by We Must Hold DSA Electeds Accountable
By Reform & Revolution
On March 27, the DSA BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group hosted an emergency forum in response to the DSA national leadership’s attempt to shut down the working group. The forum brought together DSAers and Palestine grassroots partners who are calling on the NPC to hold DSA members in Congress accountable to DSA’s commitment to support Palestinian liberation. We post here the notes of the short speech by Reform & Revolution member Ramy Khalil, one of many speakers at the forum.
Question 1:
Last week, Seattle DSA signed on to our working group’s call for the expulsion of Congressmember Jamaal Bowman from DSA. In addition, Seattle DSA plans to release a statement in opposition to the NPC decision to de-charter the working group. Ramy, why do you believe it was important for rank-and-file members and chapters like yours to speak out?
Thank you so much for organizing this forum.
My chapter of DSA here in Seattle voted to call on the NPC to reverse its deeply undemocratic decision to shut down the BDS WG.
For DSA it’s essential we maintain a vibrant culture of democracy, debate, and the right to criticize and organize opposition to the DSA leadership and especially representatives elected to public office.
DSA’s culture of internal democracy has been a central strength of our organization in comparison to the stifling bureaucratic and undemocratic regime that is all too common in the labor movement and sectarian socialist organizations.
Of course, sometimes chapters and working groups can misuse these rights and raise disagreements in unconstructive or irresponsible ways. We should strive to avoid that. But those downsides are far less significant than restricting democracy in DSA.
At the core of this debate is a question of discipline. The NPC was more committed to upholding discipline over oppositional working groups than DSA Congress members violating DSA policies. I think we need the opposite approach.
The public opposition of DSA working groups to NPC decisions has a far smaller public impact than the votes of DSA members in Congress. Jamaal Bowman and AOC contradicted DSA’s policies through their votes in Congress, which is far more significant than what any working group does. As members of Congress, they are the highest profile public representatives and spokespeople of DSA.
Question 2:
Ramy, would you say this dispute is just about the democracy within DSA? Or is this dispute about how to hold DSA members elected to office accountable to DSA’s positions?
I’d say this dispute is about both.
Congressman Jamaal Bowman crossed a red line when he voted for US imperialist policies by twice voting to fund the brutal Israeli military occupation of Palestine. These votes provided $4 billion to militarily crush the Palestinian resistance and maintain an Apartheid state.
This is standard for the Democratic Party – a party of US capitalism and imperialism – which we are now seeing repeated with the Democrats pushing through brutal sanctions on the people of Russia and expanding NATO, which is an imperialist military alliance.
The DSA Congressmembers’ votes to fund the Israeli military were not matters of minor disagreements within DSA. A representative of the socialist movement cannot vote in favor of imperialist policies, no matter how unpopular it is.
Bowman and AOC correctly argue that support for ending US aid to Israel is a minority position currently in US society, and they would be isolated by voting “no.” We need to actively campaign to convince more and more ordinary working-class people why it is against our interests to reinforce Palestinian oppression. But socialists elected to Congress need to help lead the way and educate the public, rather than doing the opposite.
This shows why DSA needs to start acting as a party-like organization. We need to set the standard that DSA members in Congress and other electeds must vote in accordance with DSA’s platform on core issues, even when it is unpopular.
If DSA electeds vote contrary to DSA’s platform, we need to insist they attend DSA public townhalls where they explain their vote to DSA and hear criticism and feedback from DSA members. This would exert political pressure on them, and would utilize their public standing to draw media and public attention to DSA’s townhall and our own democratically decided position.
We also need to set our sights on moving beyond being a mere pressure group on the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party is an integral part of this capitalist system which relies upon imperialist domination of the oil-rich Middle East.
I think we need to build towards our own Democratic Socialist Party that can build strong links with the majority of the working class and a mass movement to topple the ruling class and their capitalist imperialist system, and establish a democratic socialist society.
Please read and share Reform & Revolution’s statement, Stop the Crackdown on DSA’s BDS Working Group by the NPC.
Reform & Revolution, a Marxist caucus in DSA, believes it was a step forward that outcry from DSA members successfully pressured DSA’s National Political Committee to rescind its initial decision to decharter the BDS & Palestine Solidarity Working Group. However, the one-year ban on members of the Working Group’s Steering Committee on holding DSA leadership positions still needs to be rescinded. Sign and share the open letter to fully reinstate DSA’s BDS & Palestine Solidarity Working Group, including lifting the one-year suspension of its Steering Committee members.
Ramy Khalil is a newly elected Organizer on Seattle DSA’s Local Council and a member of the Reform and Revolution caucus. He is a co-signer of Seattle DSA’s resolution to sign the BDS & Palestine Solidarity Working Group’s letter demanding the expulsion of Congressman Jamaal Bowman from DSA. Ramy has been a socialist organizer for over 25 years, and he spoke in a personal capacity at this forum.
Ramy Khalil
Ramy Khalil was the Campaign Co-Manager for Tacoma For All, which won the strongest tenants protections in Washington state through a ballot initiative in 2023. He was the Campaign Manager for Kshama Sawant who was the first independent socialist elected to Seattle City Council in 100 years. He is a member of DSA and its Reform & Revolution caucus.
