
The DSA Offensive Goes National: Michigan, Colorado, and the Anti-Israel Congress of 2027
Today’s lead: The DSA wave isn’t staying in New York. Mamdani is explicitly targeting Michigan, Colorado, and the swing-state districts that will decide the House in November — and on his victory lap Wednesday, he met with Hakeem Jeffries and touted the Block the Bombs Act, a bill to halt weapons to Israel.
Also tracking: Britain’s medical establishment just voted to scrap the IHRA antisemitism definition across the NHS — an alarming institutional rollback — and a Massachusetts school principal apologized to Arab and Muslim students for subjecting them to a Holocaust lesson.
In the wire: The Senate reversed course and blocked a war powers resolution on Iran, Israel and Lebanon both deny U.S. claims of an IDF withdrawal, and Dan Goldman — ousted by the DSA wave — warns antisemitism will be the “undoing of our democracy.”
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The DSA Offensive Goes National: Michigan, Colorado, and the Anti-Israel Congress of 2027
Zohran Mamdani’s three congressional victories in Tuesday’s NYC primaries are the launchpad, not the landing zone. Jewish Insider and Politico both report that DSA is now explicitly targeting swing-state and battleground primaries — starting with Colorado’s Diana DeGette seat (socialist Melat Kiros) and Michigan’s Senate primary (Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sanders). On his victory lap Wednesday, Mamdani met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and touted the Block the Bombs Act — legislation to halt U.S. weapons transfers to Israel. The number of socialists in Congress is set to double from two to four — and that’s before the fall.
- Three Mamdani-backed candidates swept NYC Democratic primaries — Brad Lander (NY-10), Claire Valdez (NY-7), and Darializa Avila Chevalier (NY-13, ousting 5-term incumbent Espaillat).
- DSA’s next targets include Michigan’s Senate race — Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sanders, is in a three-way primary in a critical battleground state, according to Jewish Insider.
- Mamdani met with Hakeem Jeffries Wednesday and specifically spotlighted the Block the Bombs Act — a bill to halt arms transfers to Israel.
- Centrist Democrats are “freaking out,” per Politico — Ritchie Torres narrowly survived and warns the socialist surge poses an existential threat to moderate Dems in swing districts.
- The Forward reports that pro-Israel politics in New York are now a liability in Democratic primaries, with AIPAC-backed candidates losing across the board.
New York's primary results are a data point; Michigan, Colorado, and the swing-state pipeline are the strategic threat. The DSA playbook is now proven — anti-Israel positions and socialist economics win Democratic primaries in high-turnout urban districts — and the movement is explicitly exporting it. The open question is whether the suburban Ohio, Nevada, and Michigan general-election electorate rewards or punishes Democrats who run that playbook: that answer, not Tuesday's returns, will define the post-Mamdani Democratic Party.
Britain's Doctors Vote to Strip IHRA Antisemitism Definition From National Health Service
The British Medical Association voted Tuesday to scrap the IHRA working definition of antisemitism across the NHS — the world’s most widely recognized definition — framing it as a threat to “free expression” among healthcare workers. Motion 55, passed at the BMA’s annual meeting, urges the government and NHS England to revoke mandatory IHRA adoption until “proper safeguards” are in place. The Holocaust Educational Trust called the vote “outrageous” and noted it came less than a month after the UK government’s own antisemitism review.
- The BMA voted to pass Motion 55 urging NHS England and the government to revoke mandatory adoption of the IHRA definition, citing free-speech concerns for healthcare workers.
- The NHS adopted IHRA mandatory use last year under Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who required it across all Department of Health arm’s-length bodies.
- Holocaust Educational Trust: “It is outrageous” — the vote came weeks after the UK government’s antisemitism review and sends a signal that institutional IHRA resistance is now organized at major professional association level.
- The Jewish Chronicle reports the move is likely to intensify pressure on the new Burnham government over its anti-discrimination posture.
The BMA vote is not about free speech — it is a professional association lending institutional credibility to the argument that the world's standard antisemitism definition is itself a suppression tool. That framing, if it spreads to other UK institutions, creates the normative infrastructure for stripping IHRA protections wherever activists can claim a "free expression" interest, from universities to local councils. The Burnham government's response is the next test.
Massachusetts Principal Apologizes to Arab Students for Holocaust Lesson — Drawing National Backlash
William Diamond Middle School principal Johnny Cole in Lexington, Massachusetts sent an email apologizing to Arab, Muslim, Palestinian, and Lebanese students who felt “unsafe” after a mandatory Holocaust and antisemitism lesson — drawing immediate condemnation from Jewish groups nationally. StopAntisemitism, CAMERA, and Guy Benson have called the apology a capitulation that treats Holocaust education as a source of harm for non-Jewish students. The Lexington Observer confirmed the details Wednesday.
- Principal Johnny Cole sent an email apologizing to Arab, Muslim, Palestinian, and Lebanese students who said they felt “unsafe” after a Holocaust/antisemitism presentation.
- CAMERA issued a press release urging action and condemning the apology as undermining Holocaust education.
- StopAntisemitism posted the letter publicly; Fox News, Jewish Insider, and the Washington Examiner all covered the story nationally.
- Jewish groups note this follows a pattern: Holocaust education is increasingly being treated as culturally offensive rather than a civic requirement.
This is the hostile education pattern in miniature — Holocaust content framed as an identity aggression against Arab and Muslim students, and an administrator caving to that framing rather than defending the curriculum. The case is already national; whether the Lexington school district backs the principal or disciplines him is the next signal about how much institutional cover this framing now has in Massachusetts.
Mamdani Victory Lap: Block the Bombs Act, Jeffries Meeting, and the 'Squad 2.0' Taking Shape
As three new DSA-backed members-of-Congress-elect begin their transition, the contours of the new progressive caucus are coming into focus. Politico reports that “Squad 2.0” is ready to frustrate Hakeem Jeffries, with the four incoming socialists (Lander, Valdez, Avila Chevalier, plus one prior member) prepared to be more combative than AOC’s original Squad. Ousted Dan Goldman, who lost to Brad Lander, warned Wednesday that antisemitism will be the “undoing of our democracy.”
- Politico reports Squad 2.0 is prepared to frustrate Jeffries — the four incoming socialists are explicitly planning to be more combative than AOC’s original Squad on Israel-related votes.
- Ousted Rep. Dan Goldman warned that antisemitism will be the “undoing of our democracy” in a statement after his primary loss to Brad Lander.
- How Ritchie Torres dodged the DSA wave is already a case study — Jewish Insider reports Torres invested heavily in district-level organizing that insulated him from the Mamdani endorsement machine.
- Some moderate Democrats are “raising alarms” — per Jewish Insider — while others are dismissing the NYC results as a local phenomenon.
The "Squad 2.0" framing by Politico is significant because the original Squad proved that a small number of vocal anti-Israel members can shift the Democratic Party's posture on Israel through media attention and internal caucus pressure. Four members — including Lander, who ran explicitly on anti-Israel positioning in a competitive race — will have more institutional credibility than the original Squad, which was dismissed as a fringe. Goldman's warning is the first instance of a sitting member naming antisemitism as the organizing threat from this cohort.
Wire
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