Zohran Mamdani’s party threatens to expel members if they back Israel

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) party, of which Zohran Mamdani is a prominent member, has doubled down on its extremism — supporting armed struggle against Israel and threatening to expel members who do not comply with its hard-line dictates against the Jewish state, The Post has learned.

The DSA adopted the new resolutions “For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA,” at its biannual national conference in Chicago last month, according to documents viewed by The Post.

As a member of the party, mayoral candidate Mamdani could face pressure from its leadership body to adhere to its stance — which could dramatically affect his campaign.

Members, including lawmakers backed by the party, now face expulsion if they oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel or work with lobbyists affiliated with pro-Israel groups, such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), among others, the documents say.

Members can even be expelled if they support Israel’s right to defend itself, according to the DSA literature.

The resolution “unequivocally affirms” the principals set forth by the Palestinian National Council in 1977 — known as “al-Thawabit” — that emphasizes escalating armed struggle and “resistance by any means necessary,” according to the documents.

“This resolution draws a clear internal red line and signals intensifying ideological rigidity, intolerance, and radicalism around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the DSA,” said a recent report from the Network Contagion Research Institute, a nonprofit that tracks extremism.

“These developments warrant close monitoring, both for their implications on NYC’s electoral landscape and their potential role in mainstreaming antisemitic or extremist ideological frameworks within US political discourse.”

Mamdani has recently made moves away from some DSA policies, saying last week: “My platform is not the same as national DSA” at a press event.

Among the sponsors of the resolution is Francesca Maria Maviglia, co-chair of the Connecticut Democratic Socialists of America and part of the group’s 25-member National Political Committee, its highest elected body, according to the documents.

Originally from Bologna, Italy, Maviglia has a long history of supporting anti-Israel causes and was co-founder of the Connecticut Palestine Solidarity Coalition.

In 2018, she was a member of the Yale chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. During the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, Maviglia posted on X, “europe will fall too,” in response to a post condemning the attacks. She is currently listed as a Postgraduate Research Associate at the Yale School of Medicine.

Maviglia did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.

Another backer of the anti-Israel resolution is New York-based DSA National Political Committee member Ahmed Husain, who describes himself on a DSA-affiliated website as an “immigrant [who] began organizing during the Arab Spring,” uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East which happened in 2011.

In June, Husain spoke at a reception in New York welcoming a Chinese organization from Guizhou Province and calling on the DSA to forge closer relationships with Communist China.

In a June article he wrote for Partisan magazine, Husain criticized Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman as “enablers of Israel’s genocide.” He also criticized New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for refusing to back Palestinian activists in her district.

“Six years and two re-elections later, AOC finds herself out of step with the socialists who catapulted her to fame,” said Husain. “She has been hounded by pro-Palestine activists through her district for her initial reluctance to call Israel’s campaign of mass murder in Gaza, with over 50,000 dead in 8 months, what it is: a genocide.”

Attempts to reach Husain were unsuccessful and his social media accounts appear to have been deactivated.

The DSA annual convention, which is held every two years, took place August 8 to 10 with a keynote address by Rashida Tlaib, an anti-Israel “Squad” Rep. who was raising money for Mamdani’s super PAC at the conference.

Mamdani’s campaign did not reply to a request for comment Thursday.