Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) co-chair Megan Romer said in an interview last Friday with The New Yorker editor David Remnick that she “probably would have” attended the October 8, 2023, pro-Palestine rally in New York City and said the events of October 7 had been “largely inevitable.”
During the interview, the discussion turned toward the October 7 massacre and the subsequent demonstrations showing solidarity with the Hamas-led attack in New York.
Remnick asked Romer whether she would have participated in the protest held in Times Square, noting that it took place just one day after the attacks, and asked her directly: “One day after the slaughter of 1,200 people and the taking of over 200 hostages, you would have come and rallied behind Hamas?” Romer responded by saying that she “probably would have” attended the demonstration.
Romer defended her perspective by adding, “I think that October 7 was largely inevitable. If you put people in an open-air concentration camp and you deprive them of rights, of dignity, of food, of the ability to live in safety, you have to expect that they are going to not take that for that long. And that is not defending any harm of civilians or of non-combatants.”
When Remnick pushed back by noting, “Well, sure it is, you said you’re supporting it,” Romer replied, “I’m saying that I think it was inevitable. I think that you cannot put people in a cage and expect them not to revolt.”
In another portion of the interview, the conversation shifted to the status of human rights and regional dynamics. Addressing the status of LGBTQ+ rights in the region, Romer said she “would not call Hamas queer-friendly,” but also added that she “would not say that you can get a lot of social rights when you’re under siege.”
When questioned about historical diplomatic efforts, specifically regarding the 2000 Camp David proposal that sought to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel, Romer stated she did not know the specifics of the proposal.
Romer: US defense, economic support for Israel a ‘solid red line’ for DSA
Expanding on the broader platform and policies of the DSA, Romer also addressed the organization’s geopolitical stance. She said that any US defense or economic support for Israel represents a “solid red line” for the DSA.
Furthermore, she noted that the group supports “a free Palestine with the capital in Jerusalem,” acknowledging that the stance could “be safely read as a one-state solution.”
The interview drew scrutiny and criticism from the Anti-Defamation League, which published a detailed response addressing Romer’s remarks on X/Twitter.
Opening its statement, the ADL said that it was a “jaw-dropping interview” that “should concern every American because this kind of hateful and demonizing rhetoric against the only Jewish state in the world goes well beyond criticism of a government or its policies, and it puts every Jewish American at risk. We’ve seen this far too often.”
The organization emphasized that Romer’s refusal to denounce Hamas meant shielding a US-designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, whose charter explicitly calls for the destruction of Israel, noting that she had previously urged followers to “read on,” to learn “why we do not, in fact, condemn Hamas.”
Continuing its breakdown of the interview, the ADL added, “She also called the Hamas-led October 7 massacre a mere ‘revolt’ and ‘largely inevitable.’ There is no justification for rape, kidnapping, torture, and slaughter.”
Addressing Romer’s remarks on LGBT rights and regional policy, the ADL pushed back against her attempt to contextualize the terror group’s record, stating: “Let’s be very clear: Hamas does not persecute LGBTQ+ people because of a conflict. It does so because persecution of LGBTQ+ people is a core part of its ideology, whether it fits the DSA and Romer’s narrative or not.”
ADL: Romer ‘does not know the basic diplomatic history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’
Regarding Romer’s stance on a one-state solution, the ADL criticized her unfamiliarity with historical efforts, writing: “The co-chair of an organization constantly calling for a ‘free Palestine’ and who claims Palestinian people are ‘in a cage,’ does not know the basic diplomatic history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and yet, she thinks she’s a legitimate commentator.”
The organization also argued that the DSA’s vision for a single-state outcome leaves no room for Jews’ self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, concluded the response by writing on X, “When people and groups tell you who they are, believe them.”
The ADL noted that the DSA, which has over 120,000 members and more than 250 elected officials across the United States, is no longer on the fringes of society and possesses the ability to influence mainstream political discourse and policy.
