Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) is revoking his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) over its promotion of what he said was an antisemitic rally in New York City.
“Today, I am officially renouncing my membership in the Democratic Socialists of America. After the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel, which included the indiscriminate murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent men, women, and children, I can no longer associate with an organization unwilling to call out terrorism in all its forms,” he wrote in a statement Wednesday.
Thanedar, formerly one of the six members of the DSA in Congress, said that a rally in Times Square on Sunday pushed him to make the decision.
The rally, held just one day after Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel, was also denounced by other lawmakers and officials.
“Sunday’s hate-filled and antisemitic rally in New York City, promoted by the NYC-DSA, makes it impossible for me to continue my affiliation. I stand with Israel and its right to defend itself. There is no place for moral equivocation in the face of unadulterated evil as we have seen from Hamas,” Thanedar added.
A former CEO with a history of fraud investigations and votes with Matt Gaetz…
He’s not progressive, he just pulled a Sinema to get elected.
And this is just a PR grab, he’d already been talking about starting a far right Hindu caucus in the US a few weeks ago. It just didn’t get any press, so now he’s trying to make it sound like this is why he’s doing it.
She denounced the problematic people that showed up with nazi flags…
That makes sense, and I don’t know anyone that would disagree with that.
This chucklefuck seems to think a handful of bigots means the DSA supports nazis. Which is fucking stupid for a lot of reasons that shouldn’t need explaining.
No idea why you are getting down voted for asking a question especially as it brings up something important around the DSA and it’s highest profile members. I will look for the article but saw that the national DSA org came out saying the event was not planned (or supported? trying to remember how strong the language was) by the national org but rather the NY chapter. It will be interesting to see the fallout and whether that changes the power balance within org leadership
It will be an interesting litmus test for the DSA. If they want to achieve national relevance, they’ll need to pretty much agree with AOC and investigate what happened with the NY chapter.
All they need to say is that they condemn the Hamas attack just like they condemn Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Palestine, and they plan to investigate their NY chapter to understand what happened.
He was already expelled from his local DSA chapter.
To be clear, it appears that he was expelled for supporting Narendra Modi, not for anything to do with Israel or Palestine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shri_Thanedar#U.S._House_of_Representatives
The narrative of “the far left is antisemitic” is getting pushed real hard for some reason.
They’re not necessarily antisemitic, though I think the far right sees an opportunity there and is actively infiltrating. Horseshoe theory.
But they are definitely anti-Israel (which is fine) and pro-“anyone who fights against Israel” (which is not at all fine).
Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is just another enemy, and the far left doesn’t understand that about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel and the IDF are both terrible.
Rallying against Israel - cool
Rallying against Jews - not cool (though I don’t think this is happening to any serious degree on the far left)
Rallying for Palestinians - cool
Rallying for Hamas - not cool
Was the rally in NYC pro Palestine or pro Hamas? I’ve been seeing people catch shit for supporting Palestinians as though they were supporting Hamas.
Because everything has to be black and white in serive of nobody needing to think, you can’t be anti-Bebe without being antisemitic and you can’t be pro-Palestinian without being a terrorist. Just like saying, “cops shouldn’t kill so many black people” is “pro-crime” and “immigration is too complex and time consuming” means to support open borders.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
At one point, they were chanting ‘700’, in reference to the number of dead Israelis at the moment.
When a not-small chunk of far left activists are saying “I see no real problem with the indiscriminate murder, rape, and kidnapping of Jews, so long as it’s done in the name of decolonization”, is it that surprising?
I really don’t think it’s a particularly large ask to be able to denounce Israel’s actions against Palestinians, and be able to say that this does not justify murdering 200 civilians at a music festival.
“I see no real problem with the indiscriminate murder, rape, and kidnapping of Jews, so long as it’s done in the name of decolonization”
Who is saying that?
Tons of people equate (falsely) the statement “this was an inevitability given the way Palestinians are treated” with “Hamas should wipe out the Jews”.
And the talking heads right up through the State Department love that.
The idea that “An oppressed people have the right to resist by any means they deem necessary” has been quite popular amongst certain leftist schools of thought and has been shared by more than a few people I personally known.
I take it you’ve probably seen slogans to the effect of “Decolonization isn’t pretty”. The implication is pretty obvious.
I’ve seen more articles about it than I’ve seen anyone with any cachet on the left ever say any shit like that. The articles are always either bullshit (like out-of-context quotes or conflating Hamas with Palestinian refugees) or quote some rando on Twitter or from a campus organization no one has ever heard of before now.
That fucking rally in NYC they’re associating with DSA had nothing to do with DSA. Apparently, the local chapter mentioned it on Twitter before the Hamas attacks? DSA didn’t organize it, participate in it, or endorse it. But for some reason, AOC has to denounce it?
Same here. While I’m sure there are some extremists who might think that, they’re a tiny minority and nobody of any importance has said anything remotely close.
Bibi has done more to support Hamas than anyone on the left ever could, but why aren’t you calling that war criminal out?
Bold of you to think I like him, when I’d say he’s probably one of the single individuals that’s done the most to contribute to the environment that caused this.
Still doesn’t excuse what happened last weekend. Nothing can. There is a difference between acknowledging how some of Israel’s actions have brewed a large amount of legitimate anger and resentment and thinking that that anger and resentment can ever justify indiscriminate murder of civilians.
And before you ask, yes, I think cutting off water, power, and aid is an excessive response.
That’s not what they’re saying. You’re massaging the message to fit your personal political narrative. Leftists aren’t celebrating dead Israelis. Leftists are calling for the complete decolonization of Palestine by the Israeli occupiers. This just happens to be a good time to have your message heard.
And some of those leftists are saying that any actions taken in pursuit of that decolonization are justifiable.
At the Times Square rally on Sunday, some of the demonstrators were chanting “700”, which was the official death toll of Israelis at the time. I don’t think it’s a crazy stretch to say that this is literally celebrating dead Israelis. At a rally in Sydney, some were chanting “Gas the Jews”.
What I am not saying is that all leftists are anti-semites or that all are blissfully cheering for the murder of all Israelis. What I’m saying is that this is a perspective that is present among some people on the furthest ends of the left, and it’s a problem that we cannot be blind towards. And before you say it, yes, there is also a lot of Islamophobia on the other side; some at the pro-Israel rally in NYC were chanting something to the effect of flatten Gaza, which is obviously horrific and disgusting as well.
Some links:
Harvard student orgs claiming that Israel is entirely to blame for all violence, with the obvious implication that Hamas militants can thus not be blamed for rape and murder.
Streamer Hasan responding to civilian violence with “there’s no perfect retaliation to apartheid”.
Palestinian influencer with nearly a million followers saying “No more condemning Palestinian resistance. Radical change requires radical moves” to 71,000 likes. I don’t think murdering infants is an act of radical resistance, personally. This guy also said “Let them call it terrorism. We call it liberation”.
Leftist podcast Upstream stating “palestinians are reminding us that decolonization is not abstract. it is material. it is violent. it is not popular, it will be resisted and debated by the entire structures of the monstrous colonial world. and it is the only way forward, and it is the only path of life,” to 45,000 likes.
YouTuber Second Thought stating that there is no such thing as an Israeli civilian and that all Israelis are valid military and hostage targets.
Former Greek finance minister saying “The criminals are here not Hamas. Not even the Israeli settlers who are killing Palestinians. The criminals are Europeans.” Firstly, if you murder a baby, you are a criminal. Secondly, most Israelis are not of Ashkenazi descent.
I could go on. Again, my point is not to say that the entire left is like this; responses by actual left-leaning politicians that will always speak towards popularly accepted views show that well enough. But it also cannot be denied that there is a segment of the left that will tolerate, and yes, even celebrate violence so long as it fits their political aim. This should not be tolerated, both because it is deeply immoral, and also because it is political poison.
Edit: Just as I find more
Posters for missing Israelis being torn down in the UK.
Literally seen that exact sentiment a lot on Lemmy. “Anything Hamas does is completely excusable because they are fighting against colonizers. Including rape and murder of children.”
That’s not what they’re saying.
The centrists have their narrative. They won’t deviate from it. They’ve been aching for years to have common ground with the Republicans they all want to be.
Yeah, I’m calling bullshit that he ever actually supported the group. It was a gambit to make Leftists seem foolish. Shri Thanedar is a moderate and therefore a conservative. Dude’s wikipedia page has details that sound fake af too
In 1990, Thanedar took a job working nights and weekends for $15/hour at Chemir/Polytech Laboratories to learn the business. He took out a loan to buy Chemir in 1991 for $75,000.
Somehow, a guy working $15/hr in 1990 had enough financial caché at the bank to get a 75k loan…to buy an entire pharmaceutical company? Also, since when does Wikipedia post such mundane details about someone’s life? They typically don’t. Seems like he had some PR men who don’t understand the internet edit his wikipedia page for him.
Taking an after hours $15/hour job to learn the business means he was checking the place out without committing to leave his day job. Some companies won’t allow interns to work for free either. They had $150,000 in sales the first year which means it was probably a startup. I won’t comment on the rest of your point but a guy that had a PHD by 1984 buying a business in 1991 doesn’t seem weird to me.
Someone is angling for AIPAC funds, it seems.
