NEPA DSA
Anti-Zionist
Resolution

ADOPTED RESOLUTION 

Presented 1/14/24 at the General Meeting

Scheduled for debate 1/28/24 at the General Meeting

Adopted by online vote 2/5/24 8-0

For a NEPA DSA Membership that is Anti-Zionist in both Principle and Practice

Author: WS

This resolution is derived from Greater Baltimore DSA’s which was in turn modified from the National Member Submitted Resolution 12: “Make DSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis”

Be it resolved, NEPA DSA members – regardless of endorsement status – who are credibly shown to:

  1. have consistently and publicly opposed BDS and Palestine, even after receiving fair and ample opportunity for education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation;

    1. This does not include good-faith strategic disagreements with BDS. However, NEPA DSA affirms our commitment to BDS as a viable strategy.

  2. be currently directly affiliated with the Israeli government or any Zionist lobby group(s), or;

  3. have provided material aid to the Israeli government, organizations promoting settlement in the West bank, or to settlers in the West Bank;

will be considered in substantial disagreement with DSA’s principles and policies, and thus, sanction and expulsion procedures will be initiated as follows:

  1. The steering committee will meet to discuss the situation.

  2. The steering committee will then vote as to whether to censure or expel the member.

  3. A vote of 50%+1 is required to expel a member for a second (or higher) incident, or to censure them.

  4. A vote of 67% is required to expel a member for a first incident.


Be it further resolved, members who are censured on these grounds will receive a letter signed by the steering committee explaining the reasons for the censure. Members censured on these grounds will then be required to attend at least one educational event regarding anti-Zionism within 6 months of the censure. If the member does not attend the event within 6 months, it will be treated as if a second incident happened.

Be it further resolved, NEPA DSA acknowledges that the Zionist propaganda arm is very strong, and is committed to work with those censured to help them understand anti-Zionism from a socialist perspective;

Be it further resolved, members who are expelled on these grounds will receive a letter signed by the steering committee explaining the reasons for the expulsion. Members expelled on these grounds may be reconsidered for membership reinstatement once per year provided they write a public statement to chapter membership that 1.) demonstrates a basic understanding of Palestinian issues and Zionism and 2.) apologizes for past anti-solidaristic behaviors with a commitment to putting their new anti-Zionist principles into practice;

Be it further resolved, the NEPA DSA Steering Committee will refer those expelled from the chapter to the NPC for potential expulsion from the national organization under Article 1, Section 3 of the DSA national Constitution;

Be it further resolved, membership reinstatement of reformed Zionists will require a majority vote in favor of reinstatement by the Steering Committee;

Be it finally resolved, upon passage of this resolution, the resolution will be posted on chapter social media.