(Courtesy of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington)
By Ron Halber
In my 25 years leading the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, the Jewish community has increasingly put down roots in our region. Between 2003 and 2018, the Jewish population of the metro D.C. region grew 37%, to nearly 300,000. More than 57,000 Jews now live in D.C. — a close second only to New York as a percentage of the population.
But the sense of attachment and belonging that we have long enjoyed in D.C. is now being threatened by the Metro DC chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Their questionnaire for political candidates encourages the systematic erasure of Jewish and pro-Israel Americans from public life. It is an outrageous and revolting display of religious discrimination. Candidates should not engage with this anti-Jewish loyalty oath, and candidates who have received the DSA endorsement should disavow it.
As a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, JCRC does not endorse any candidate for any office. But we firmly believe in active civic engagement. We proudly work with policymakers across the political spectrum on many issues. Our Jewish voter guides include answers to detailed survey questions from candidates in a variety of races. We encourage everyone to be informed and make their voices heard through voting and advocacy.
The DSA’s questionnaire is unlike anything I have seen in my career. Among other outrageous demands, it expects candidates to “refrain from any and all affiliation” with organizations that support Zionism, or the right of Jewish self-determination. It also directs candidates to oppose the definition of antisemitism that has been adopted by 35 U.S. states, 91 U.S. cities, and more than 1,200 entities around the world — including the U.S. and D.C. governments.
The consequences of adhering to such a pledge are profoundly disturbing. Nearly 90% of American Jews and nearly all synagogues believe in a Jewish, democratic state of Israel. Under these terms, candidates who so much as step foot in a synagogue, speak to a group of Hebrew school students, or attend a gathering at a Jewish community center risk crossing a political red line grounded in ostracism and demonization.
The message this sends to Jews is unmistakable: you’re no longer welcome. We are seeing the consequences play out in other places. The DSA-backed mayor of New York City revoked recognition of the aforementioned definition of antisemitism on his first day in office. Another DSA policymaker in New York City, who simply criticized Hamas for perpetrating the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, has incurred the wrath of the party faithful. How can anyone believe that mass murder of civilians and sexual assault against women and girls isn’t worthy of condemnation?
As the DSA gains a stronger local foothold — candidates seeking the DSA endorsement are running for congressional, mayoral, state legislature, and city and county council races across the Washington metropolitan region — we worry about similar exclusion and animosity.
We are living through a time of unprecedented hostility toward Jews in America. Despite being a mere 2% of the U.S. population, more than two-thirds of religious-based hate crimes are committed against Jews. Our region has been hit hard. Maryland and Virginia each rank in the top 10 among states in total antisemitic instances. Between 2022 and 2024, D.C. led the nation with more than 23 antisemitic instances per 100,000 residents; the next highest state on the list, New York, had seven. The murder of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. just last year illustrated the threats we face daily.
All political candidates should be denouncing such hatred and violence and pledging additional funding and resources to help protect our homes, schools and institutions. Instead, the DSA’s Metro DC chapter is codifying antisemitism into its platform. Any political candidate abiding by these guidelines is agreeing to shun Jewish people and institutions in the communities they would represent. It is the opposite of democratic, a blight on our social contract and dangerously un-American.
Every community has the right and deserves the opportunity to participate fully in a democracy; exclusions based on religion, race, ethnicity, or any other criteria have no place in our country. As proud Jews, we refuse to be silenced or treated like pariahs by any group that deems us expendable. We will confront such threats publicly, relentlessly and without apology.
Because no matter what the DSA thinks, this is our home, too.
Ron Halber is the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
