At our January chapter meeting, DSA SF is proud to have passed, with overwhelming support, a resolution that reinforces DSA SF as an Anti-Zionist organization in principle and in practice.

Since the start of the most recent genocidal assault by Israel on Gaza, DSA SF mobilized to call for a ceasefire, from the streets, to union halls, to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. As these mobilizations continued, it became clear that DSA SF had to address the history of DSA with regards to Zionism if we wanted to continue being an effective ally in this struggle.

Following the lead of other chapters, including Houston DSA and Inland Empire DSA, we drafted a resolution to fully commit the chapter to Anti-Zionism and place ourselves on the side of the Palestinian liberation struggle. This resolution commits DSA SF to Anti-Zionism as a part of our socialist understanding of anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, and anti-racism. 

The adopted resolution explicitly defines Anti-Zionist expectations for our membership and endorsed candidates. We also define the Palestinian cause as an anti-colonial cause, relating it to the landback movement.

As a result of this resolution, Zionism and any Zionist disposition, such as opposition to BDS and the Palestinian right of return, are considered to be in substantial disagreement with DSA SF’s principles and policies. Similarly, endorsed candidates must support BDS, have no affiliations with any Zionist lobby groups (Democrats for Israel, AIPAC, etc), and pledge to politically support the Palestinian cause from their elected positions. 

Before introduction, we worked with chapter leadership and across various groups within the chapter to build consensus and to incorporate feedback they provided with respect to the specific work of the chapter. All in all, our diverse chapter membership was fully behind this resolution. At our chapter meeting, members engaged in a thoughtful discussion and adopted amendments to further clarify and strengthen the resolved commitment to Anti-Zionism.

This resolution will push DSA SF forward and make us a formidable ally in the fight for Palestinian liberation. It will also enable us to work more closely with Palestinian coalition partners, connecting the Palestinian cause with the variety of socialist causes DSA SF focuses on.

We call on all other DSA chapters to pass similar resolutions, and join us in making Palestine central in the ongoing struggle against global capitalism, settler colonialism, and US imperialism.