Largest US socialist organisation passes resolution supporting Palestinian resistance

The resolution supports boycott campaigns against Israel and principles outlined by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America gather outside of a Trump-owned building on May Day in New York City, on 1 May 2019 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images via AFP)

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The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the largest socialist organisation in the United States, passed a resolution on Sunday that supports the Palestinian right to resist and makes supporting Israel an expellable offence.

The resolution, passed with a 56 to 43 percent vote at DSA’s biennial convention, also allocates resources to pro-Palestine organising and emphasises the Palestinian right to return "from the river to the sea".

One of DSA’s most influential members is New York State assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who in June won the Democratic Primary for Mayor of New York City. Mamdani is part of the DSA’s “State Socialists in Office”, a nine-person bloc of DSA-endorsed officials elected to office.

Mamdani has historically supported the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to make Israel comply with international laws and respect Palestinian rights through non-violent means. He also says he would discourage the use of the phrase “Globalise the Intifada” and says Israel “has a right to exist as a state with equal rights”.

The DSA wields influence over several important unions around the country, such as the United Auto Workers (UAW).

The UAW was one of seven major unions representing nearly half of unionised workers in the US, which called for the end of all US military aid to Israel.

Still, some unions, like the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), have refused to call for an arms embargo. When the ILA workers went on strike in October, union workers continued to ship military cargo despite the work stoppage.

The resolution

Sunday’s resolutions contained both political and practical commitments for DSA.

Politically, the resolution supports al-Thawabit, or the Palestinian red lines, the unifying principles outlined by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in 1977.

These principles include the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, the Palestinian right to resist and the right to self-determination.

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The resolutions also make publicly and consistently opposing the BDS movement, taking money from pro-Israel lobbying groups, and supporting the transfer of funds or weapons to Israel an expellable offence.

Elected officials are expected to be held to similar standards by DSA.

Last year, DSA unendorsed representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her support for the funding of the Iron Dome, an Israeli defence system, and a definition of antisemitism that considers Zionism a protected class.

Practically, Sunday’s resolution resolved to devote attention and resources to the “Student Intifada”, a term activists have used to describe pro-Palestine protests on university campuses, and to the Mask off Maersk campaign.

The Mask Off campaign, spearheaded by the Palestinian Youth Movement, aims to halt the shipments of arms to Israel by shipping giant Maersk.

Moroccan unions have called on their workers to boycott Maersk vessels carrying military cargo, and Spanish port authorities have denied entry to Maersk ships transporting weapons to Israel.

DSA’s resolution states it will leverage its influence in the labour movement to enact similar pressure on Maersk in the United States.

Shifting politics

When the DSA was founded in 1982, the organisation and its leader, Michael Harrington, supported Israel.

Harrington described Zionism as a “national liberation movement” and DSA initially held largely liberal Zionist views. But as DSA grew and pro-Palestine sentiments became more widely accepted among the American left, DSA’s position gradually changed.

Sunday’s resolution, and its support for al-Thawabit, represent a years-long political shift from DSA’s initial liberal Zionist principles towards more pro-Palestine positions.

This shift has hastened since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians and has been recognised by several countries, as well as leading rights groups and experts, as an act of genocide.

Several hours after the resolution was passed, Israel killed six journalists in Gaza in a targeted assassination, a move condemned by human rights organisations globally.

Israel's war on Gaza

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Largest US socialist organisation passes resolution supporting Palestinian resistance

Largest US socialist organisation passes resolution supporting Palestinian resistance