Texas congressional candidate Greg Casar has rescinded his Austin DSA endorsement request after discussing his views on Israel with members of the group.
Casar, who is currently an Austin City Council member, is running for the Democratic nomination in Texas’s 35th district. The progressive candidate is a member of the socialist organization and the local chapter had endorsed him in the race. However, he faced backlash last week after Jewish Insider published an article outlining his Middle East approach. The article cites a letter Casar wrote to a local rabbi, in which he voices his opposition to the BDS movement and his support for additional Iron Dome funding.
DSA’s national organization formally endorsed the BDS movement at its 2017 convention. In 2019 it established a BDS and Palestine Solidarity working group.
“My approach to foreign policy is based in adherence to values rooted in justice and democracy,” wrote Casar. “I believe in the right of Israelis to live in their own democratic state. I also believe in the right of Israelis to live in peace, free from violent attacks from nation-states or from groups like Hezbollah or Hamas, and in Congress I will support the continued federal aid for self defense of Israel. This includes the systems necessary for defense against rocket attacks that could harm civilians.”
“In considering possible solutions to all these challenges, I have communicated to you that I am not a BDS supporter,” he adds later in the letter. “I want to be clear about this position, as I hope to be an accessible representative to people of many backgrounds with many foreign policy views. I support everyone’s right to freedom of speech, and I will use my platform to promote understanding and to stop harm.”
In a statement released in Austin DSA publication Red Fault, the chapter explained the situation and their stance:
As socialists and internationalists, we recognize that Israel is an apartheid state that violates the human rights of Palestinians. We consistently stand against military aid and interventions around the globe, so we of course oppose providing military aid of any kind to Israel. We also support the overwhelming call from Palestinian civil society for BDS. DSA is a democratic organization that has affirmed this position in resolutions at three national conventions and in DSA’s political platform.
DSA endorsements involve significant volunteer work and are reserved for candidates who closely align with DSA’s platform and socialist principles. As a democratic organization, changing our endorsement would require a membership vote. Instead, after discussions with the leadership committee and other members, the Casar campaign has rescinded their request for endorsement.
The Casar development comes just two months after calls for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to be expelled from the organization. Bowman is also a DSA member, and was endorsed by the group when he ran against incumbent Eliot Engel in New York’s 16th district. Last fall Bowman voted for additional Iron Dome funding and visited Israel as part of a congressional delegation put together by the liberal Zionist group J Street.
“Despite insisting that he is sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people, [Bowman] has continued to show that he simply is not in solidarity with Palestinians, nor that he is willing to do what solidarity would actually necessitate,” read a statement put out by the BDS and Palestine Solidarity working group. “Building real solidarity and social bonds with Palestinians requires more than just recognizing and feeling bad for their plight. It requires following the lead of Palestinian civil society, and further, it also means empowering Palestinians everywhere to meaningfully change their own circumstances.”
DSA’s national organization didn’t ultimately expel Bowman, but they announced that they’re overhauling their endorsement process and will only back Bowman’s reelection campaign if “he is able to demonstrate solidarity with Palestine in alignment with expectations we have set.”
Greg Casar’s opponent for the Democratic nomination is state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, who has positioned himself as a strong supporter of Israel. “The United States, and in particular its elected leaders in Congress, must state unequivocal, full-throated support for Israel,” reads a policy paper that Rodriguez provided to Jewish Insider. “Anything less is dangerous, unethical and counter-productive to peace. Political space between the US and Israel has real ramifications by emboldening Israel’s and America’s enemies, restricting progress of the peace process, and endangering countless civilian lives.”
Earlier this month Amnesty International became the latest human rights organization to accuse Israel of apartheid against the Palestinians. “Our report reveals the true extent of Israel’s apartheid regime. Whether they live in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, or Israel itself, Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systematically deprived of their rights,” said the group’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard in a statement. “We found that Israel’s cruel policies of segregation, dispossession and exclusion across all territories under its control clearly amount to apartheid. The international community has an obligation to act.”
“Building real solidarity…… requires following the lead of Palestinian civil society…”
Now that the 2SS is no longer viable, an understanding of the framework Palestinian civil society will consider that BDS objectives have been met, will be useful in communicating with Members of Congress.