Author: Megan R
One of the most contentious and confusing debate blocks at the 2025 Convention was the international section, specifically deliberation on the resolution titled For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA (R22) and the agendized amendment titled Align With the BDS Movement (R22-A01).
For context to anyone who is not plugged into DSA’s founding story:
“Whereas, and antithetical to the DSA’s contemporary principles and policies, DSA’s founding merger was heavily predicated on ensuring that the DSA would uphold DSOC’s position of supporting continued American aid for Israel’s Zionist colonial project, as explicitly noted in our organization’s founding merger documents (e.g., Points of Political Unity) and by Michael Harrington himself in his autobiography;”
– Anti-Zionist Resolution (#12), which was referred to the National Political Committee (NPC) from the 2023 National Convention
Members of DSA have been organizing within our democratic structures to course correct since the very beginning and that effort has been documented since at least 2019 (see passed resolution #35, speaker lineup). Organizers who are passionate about Palestinian liberation have devoted themselves to the steady and demanding work of changing minds of our comrades in DSA. We have come a long way as an organization in solidarity with our Palestinian comrades, despite what external reporters would like to imply. This progress is laid out neatly in the “whereas” clauses of R22 which details not only the statements made over the last few years, but also the working groups created, campaigns run, and strategies defined.
Much of what we passed during this convention will support our Palestine work, such as the formal commitment to the “independent party surrogate” electoral strategy. It would have been great to also pass the Electoral Discipline resolution, which would reduce the damage that could be caused by chapter electoral program fiefdoms by providing a framework for chapters, but that will resurface in 2027!
The R22 Anti-Zionist resolution in particular was the culmination of more than two years of dedicated effort to confirm our commitment to being an explicitly anti-Zionist organization.
“Make DSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis” was originally brought forward for consideration at the 2023 National Convention but was referred to the NPC for a decision. In the last two years, many chapters have voted to adopt variations of this resolution locally, including our own chapter! (See the text differences in both resolutions here.)
“[Since] March 25th 2025, 54 DSA chapters representing over 30,000 DSA members have passed their own versions of the “Make DSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis” resolution, enshrining locally both membership expectations and electoral endorsement conditions of principled anti-Zionism that has provided a necessary, material counter-weight to the Zionist lobby for progressives running for local office.”
– For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA, which passed at the 2025 National Convention
Fun Fact: Our 2023 chapter delegation had a fuzzier political divide on this topic (4-2-2 split for delegates, 8-3-2 for candidates) than our 2025 chapter delegation did (7-1-4 split for delegates, 10-1-4 for candidates), bringing our delegate candidate support for Anti-Zionist measures up to 90% from 72% just two years ago. This is a testament to our political development as a chapter!
In the intervening years, alongside the local approach, organizers for an Anti-Zionist DSA strengthened the resolution by building a positive vision of what we can and should be doing as an organization to support Palestine liberation.
During convention, there were a lot of myths being circulated, most notably a flyer distributed by a non disclosed political faction.
Fortunately for our comrades in the Springs of Revolution faction who wrote R22, and for DSA’s external reputation on Palestine, deliberation on R22 and its amendment was split across two days. This gave the resolutions authors and Palestine organizers a chance to correct the rumors that had been so carelessly and cynically spread the day before with the distribution of a fact sheet.
Comparing the Options
In order to demystify the text of R22 as it compares to our local Anti-Zionist resolution and clarify what the amendment would have changed if passed, we’ve compiled a side-by-side comparison below, along with links to the full text for both, highlighting key differences. (This comparison will focus on the “resolved” clauses of the texts, which constitutes the binding portion of a resolution or amendment.)
| Cleveland’s Anti-Zionist Resolution | National Anti-Zionist Resolution (R22) | R22-A01 (p. 247 in Compendium) |
| Opening “resolved” clause: “Therefore, be it resolved, the Cleveland DSA chapter denounces the organization’sZionist roots and reaffirms its commitment to being an anti-racist, anti-imperialist organization by explicitly committing to being an anti-Zionist chapter– in both principle and praxis;” | Opening “resolved” clause: “Therefore, be it resolved, that DSA shall make organizing in solidarity with the Palestinian cause a priority until Palestine is free, unequivocally affirming our commitment to ‘al-Thawabit’, the principles originally set by the Palestinian National Council in 1977 and repeatedly reaffirmed since, which are the Palestinian people’s right to resistance, the Palestinian right to self-determination, the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland from the river to the sea;” | First edit, which comes off as a hostile amendment because it seems to negate all following text: “proactively aligning all national DSA candidates with the organization’s previously established expectations |
| Red lines for endorsed electoral candidates (identical): – Public support of the BDS movement. – Refrain from any/all affiliation with the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups (examples provided). – Pledge to oppose legislation that harms Palestinians (examples provided). – Pledge to support legislation that supports Palestinian liberation (examples provided). | Red lines for endorsed electoral candidates (identical): – Public support of the BDS movement. – Refrain from any/all affiliation with the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups (examples provided). – Pledge to oppose legislation that harms Palestinians (examples provided). – Pledge to support legislation that supports Palestinian liberation (examples provided). | Removes red lines for candidates with the following edits: – Changes all “shall”s to “may” in the text related to candidate red lines. – Inserts carveouts for local chapters to continue to endorse candidates who do not meet our standards on Palestine. |
| Inclusion of red lines in endorsement questionnaire: “our local chapter’s candidate questionnaires will include a question that inquires about the candidate’s position on BDS;” | Inclusion of red lines in endorsement questionnaire: “any candidate questionnaires used to determine national and local endorsements must inquire about the candidateʼs position on BDS and should include further scrutiny on the candidate’s commitment to Palestinian liberation;” | N/A – see above |
| How red lines are enforced: “potential candidates who cannot commit to the aforementioned basic expectations will be disqualified from endorsement by the Cleveland DSA at every level” | How red lines are enforced: “potential candidates who cannot commit to the aforementioned basic expectations shall be deemed, by the National Electoral Commission as well as any relevant approving bodies at the chapter level, as ineligible for endorsement by DSA or a DSA chapter;” | N/A – see above |
| Education of endorsed candidates: “upon receiving fair and ample opportunity for education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation, endorsed candidates who do not commit to the aforementioned basic expectations will have their Cleveland DSA endorsements swiftly revoked;” | Education of endorsed candidates: “upon receiving fair and ample opportunity for education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation, endorsed candidates who fail to continue to uphold the aforementioned basic expectations after being endorsed and/or taking office, shall have their DSA endorsements revoked locally and/or nationally as applicable;” | N/A – see above |
| Coalition Partners & Strategy: – Collaborate on educational materials for endorsed candidates alongside “trusted Palestine Solidarity movement partners in the grassroots (e.g., Palestinian Youth Movement).” | Coalition Partners & Strategy: – Directing the Palestine Subcommittee of the DSA’s International Committee to expand the reach of the Stop Fueling Genocide Campaign. – Endorsement of, and outreach to support the Palestine Solidarity Working Group’s No Appetite For Apartheid campaign (Note: PSWG is a coalition partner, not a body within DSA). – Endorsement of the Palestinian Youth Movement’s Mask Off Maersk campaign. – Commitment to build labor support for an arms embargo campaign through the Labor for an Arms Embargo working group within the NLC, taking inspiration from Mask Off Maersk and No Harbor for Genocide. – Commits our organization to convene an Arms Embargo Organizing Committee, preferencing members who have coalition relationships or have participated in efforts such as the Arab Resource & Organizing Center’s Block the Boat project (which is also referenced on the BDS Movement website). – Allocates IC Palestine Subcommittee and NEC support to chapters working on ballot initiatives based on the International Apartheid-Free Community Campaign. | Coalition Partners & Strategy: – Removes all references to our valuable coalition partner, the Palestine Solidarity Working Group. – Removes the endorsement of coalition partner PSWD’s No Appetite For Apartheid campaign and replaces it with endorsement of “the BDS movement’s boycott of Israeli wine and produce.” – Narrows the language to encourage chapter-level campaigns “such as the Boycott War Profiteers’ campaign against the sale of wine from the Israeli Occupied Golan Heights at PCC Community Markets.” – Softens language around encouraging chapter campaign development with edits such as replacing “identify” with “consider.”- |
| Expectations for Members: Automatic expulsion of members who: 1. have consistently and publicly opposed BDS and Palestine, even after receiving fair and ample opportunity for education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation, 2. be currently affiliated with the Israeli government or any Zionist lobby group(s), or 3. have provided material aid to Israel. | Expectations for Members: Upon a two-thirds NPC vote, expulsion of members who: 1. have consistently and publicly opposed BDS and the Palestinian cause (examples given), even after receiving fair and ample opportunity for education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation, 2. be currently affiliated with the Israeli government or any Zionist lobby group(s) (examples given), or 3. have knowingly provided material aid to Israel (examples given). | Expectations for Members: Entirely removes this section. |
| Member Reinstatement: Members are considered for reinstatement annually if the general body votes to accept their reinstatement on the basis of a written statement provided. | Member Reinstatement: Not specified, but the expulsion is not automatic. | N/A – see above |
Read my speech against R22-A01 delivered on the Convention floor!
The For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA resolution expanded our organizational support for Palestine beyond these red line additions. The end of the Standards and Orientation section, a positive vision is laid out for work we engage in as an organization:
Be it resolved, that DSA shall continue to organize chapters and national bodies to act as meaningful partners within the Palestine solidarity movement, prioritizing campaigns and organizing approaches that:
- Directly undermine material support for Israel, respond to priorities identified by the Palestinian solidarity movement, and correspond with strategic organizing sectors where DSA is well-positioned to contribute (e.g. logistics and higher education);
- Build an organized mass base of support for Palestine and engage a range of political and mass organizations, communities, and economic sectors, thus bringing working-class people together through joint struggle and strengthening our local and national coalitions, particularly with Palestinian-led organizations;
Protect our movement and build resilience against state and Zionist repression;
– For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA
Following that section is an entire section dedicated to coalition work, referencing coalition partners (included in the middle column in the table above) and identifying where new democratic decision-making bodies must be formed to succeed in the work ahead of us.
The disinformation being widely circulated during convention, combined with the misleadingly named amendment led to tension and confusion among the delegation. Ultimately the debate concluded in a close passing vote of 675 (56.3%) to 524 (43.7%). We would have liked to see a more comfortable margin like a supermajority (60%) or two-thirds support, but given the situation we understand how voters were misled.
We are proud that DSA has rejected its founder’s Zionist politics and are hopeful about moving forward to support Palestine with these promising campaigns and coalition partners.