Southern Illinois Democratic Socialists of America would like to congratulate our organization for passing an anti-zionist resolution on a national level and for aligning with principles for Palestinian liberation as laid out by Al Thawabet. Reforming the organization has been a long and hard fight, but we’re glad to take this massive step toward a liberated, socialist future along with our comrades!
There has been a lot of disinformation about the resolutions at convention, however, so to clear a few things up here are the facts. R01 ‘DSA for One Palestinian State’ did not pass. This is because the resolution specified that DSA should support only a “secular” Palestinian state. We at SIDSA, along with the vast majority of the organization nationally, believe that it is not our place to tell people which god to pray to upon learning about the martyrdom of a family member or friend. The alternative R22 ‘For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA,’ which had provisions to prioritize BDS, follow Al Thawabet, and expel electeds and members who publicly espouse zionism, did pass with 56% of votes in favor. The 44% who voted against are being cast as rabid zionists, when in reality most of the votes against were cast due to disagreements with particular wording around expulsion and re-education processes. Others voted no in favor of supporting other alternative paths to Palestinian Liberation. Virtually nobody voted against the resolution due to an ideological commitment to zionism or normalization. What matters now is that even if that 44% were zionist, they must now operate under strong anti-zionist principles. The effect is the same: A Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA.