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The Democratic Party Must Bar The DSA

The DSA’s strategy works because it concentrates on safe Democratic districts, where the primary is often the real election. That lets a small, highly organized ideological movement replace mainstream Democratic incumbents without ever having to persuade the broader general-election electorate. That is why Democratic leaders cannot treat this as ordinary intraparty debate. A party has every right to argue about policy. But it also has the right to protect its own identity, its coalition, and the candidates who have spent their lives building it.
The DSA’s strategy works because it concentrates on safe Democratic districts, where the primary is often the real election. That lets a small, highly organized ideological movement replace mainstream Democratic incumbents without ever having to persuade the broader general-election electorate. That is why Democratic leaders cannot treat this as ordinary intraparty debate. A party has every right to argue about policy. But it also has the right to protect its own identity, its coalition, and the candidates who have spent their lives building it.

I am a traditional progressive liberal Democrat.

I am not using “progressive” in the hijacked sense promoted by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), where it too often becomes a requirement that one be anti-Israel.

I am a Proud Zionist.

There was once no conflict between being progressive and supporting Israel.

If you examine Israeli society and its government structure, you will find the values that traditional Democrats, and the DSA itself, say they want for America: universal healthcare, strong labor traditions, subsidized higher education, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, religious freedom, minority representation, a multiparty democracy, and an independent judiciary.

Israel provides free, compulsory public school beginning at age three. “Daycare” Solved.

But it is deeply ironic that the DSA projects a vision of progressive society onto America while treating Israel as a villain.

I have been active, including in leadership roles, in the Democratic Party for forty years. The goals the DSA presents as new ideas, such as universal healthcare, labor rights, public education, civil rights, environmental responsibility, and a fairer distribution of wealth, have been part of the Democratic Party’s agenda for decades. But the DSA goes further. Many of its members openly identify as communists, and that ideology does not belong in the Democratic Party.

Its most distinctive and aggressive political thrust increasingly appears to be anti-Israel and antisemitism.

It takes values that Democrats have championed for generations and then adds an obsession that treats Israel, not Hamas, not Iran, and not Islamic Jihad, as the central moral problem in the world.

The Democratic Party needs to separate itself from the DSA.

The DSA may say it is not technically a political party. But it acts like one. It has chapters, conventions, internal votes, resolutions, political platforms, endorsements, fundraising, candidate recruitment, and an electoral strategy. It is dangerous because it seeks to replace Democratic leadership with its own.

Its goal as publicly stated, is to take over the Democratic Party.

The DSA strategy is sophisticated: to primary pro-Israel incumbents with Millennials and emphasize that it is time for a “New Generation.” They campaign against AIPAC and Israel, accuse incumbents of corruption or moral compromise where none exists, and repackage longstanding Democratic goals on healthcare, housing, labor, education, and economic fairness as though the Democratic Party has never fought for them.

DSA leadership has said in interviews and from convention podiums that its goal is to take over the Democratic Party. This is not a policy disagreement. It is their stated intention.

The Democratic Party does not have to sit quietly and accept it. It should declare that the DSA is functioning as a separate political party, and that membership in the DSA is incompatible with membership in the Democratic Party.

The DSA should not be engaged in attacking Democrats and expect to be welcomed.

This is urgent! The Democrats need to act NOW!

The DSA has passed harsh resolutions condemning Israel and Zionism. It treats support for Israel as evidence that Democratic incumbents are compromised or morally disqualified. It attacks AIPAC as a central villain in American political life and increasingly frames Jewish self-determination as racism.  It has fostered antisemitism in our culture.

The DSA even brought its agenda to the Democratic National Committee meeting in New Orleans this April. I was there in the Resolutions Committee room and watched its loud supporters try to push through twelve harsh anti-Israel resolutions. In a committee of nearly fifty members, each of those resolutions received only three votes. That was a clear sign that the DSA is out of step with the Democratic Party.

More troubling, the DSA’s public culture teaches that Israel is the central enemy while Hamas is discussed as “justified resistance,” including October 7.

DSA chapters are organizing, promoting, and participating in anti-Israel demonstrations, including on college campuses across the country.

There is no comparable sustained outrage from the DSA over the Islamic regime in Iran and its slaughter of 30,000+ peaceful protesters.

Nor is there comparable outrage over Hamas’s rule of Gaza, Hezbollah’s rocket war against Israel, or the Houthis’ attacks on international shipping. Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are recognized by the United States as terrorist organizations, yet many DSA activists and candidates appear at demonstrations wearing keffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags while repeating a message that erases the role of those groups and places all blame on Israel.

That is totally incompatible with longstanding American policy toward one of our strongest democratic allies.

Over the past decade, more than 150,000 people have been killed in Africa in violence linked to militant Islamist groups. Many of them Christians in Islamist attacks across parts of sub-Saharan Africa. These are enormous human-rights crises, yet the DSA says nothing.

The DSA does not have a well-balanced worldview.

This makes me concerned that financial backing from Qatar and Iran, the same money that has funded anti-Israel Middle Eastern studies departments in some of our finest universities, may also be funding the DSA. If foreign money is being used directly or indirectly to influence Democratic primaries or American elections, that would be illegal and must be investigated.

The Democrats should reclaim their progressive history and take on the DSA. This will only gain respect from and support from the American people.

A candidate who wants to run as a Democrat should:

Believe in the Democratic coalition, not despise it.

Support pluralism, not demand ideological purity.

Be able to support Palestinians without denying Israel’s legitimacy.

Not be required to treat Jewish self-determination as racism.

I am not leaving the Democratic Party!

Israel needs bipartisan support!

America needs Israel as an ally!

I am staying to fight for it.

The Democratic Party can be traditional progressive, liberal, compassionate, economically fair, and proudly pro-Israel.

In fact, it must be.

But only if Democrats are willing to draw a line.

The DSA is not the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party must recognize the DSA as a separate political party and make clear that they have no place using Democratic primaries to take over the Democratic Party.

The DSA’s strategy works because it concentrates on safe Democratic districts, where the primary is often the real election. That lets a small, highly organized ideological movement replace mainstream Democratic incumbents without ever having to persuade the broader general-election electorate.
That is why Democratic leaders cannot treat this as ordinary intraparty debate.
A party has every right to argue about policy. But it also has the right to protect its own identity, its coalition, and the candidates who have spent their lives building it.
About the Author
Mitch Mallett is a pro-Israel Democrat, writer, media commentator, and community organizer. He is the founder and administrator of the Facebook group “We Are Progressive, Liberal, Woke and Pro Israel,” a growing community dedicated to supporting Israel from a liberal and progressive perspective. Mitch has been writing articles for The JCA International Jewish News, focusing on Israel, antisemitism, Middle East politics, Democratic Party dynamics, and the importance of maintaining strong bipartisan support for Israel. His writing reflects a lifelong commitment to progressive democratic values, Jewish identity, and the defense of Israel’s legitimacy in public discourse. Before turning to published commentary, Mitch spent seven years as a morning drive-time radio talk show host in the Tampa market, where he discussed politics, public affairs, and current events with a broad audience. His background also includes years of involvement in Democratic Party leadership, Jewish advocacy, and grassroots organizing. Mitch has traveled to Israel multiple times over several decades, experiences that continue to shape his understanding of Israeli society, Jewish history, regional conflict, and the possibilities for peace. He writes as someone who believes that support for Israel, concern for Palestinian human rights, opposition to antisemitism, and progressive values are not contradictory, but deeply connected. His work is grounded in the conviction that pro-Israel voices on the left must remain engaged, informed, and active in shaping the public conversation.
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