine in 2024. The StopAntisemitism organization amplified the story, writing: “Meet Damien Neva, a newly hired teacher at Brooklyn’s PSK77 … Imagine being one of [Brooklyn’s roughly 157,000 Jewish children] in Neva’s classroom.” Dov Hikind, the former Brooklyn assemblyman who founded Americans Against Antisemitism, called for Neva to be fired, saying: “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.”
Public Reaction and Consequences
The response was immediate. Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels’ office said in a statement: “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,” adding that “this allegation has been reported and referred for investigation, in accordance with Chancellor’s Regulations.” Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office deferred comment to the chancellor’s office. Hikind publicly demanded Neva’s dismissal, and StopAntisemitism published Neva’s name, school and photo to its audience. The underlying co-op boycott itself remains mired in litigation, with plaintiffs seeking to invalidate the vote and damages of at least $150,000.
Current Status
Neva is under investigation by the city Department of Education, which confirmed the allegation was referred for investigation under the Chancellor’s Regulations, and he has not been reported as suspended, reassigned or removed from the classroom. He has not been charged with any crime: the Sinwar praise and the boycott-leadership characterization are allegations drawn from a pending civil complaint, quoted by the New York Post, which the complaint’s authors attribute to chat messages they obtained. No public statement, denial or legal response from Neva or an attorney representing him had appeared in the coverage reviewed as of October 5, 2026.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Neva’s two careers have collided: the photographer-turned-educator who described an “enforced career change” into teaching is now the named subject of a DOE investigation and a national advocacy campaign, less than a year into his classroom work. His name, employer and photograph circulate in coverage of the co-op lawsuit, and advocacy groups have framed him as a test case for antisemitism screening in the school system. Whatever the investigation concludes, the public record now permanently attaches his name to the October 7 praise allegation from the litigation — a consequence no fashion-world role he previously held ever carried.
Sources
- New York Post, “Exclusive | NYC teacher praised Oct. 7 mastermind in Park Slope Food Coop group chat, lawsuit says,” October 5, 2026 — source
- National Jewish Advocacy Center, “Press Release: NJAC Sues Park Slope Food Coop to Overturn Israel Boycott,” September 30, 2026 — source
- World Israel News / Washington Free Beacon, “Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop slapped with discrimination suit for rampant antisemitism,” October 2026 — source
- News 12 Brooklyn, “Lawsuit Filed Against Brooklyn Co Op Boycotting Israeli Products,” October 2026 — source
- @nypost on X, trigger post, October 5, 2026 — source