{"id":6026,"date":"2022-04-03T00:13:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-03T04:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tempestmag.org\/v01_2020\/staging\/?p=6026"},"modified":"2022-11-06T11:05:53","modified_gmt":"2022-11-06T16:05:53","slug":"to-rule-an-empty-palace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2022\/04\/to-rule-an-empty-palace\/","title":{"rendered":"To rule an empty palace"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>n a previous piece<\/a>, I tried to synthesize what has happened since the announcement that the BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group (BDSWG) was dechartered on March 18, 2022. Since publishing, members of the majority bloc on the National Political Committee (NPC) have posted long<\/a> justifications<\/a> for their decision to discipline the Working Group. Facing enormous pressure from DSA\u2019s membership and the Palestinian solidarity movement<\/a>, the NPC announced that they were rescinding their motion to decharter the BDSWG<\/a> on March 24. The NPC vote to reinstate the BDSWG leadership was deadlocked (7-7-1), and so the discipline stands.<\/p>\n

\"Four<\/p>\n

The Dispute in Question<\/h4>\n

The NPC majority (Sabrina C, Kristian H, Justin C, Jose L, Ashik S, Gustavo G, Matt M[resigned], Gilman B, and Sydney G) and their supporters initially presented their vote to decharter the BDSWG and discipline its leadership as an apolitical defense of organizational decision-making. The case they made was that the BDSWG was a group of liars and bullies who were being unreasonable and undermining the NPC, and the NPC\u2019s decision, by merit of holding office, is<\/em> the democratic will<\/em> of DSA.<\/p>\n

The inciting events, they claimed, were that 1) a BDSWG tweet thread regarding the NPC\u2019s closed-door meeting with New York Representative Jamaal Bowman in February contained \u201cmisinformation\u201d about Bowman\u2019s position and the \u201coff-the-record meeting,\u201d and 2) that the NPC demanded the Working Group\u2019s social media keys and did not receive them. This was indicative of a \u201cpattern of abuse\u201d<\/a> and \u201crepeatedly demonstrated poor judgment and disregard for the wellbeing of the organization.\u201d This constituted cause for dechartering the working group and disciplining its leaders. The centrist position, exhibited by an article<\/a> at The Call<\/em>, concurred with the characterization, though disagreed with the execution.<\/p>\n

The problem is that this account was bullshit. The criticisms the Working Group made of Bowman\u2019s continued support for the Iron Dome were corroborated by Bowman himself, when he posted<\/a> that he would vote for additional funding for the Iron Dome, which he continues to support. (This also destroyed<\/a> the centrist position.) The crux of the dispute between the NPC and BDSWG over a Twitter thread was about the Working Group correcting the record after NPC<\/a> members<\/a> congratulated themselves for Bowman rescinding co-sponsorship of the Israel Relations Normalization Act (though Bowman credited J-Street). One Working Group leader detailed<\/a> how Bowman would not commit to any of DSA\u2019s demands, which the NPC knew but would not report to the membership.<\/p>\n

And then the BDSWG actually did turn over their social media keys. Accounts by NPC members who voted against the decision (Jenbo, Austin G, Jen M, and Kara H) demonstrate that the Working Group dissented but cooperated, and then they were punished anyway. All that remained were charges that the BDSWG was uncomradely\u2013which might just be understandable when you consider that they were the recipients of backroom dealing, gaslighting about Bowman\u2019s positions, scapegoating, and illegitimate discipline.<\/p>\n

The NPC\u2019s story fell apart. They tried to evade the discussion about Bowman\u2019s continuing violations of the BDS picket line and the holes in their story. They stuck to depicting the BDSWG as \u201ctoxic\u201d and \u201cundemocratic\u201d for disagreeing with the leadership. Rank-and-file members weren\u2019t having it, and the NPC retreated. They reinstated the Working Group, but not its leaders\u2014though a body that is not allowed to choose its leadership is in fact not reinstated.<\/p>\n