After two years of demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, the Democratic Socialists of America—which boasts New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani among its members—on Monday released a statement that denounces President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal and calls for more Palestinian “resistance” against Israel.
The statement, titled “Until Palestinian Liberation,” says the DSA’s goal is “to end U.S. complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid at every level—in our communities, our government, our workplaces—with every economic and political tool at our disposal.” The DSA vows to strengthen its support for anti-Israel campaigns, such as the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions and Labor for an Arms Embargo movements, to “effectively isolate Israel economically, culturally, and academically.”
Israel and Hamas last week agreed to stop fighting under Trump’s peace deal, with Hamas on Monday freeing all 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return. World leaders have praised Trump for brokering the agreement, calling it a rare diplomatic breakthrough in the region.
The DSA released its statement criticizing Trump’s peace deal after repeatedly demanding a ceasefire. In October 2023, Democratic Socialist members of Congress introduced a resolution titled “Ceasefire NOW.” The DSA in a January 2024 statement wrote that “we reiterate our demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.” The far-left group earlier this year reaffirmed its claim to support a ceasefire.
The DSA isn’t alone in reversing course. Democratic lawmakers, left-wing commentators, and pro-Hamas activists who spent the last two years demanding a Gaza ceasefire have also criticized Trump’s peace deal, the Washington Free Beacon reported last week.
Mamdani, for his part, in a Monday statement called for an end to “occupation and apartheid.” The candidate has long faced scrutiny for his anti-Israel stances. In July, Mamdani reportedly told top business leaders that he stands by “the idea” behind the anti-Semitic slogan “globalize the intifada.”
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in June blasted Mamdani’s attempt to “sanitize” the slogan, calling it “outrageous and especially offensive to survivors.” Mamdani has refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and expressed support for the BDS movement.
The DSA’s Monday statement has drawn backlash online. “This is not a peace statement,” Manhattan Institute investigative analyst Stu Smith wrote in an X post. “It’s a revolutionary manifesto that treats terrorism as resistance, delegitimizes Israel, and urges Americans to undermine their own economy ‘at every level.'”
“Where most humanitarian groups see a ceasefire as relief and an opening for diplomacy,” Smith went on, “DSA sees only imperial manipulation and offers no path toward coexistence, only perpetual struggle.”
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