The NYC Democratic Socialists of America are calling on political candidates not to travel to Israel, prompting a flood of outrage and criticism.
The request appears in a candidate questionnaire the NYC-DSA sent to 2021 City Council candidates.
“Do you pledge not to travel to Israel if elected to City Council in solidarity with Palestinians living under occupation?” the questionnaire states, going on to acknowledge that the Council has absolutely no say over foreign policy matters.
The premise of the question, which was first reported by NY1, quickly drew the ire of city elected officials, candidates running for office and political observers.
“So let me get this straight. Per this questionnaire it would be ok for me to travel to Iran, the country of my birth, which hangs men for being gay and may stone women for adultery, but not to Israel,” tweeted Manhattan DA candidate Tali Farhadian Weinstein.
“This questionnaire tells Jewish people seeking public office not to travel to their spiritual and cultural homeland,” she added. “Only Jews, nobody else.”
Farhadian Weinstein went on to urge her opponents in the Manhattan DA’s race to join her in denouncing the question’s intent.
“The DSA questions singling out Israel — and seeking to discourage travel experiences that deepen understanding of a complex situation — are simply wrong,” tweeted Alvin Bragg, who’s also running for DA.
City Councilman Mark Levine also slammed it, likening it to a litmus test to gain DSA support.
“Want to visit any of dozens of oppressive regimes around the world? No problem,” he tweeted. “Want to travel to the world’s only majority Jewish county? You won’t get the DSA’s endorsement. Outrageous.”
The increasingly popular, yet controversial DSA has had a string of political victories of late. It helped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get elected, and more recently backed Marcela Mitaynes in her victorious run against longtime incumbent Assemblyman Felix Ortiz and Phara Souffrant Forrest in her win over Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley.
Sumathy Kumar, co-chair of NYC-DSA, posted a statement on social media, but did not directly address criticisms that its question singles out Israel over other countries.
“Palestinians have lived under military occupation and siege, been displaced from their homes and denied freedom of movement for decades,” Kumar said. “Given that there has been an explicit call from Palestinians to not go on such government junkets and to put pressure on Israel to end the occupation and discrimination through boycott, divestment and sanctions, we asked prospective candidates whether they would respect that call.”
The group added that it is “‘no way opposed” to personal trips to Israel.
