NYC teacher praised Oct. 7 mastermind in Park Slope Food Coop group chat: lawsuit



A Brooklyn teacher brazenly posted, “Long live Yahya al-Sinwar’’ in a group chat, according to a new legal filing.

Now he’s under investigation by city education officials.

Damien Neva, 48, a washed-up fashion photographer-turned-public-school teacher in, praised the heinous Hamas leader, who was the architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, in November 2024, according to a lawsuit related to the Park Slope Food Coop.

Brooklyn public school teacher Damien Neva posted a tribute to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a group chat related to the Park Slope Food Coop Diana/BFAnyc.com

“Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar,” Neva said in a Signal group of other anti-Israel members of the co-op, according to the lawsuit.

Neva, who was described in the legal filing as a leader of the boycott movement, also said, “That lot does not have the votes to block our campaign” — referring to the pro-Israel and Jewish members.

Jewish members of the grocery coop sued last week after the board voted to ban Israeli goods — following a rancorous years-long fight.

Neva became a teacher at PS 77 in well-heeled Park Slope this year because of an “enforced career change,” according to a now-deleted post on his social media.

Before becoming an educator, he was a photographer, videographer and social-media director at Next Management, which has repped major names including Karlie Kloss and Kate Upton.

Neva started as a teacher at PS 77 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, this year. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

During an interview with the Business of Fashion outlet, he said he advised incoming models about best practices in using social media. He also worked at Ford Modeling and Calvin Klein.

Neva’s social media included a post of a sticker with Israel on it 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.

When The Post attempted to reach Neva for comment at his Brooklyn home Sunday, he called the police on the reporter.

Yahya Sinwar was the architect of the Oct. 7 terror attacks against Israel in 2023. Getty Images

“Meet Damien Neva, a newly hired teacher at Brooklyn’s PSK77,” the group StopAntisemitism said.

“Neva reportedly posted ‘Long live Yahya al-Sinwar,’ praising the former Hamas leader and architect of the October 7 massacre. His social media also features a crossed-out image of Israel. Roughly 157,000 Jewish children live in Brooklyn. Imagine being one of them in Neva’s classroom,” the Jewish civil-rights group added.

Sinwar was Hamas’ brutal chief enforcer before he took the reins of Hamas — and was responsible for killing multiple Palestinians suspected of being informants. He admitted to strangling one Gazan to death with his own keffiyeh.

As head of Hamas, he is believed to have been the main mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack, which killed 1,139 people in Israel and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage in Gaza.

Neva worked as a fashion photographer before an “enforced career change” took him to PS 77. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

He was killed by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in October 2024 after months of hiding out in tunnels during the war.

Dov Hikind, a former Brooklyn assemblyman who is founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, said Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Department of Education should fire Neva.

“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.”

The front page of the New York Post on Monday, October 5, 2026.

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels’ office called for an investigation.

“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,” a DOE rep said.

“This allegation has been reported and referred for investigation, in accordance with Chancellor’s Regulations.”

Mayor Mamdani’s office deferred comment to the schools chancellor’s office.

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