Questionnaire for NYC Council Candidates Calls for Israel Boycott

On August 13, 2020, it was revealed that the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), in its survey of 2021 candidates, was calling for a pledge to refrain from travel to Israel. No other country on Earth was targeted for such punitive action.

In a section entitled, Foreign Policy, the questionnaire asked candidates “Do you pledge not to travel to Israel if elected to City Council in solidarity with Palestinians living under occupation?”. In applying a double standard to Israel, to the exception of all other nations, the New York City chapter of the DSA engaged in a clear example of anti-Semitism, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Authority (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism.

In a public statement, Michael S. Miller, Executive Vice President and CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY), a coalition member of the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement, said “That the NYC DSA would require candidates to pledge, if elected, not to travel to Israel is despicable. Elected officials should not be denied an immersive opportunity to deepen their understanding of Israel. Including this demand –on the same day that a historic peace agreement was announced between Israel and the UAE– reveals a policy undeniably singed by anti-Semitism. Last week, a NYC DSA co-chair failed to support the mere existence of the State of Israel. Today, the NYC DSA demands that candidates for NYC Council boycott travel to Israel and support the BDS movement, which calls for the dissolution of the world’s only democratic and Jewish state. Utterly reprehensible.”