Overview
- Megan Romer, a national co‑chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, told The New Yorker she thought the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks were "largely inevitable" and that she "probably would have" attended a pro‑Palestine rally the day after the massacre.
- In the same interview Romer described Gaza as an "open‑air concentration camp," said the DSA draws a "solid red line" against any defense or economic support for Israel, and framed the group’s goal as "a free Palestine with the capital in Jerusalem," a phrase she acknowledged can be read as a one‑state position.
- Major pro‑Israel organizations including the Anti‑Defamation League and the Zionist Organization of America publicly condemned Romer’s remarks, saying they risked minimizing the killings and endangering Jewish communities.
- Conservative commentators and outlets seized on the interview to pressure Democrats to distance themselves from the DSA, a dynamic that could shape messaging in near‑term primaries and general‑election debates.
- The remarks landed against the backdrop of the Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds of hostages, and they come as the DSA has expanded its membership and scored multiple recent primary wins, increasing scrutiny of its leaders’ statements.