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. He returned to PS 77 on Monday, October 5, covering his face from photographers as parents publicly demanded his firing, and remained a city teacher while the investigation continued.

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. Matzav’s account of the school week adds that Neva teaches special education at PS 77.

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.”

The story escalated on Monday, October 5, when Neva returned to PS 77 as photographs showed him covering his face — first leaving his Brooklyn home, then walking to the school — and parents outside the building demanded his dismissal. One fifth-grade father told the Post: “If he’s still teaching here, it’s disgusting, both on him and on the school that’s holding on to him. No one who praises terrorists deserves to be a teacher,” adding: “If you praise a guy like [Sinwar], that means that some part of you believes that murdering innocent people is morally justifiable.” A grandmother at the school said: “I believe the Palestinian people deserve statehood, but Sinwar was a terrorist. He killed for the sake of killing, and to speak of him like he did something good – that’s not okay, and [Neva] is not someone I want near my grandchildren,” and added: “They should fire him. I’m surprised they haven’t fired him already.”

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.

The firing demands broadened beyond parents after the school return. State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz called Neva’s comments “appalling,” saying: “Hamas is a terrorist organization that has killed countless people, including Americans. I don’t think someone like that should be teaching our kids.” Karen Feldman, a New York City teacher and founder of The NYC Public School Alliance, said Neva is not an “isolated case” and that the education department needs to act to send a message: “This is not about one offensive post or one teacher’s political views. It is about who NYCPS [New York City Public Schools] is allowing to stand in front of our children. This teacher publicly praised Yahya al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader and murder mastermind responsible for the October 7 massacre. … It is about professional judgment, student safety and the basic responsibility of a school system to know who it is putting in front of children.” The DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the school return, and the chancellor’s office has not announced any suspension or reassignment.

Current Status

As of October 6, 2026, Neva remains a PS 77 teacher under DOE investigation: he returned to the school on Monday, October 5, covering his face from photographers, and no suspension, reassignment or termination has been announced. 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; when a reporter approached his Brooklyn home on Sunday, he called the police rather than answer questions.

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. The school return turned the story from a legal filing into a daily-reality controversy: he now walks into the building past photographers with his face covered, and the parents of the children he teaches are on record demanding his dismissal. 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
New York Post, “Hamas-loving NYC teacher cowardly covers his face as he returns to school — and furious parents want him fired,” October 6, 2026 — source
Matzav, “‘Long Live Yahya Al-Sinwar’: Brooklyn Teacher Returns to Classroom as Parents Demand His Firing Over Praise for Oct. 7 Mastermind,” October 6, 2026 — source
RAIR Foundation, “Hamas-Loving Brooklyn Teacher Who Gushed Over Oct. 7 Mastermind Outed as Enraged Parents Demand That He Be Fired,” October 6, 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
@nypost on X, trigger post (school return), October 6, 2026 — source