Nithya Raman, once a skeptic of boycotts targeting Israel, has now aligned herself with the movement as her socialist backers threaten to withdraw their support just days before Los Angeles voters head to the polls.
According to the New York Post, the Democratic Socialists of Americas national leadership voted by a razor-thin 14-13 margin on Monday to give Raman until Saturday to affirm her full support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign or risk losing the groups endorsement a mere 48 hours before Election Day. Raman on Tuesday tried to downplay the escalating dispute, dismissing the turmoil among her ideological allies as internal political theater.
The chapter locally has endorsed me, and I continue to remain, you know, grateful for their support, Raman told ABC7, insisting that the infighting was not the concern of voters here in Los Angeles. Her attempt to minimize the rift came just one day after she appeared to fully embrace the BDS movement, which seeks to punish Israel over its treatment of Palestinians through economic boycotts, divestment and sanctions.
I believe the best way for working Angelenos to stand in solidarity with Gaza is through non-violent protest, legislative action, and diplomatic pressure, including BDS, Raman wrote in a statement submitted to the DSA on Monday. That declaration marks a dramatic reversal from 2020, when she said she did not personally support BDS and opposed local government agencies participating in boycotts of the Jewish state.
The clash with DSAs national leadership comes as Raman challenges incumbent Mayor Karen Bass for control of City Hall, turning what was once a mutually beneficial alliance into a high-stakes ideological test. The same socialist organization that helped launch Ramans political career is now openly threatening to turn on her, underscoring how far-left litmus tests can consume their own candidates.
DSAs Los Angeles chapter has been central to building Ramans political operation, providing volunteers, grassroots organizing muscle and campaign resources that could prove decisive in a closely fought mayoral contest. Losing that backing in the final stretch before the Nov. 3 election could inflict serious damage on her campaigns ground game and turnout efforts.
At the heart of the dispute is BDS, which has become a defining issue for the socialist group and a flashpoint in the broader Democratic Party, where support for Israel has increasingly come under attack from the progressive wing. In 2025, DSA adopted stricter rules requiring local chapters to interrogate candidates about their stance on BDS before granting endorsements, effectively turning support for the movement into an ideological purity test.
On Monday, DSAs National Political Committee approved two resolutions that could strip Raman of her endorsement or even expel her from the organization altogether. Under the first resolution, she faces an Oct. 31 deadline to clarify her positions on Israel and Palestine to the satisfaction of national leaders.
If those leaders remain unconvinced, they could vote on Sunday to revoke her endorsement, a move that would publicly brand her as insufficiently aligned with the hard-left line on Israel. Such a decision would force DSA-LA to scrub its endorsement from campaign materials and halt the use of organizational resources to help elect her.
A second resolution, which passed 15-12, opens a separate disciplinary track that could lead to Ramans expulsion from DSA after the election. That process would signal to other ambitious progressives that even minor deviations from the groups most radical positions on foreign policy can carry severe political consequences.
Raman has defended her abrupt shift by pointing to the ongoing war in Gaza and adopting increasingly extreme rhetoric toward Americas closest Middle Eastern ally. Over the last couple of years, I have come to believe strongly that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, and I have felt deeply uncomfortable with US tax dollars funding this atrocity, she wrote, language that mirrors the far-lefts most incendiary accusations against Israel and U.S. policy.
For voters, the episode highlights how deeply national ideological battles over Israel and radical activism have penetrated local politics, even in a mayoral race that should be focused on crime, homelessness and the cost of living. Ramans willingness to reverse herself under pressure from socialist activists raises questions about her independence, her judgment on foreign policy, and whether Los Angeles should be led by someone whose priorities appear dictated by the demands of the far-left rather than the needs of the citys residents.
Login