‘Palestine Policy’: Internal Memos Suggest New York Socialists Want To Steer Mayor-Elect Mamdani Down an Anti-Israel Path

A leaked internal document from New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America puts on display the group’s strategy to pressure mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani into adopting anti-Israel policies after he takes office in January.The internal planning document, obtained by Just the News, contains detailed agendas and meeting notes from NYC DSA’s Anti-War Working Group dating back to September, focused on shaping “Palestine Policy.”The entries offer a glimpse into the democratic socialist group’s months-long effort to compile a comprehensive list of demands in line with their anti-Israel agenda and devise a plan to get Mr. Mamdani — who has been a member of the DSA since 2017 — on board.Meeting notes from a November 2nd gathering outline the various policy “demands” for a Mamdani administration, including measures as extreme as ending all city contracts with “companies that do business with Israel” and arresting “Netanyahu and active IDF soldiers for war crimes.”Other demands include “Divest City pension funds from Israeli bonds and securities,” “Withdraw City funds from banks that lend money to Israel or do business in Israel,” “Operate City-run grocery stores free from Israeli products,” “Investigate real estate agents hosting illegal sales of stolen lands in the West Bank,” “Remove non-profit status from charities that raise funds for IDF,” “Divest CUNY endowment and reinstate wrongly fired professors,” and more. Entries from earlier meetings outline the group’s strategy for getting Mr. Mamdani to implement its vision, with the group instructing members to “track” who the mayor appoints “to positions like NYPD commissioner” and to “pressure him” to hire staff “whose values are aligned” with its own. Other suggestions include leveraging Mr. Mamdani’s campaign and canvassing infrastructure and making it “easy for him” by providing a “plan for him to implement.” One section appears to address the group’s approach to dissent or disagreement, instructing members to “plan and push forward through conflict with political priorities” and “make it clear to electeds that if they want our support, our priorities matter. Make the terms clear going in, public statement on 1st day.”The working group’s radical anti-Israel demands align with the DSA’s broader national platform. The DSA’s program for foreign policy — which lists “free Palestine” as its first priority — calls for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to military and economic aid, and weapons sales to Israel, respect of the authority of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and national sovereignty for the Palestinian people.”The group has only grown more extreme in its hardline stance on Israel. In August, the DSA passed a resolution outlining the group’s explicitly anti-Zionist policy, making support for Zionism an expellable offense. The group identified “Palestinian liberation” as the “moral compass of the socialist movement.”Mr. Mamdani is a longtime DSA member and is listed on the group’s website as one of its nine “New York State Socialists in Office.” Although the mayor-elect sought to distance himself from DSA’s national platform during his campaign, the DSA continued to pitch strong support behind him during the primary and general elections. The DSA had not yet responded to the Sun’s request for comment. The Uganda-born politician has also been outspoken in his criticisms of the Jewish state and his support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. His refusal to affirm Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and repeated references to Israel’s war against Hamas as genocide have drawn concern from members of New York City’s Jewish community. A recently unearthed video of Mr. Mamdani referring to the “boot of the NYPD” as being “laced by the IDF” elicited a new round of condemnation.In light of Mr. Mamdani’s electoral victory, Jewish advocacy groups and pro-Israel politicians have made clear their plans to monitor the democratic socialist’s policies in office.New York Representative Mike Lawler, addressing the leaked DSA document in a post on X, denounced the DSA working group’s anti-Israel demands as “complete and utter insanity.” He noted that he will be watching closely and will conduct hearings if Mr. Mamdani engages in policy detrimental to American foreign policy.Outside of the government, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it would be tracking Mr. Mamdani’s policies and staff appointments to ensure that they promote the safety of Jewish New Yorkers. The platform, called the “Mamdani Monitor,” will highlight “City Hall decisions affecting Jewish New Yorkers, including education policy, budget priorities, and security measures.”

‘Palestine Policy’: Internal Memos Suggest New York Socialists Want To Steer Mayor-Elect Mamdani Down an Anti-Israel Path

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