Democrat Renounces Membership in Democratic Socialists of America After ‘Hate-Filled’ Rally Celebrating Hamas

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) renounced his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America after the group promoted an anti-Semitic rally celebrating the brutal terror attack on Israel by Hamas over the weekend.

The New York City chapter of the organization promoted a rally held on Sunday attended by more than 1,000 people where protesters stomped on an Israeli flag, and expressed support for the events of the previous day, when hundreds of Israeli civilians were murdered and taken hostage.

Thanedar joined other progressive members of congress — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) — in condemning the rally in a statement.

“Today I am officially renouncing my membership in the Democratic Socialists of America,” announced Thanedar. “After the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel, which included the indiscriminate murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent men, women, and children, I can no longer associate with an organization unwilling to call out terrorism in all its forms.”

He continued:

Sunday’s hate-filled and antisemitic rally in New York City, promoted by the NYC-DSA, makes it impossible for me to continued my affiliation. I stand with Israel and its right to defend itself. There is no place for moral equivocation in the face of unadulterated evil as we have seen from Hamas.

“I strongly believe that ending my association with DSA serves my constituents’ interests as they expect me to represent them by helping to build a better, more just world, not fanning the flames of hatred,” concluded Thanedar.

I renounce my membership in the DSA pic.twitter.com/rtpxStKW2Q

— Congressman Shri Thanedar (@RepShriThanedar) October 11, 2023

In a statement released on Tuesday, the New York City DSA wrote that “On Saturday, in anticipation of escalatory violence to come, we tweeted a promotion of a rally in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We understand why many, including our allies, were shocked by the timing and the tone of this message in a moment of profound fear and grief. We are sorry for the confusion our post caused and for not making our values explicit.”

“We are also concerned that some have chosen to focus on a rally while ignoring the root causes of violence in the region, the far-right Netanyahu government’s escalating human rights violations and explicitly genocidal rhetoric, and the dehumanization of the Palestinian people,” they added.

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