Where this was said
Israel, Antisemitism, and Where the DSA Draws the Line
At 24:30 · chapter starts 23:03
This is the episode's most charged chapter. Noel King presents three specific data points that critics cite as evidence of antisemitism within the DSA: the October 7th statement calling Hamas's attack 'not unprovoked'; Mamdani's use of the word 'monsters' to describe AIPAC (attributed to philosopher Gramsci); and Colorado candidate Mayla Quiros declining to call a firebombing attack on a Jewish gathering antisemitic because she couldn't know 'what's in the perpetrator's heart' [1] — Megan Rohmer "The DSA does not equivocate: they call Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide and describe Gaza as an 'open-air concentration camp.' Megan Roh…" 23:03 . King frames two distinct critiques — outright antisemitism versus fostering a culture where such language becomes normalized — and asks Rohmer to respond to American Jews who find DSA rhetoric troubling. Rohmer's answer is unflinching [1] — Megan Rohmer "The DSA does not equivocate: they call Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide and describe Gaza as an 'open-air concentration camp.' Megan Roh…" 23:03 : the DSA believes Israel is perpetrating a genocide, and that the fury driving imperfect or sharp language is proportionate to what they see as the scale of the atrocity. She explicitly declines to defend Israel 'on any grounds,' calling it 'a genocidal apartheid state.'
The DSA does not equivocate: they call Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide and describe Gaza as an 'open-air concentration camp.' Megan Rohmer says the fury is justified by the facts, but concedes that people's words don't always carry the nuance they should.
After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, the DSA released a statement expressing solidarity with Palestine that condemned civilian killings but added the attack 'was not unprovoked.'
The DSA conditioned its endorsement of AOC on a pledge to vote no on all Israeli military funding. AOC had previously voted 'present' on the Iron Dome. She ultimately came around. DSA co-chair Megan Rohmer: 'The pressure worked.'
