NEW YORK (VINnews) — In a wide-ranging and candid interview published Saturday, Megan Romer, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), outlined the organization’s uncompromising positions on Israel while presenting its broader vision for the U.S. economy, policing, and foreign policy.

Speaking on The New Yorker’s podcast with editor David Remnick, Romer described support for Israel as a “red line” within the DSA, one of the leading organizations on the American left and a political home for many progressive activists and elected officials.

Asked about the DSA’s position on Israel and the Jewish state, Romer said the organization considers any support for Israel unacceptable.

She cited the DSA’s recent decision to withdraw its endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after the congresswoman voted in favor of a House resolution stating that denying Israel’s right to exist constitutes antisemitism.

“Our convention debated it and decided that this is a firm red line,” Romer said. “There will be no military or economic support of any kind for Israel.”

When asked about the organization’s preferred solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Romer said the DSA supports “a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital,” adding that the position “can safely be read as a one-state solution.”

The interview’s most controversial exchange centered on Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

Romer was asked about her support for a DSA-backed candidate who attended a pro-Hamas demonstration on October 8, just one day after the massacre. She acknowledged that had she been in New York at the time, she likely would have attended the demonstration herself.

“I think the events of October 7 were, in many ways, inevitable,” Romer said. “If you put people into an open-air concentration camp and deny them basic rights, dignity, food, and the ability to live with minimal security for so long, you have to expect that eventually they will rebel.”

When challenged over Hamas’ record on LGBTQ rights, Romer responded that while she would not describe Hamas as an LGBTQ-friendly organization, she believed that “most LGBTQ people killed in Palestine were killed by Israeli bombs.”

Beyond the Middle East, Romer outlined the DSA’s broader political agenda. She said democratic socialism means giving citizens democratic control over their workplaces, housing, and essential industries such as energy, water, and internet infrastructure.

According to Romer, the goal is not merely to create a more humane version of capitalism but to establish a democracy genuinely governed by the working class, which she defined as people who earn wages rather than income from investments.

On domestic policy, Romer advocated eliminating police funding altogether.

“That means zero funding,” she said. “It means taking money away from police departments and investing it elsewhere—fully funding social services, schools, and after-school programs.”

She argued that the safest communities are not those with “a police officer on every corner,” but those that invest heavily in social services, public spaces, and community programs.

Economically, Romer said the DSA supports significantly higher taxes on the wealthy.

“We definitely believe in taxing the rich heavily,” she said. “Most billionaires accumulated their wealth by exploiting the working class in a very significant way.”

Asked to identify an existing socialist country worthy of emulation, Romer pointed to Cuba, praising its Family Code as an example of participatory democracy and describing it as “the most LGBTQ-friendly constitution in the world.”

She dismissed criticism of Cuba’s authoritarian government, arguing that many of the country’s economic hardships stem from decades of U.S. efforts to undermine the regime.

On the war in Ukraine, Romer criticized Western foreign policy and opposed continued U.S. military assistance to Kyiv.

“We don’t believe in pouring American money and weapons anywhere in the world,” she said. “It doesn’t make anything better.”

Instead, she called for a large-scale diplomatic effort aimed at negotiating an end to the war and reducing Russian pressure on Ukraine.

Romer also explained why the DSA declined to endorse Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, arguing that the organization must remain politically independent.

“Our credibility depends on being socialists first and offering a genuine alternative to the system, not serving as a rubber stamp,” she said.

Looking ahead to the 2028 presidential election, Romer said the DSA hopes to field its own candidate, mentioning United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and Rep. Ro Khanna as possible contenders.

“In the end,” Romer concluded, “we make our decisions democratically from within. We go into communities, have a million conversations, and change the minds of real people.”