The Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has become the latest local faction to be exposed as having a litmus test for endorsements requiring candidates to be anti-Zionist, prompting the rebuke of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
In its “Endorsement Questionnaire” for the 2027 Chicago city election cycle, Chicago DSA asks candidates seeking backing to “reflect” on questions and provide long-form answers” explaining their “insight into your record on and your approach to these key issues.” Included in the “DSA Values” section are two questions of concern to Jewish citizens:
“Would you consider yourself an anti-Zionist?”
“Do you support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, and its potential application on the municipal level?”
On Monday, ADL Senior Regional Director Rebecca Weininger called the questions irrelevant to a Chicago candidate’s qualifications – and warned of the dangers they pose:
“The first two long-form questions the Chicago DSA asks city council candidates seeking its endorsement are whether they are anti-Zionist and whether they support municipal-level BDS.
“This fixation on Israel is not only far removed from the responsibilities and priorities of an alderman, but also risks fueling anti-Jewish sentiment, harassment, and, ultimately, violence against Chicago’s Jewish community.”
“[T]those questions are used to ensure that that person meets the litmus test of being against the right of Jews to self-determination in the land of Israel. That doesn't help anybody's lives in the Chicago area get better and in fact contributes to rising antisemitism,” Weininger told The Center Square:
“So we know that within the ranks of the DSA nationally and what has been adopted by the Chicago DSA is that you are excluded if you are a Jew, right? That there is no place either in the DSA or as a candidate endorsed by the DSA if you are Jewish and you believe in Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.”
Chicago’s Jewish United Fund Executive Vice President Jay Tcath told the news outlet that the questions demonize Jewish desire for national sovereignty and independence. Instead, Chicago officials should focus their efforts on addressing important local needs, Tcath said.
Chicago DSA’s platform spells out its anti-Israel stance on its website under the label of “Connect our local struggles to global justice”:
“Chicago DSA stands in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against apartheid, colonialism, and military occupation, and for equality, human rights, and self-determination, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. CDSA opposes all Chicago Police Department training and exchange programs with Israeli Occupation Forces.”
Chicago isn’t the only DSA chapter to require candidates to affirm anti-Israel sentiment in its endorsement questionnaire.
In February, the Metro-DC Democratic Socialists of America’s (MDCDSA) endorsement questionnaire was condemned as “anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist” by Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington CEO Ron Halber:
“No organization can deny they’re antisemitic if they say that anybody who believes in Zionism should be boycotted, because if Zionism is the belief of the Jewish community to have an independent state, then that’s 90% of American Jewry. That’s every synagogue, every Jewish organization.”
The questionnaire requires endorsement-seekers to agree to what is essentially an “anti-Jewish loyalty oath,” Halber warned at the time in an interview with Washington Jewish Week.
Likewise, in Minnesota, the Twin Cities DSA questionnaire weeds out Jewish candidates seeking endorsement. A section titled “Palestine Solidarity (TCDSA 2024-2025 Chapter Priority)” includes the following anti-Israel questions:
21. Have you publicly called for an immediate ceasefire and arms embargo in response to the genocidal actions taken by the state of Israel? Y/N
22. Do you support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) for companies complicit in the genocide in Palestine? Y/N
23. Do you oppose efforts that penalize individuals, universities and entities that boycott Israel, and the use of force against protesters? (Y/N)
24. Do you oppose any official adoption of a redefinition of antisemitism to include opposition to Israelʼs existence as an ethno-religious state, its policies or legal system, or support for BDS (e.g., support for IHRA definition of antisemitism)? Y/N
25. Do you oppose the criminalization or police repression of people protesting in support of Palestine? Y/N
26. Do you pledge to refrain from any and all affiliation with the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups, such as, but not limited to, AIPAC, CUFI (Christians United for Israel), J Street, or Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) or JCRC? Y/N
