With just days remaining before Los Angeles elects its next mayor, City Councilmember Nithya Raman is preparing for the possibility of leading America's second-largest city. But the socialist organization that helped launch her political career has issued an ultimatum: If she wants to retain its support, she must explicitly endorse a boycott of Israel. Her willingness to describe the boycott movement as a legitimate form of protest against what she calls genocide in Gaza is no longer enough.
The demand comes from the national leadership of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the organization that also helped propel Zohran Mamdani to the New York City mayor's office. On Monday, its National Political Committee approved two resolutions that could lead to the withdrawal of its endorsement of Raman and, ultimately, her expulsion from the organization.
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Nithya Raman, the Los Angeles mayoral candidate some Jewish voters have compared to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani
(Photo: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
By Saturday, October 31, Raman is expected to clarify her position on a series of questions concerning Israel and the Palestinians. The demands include explicit support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, avoiding ties with organizations the DSA classifies as Zionist lobbying groups, and opposing the transfer of funds to Israel and organizations such as the Jewish National Fund.
The national leadership is also seeking a commitment from Raman to oppose weapons shipments to Israel through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), even though the authority of a municipal government to restrict such international shipments is limited.
If elected, Raman would face another deadline. Unless she expresses support for BDS and opposition to weapons shipments by January 1, the DSA plans to initiate disciplinary proceedings that could ultimately result in her expulsion.
The dispute has created a complication for Raman's campaign as the mayoral race tightens. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, conducted with the Los Angeles Times and released Wednesday, found Raman and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass tied at 40% support each, with 19% of likely voters undecided. Just a month earlier, Raman had held an 11-point lead.
Bass, a former longtime member of Congress, has faced growing dissatisfaction over homelessness, the cost of living and criticism of her handling of the devastating January 2025 wildfires, which erupted while she was visiting Ghana.
On Israel, however, Bass has taken a markedly different position from her challenger. At a September forum with Los Angeles' Jewish community, she rejected the characterization of Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide and said she would oppose municipal legislation promoting a boycott of Israel. She also emphasized her commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish institutions.
From opposing BDS to including it in her platform of protest
Raman, 45, has an unusual political biography even without the controversy surrounding Israel. Born in the Indian state of Kerala, she immigrated to the United States with her family at age six, studied at Harvard University and earned a master's degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
She worked in the nonprofit sector, co-founded an organization assisting homeless people in Los Angeles and, in 2020, defeated an incumbent City Council member, the first successful challenge of its kind in the city in 17 years. She became the first South Asian woman elected to the Los Angeles City Council and the first DSA member to win a seat on it.
Nithya Raman with her husband and their twins
(Photo: Nithya for the City)
Today, Raman lives in the Silver Lake neighborhood with her husband, a television writer and producer whose credits include 30 Rock and Modern Family, and their twins.
On the City Council, she has built her political profile around housing affordability, tenant protections and homelessness. She has pledged to cut the number of people living on Los Angeles streets by half before the city hosts the 2028 Olympic Games.
Her relationship with the socialist organization, however, has never been straightforward.
In 2020, Raman declared, "I absolutely do not support BDS," warning against close identification with a movement she said demonized Israel and Jewish people.
After the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel, she criticized a DSA statement that she believed lacked empathy for the victims. Her relationship with the organization deteriorated further when its local chapter reprimanded her for accepting support from a pro-Israel Democratic group.
Her position on Israel has since shifted. Raman supported calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and, in an interview with political streamer Hasan Piker, said she believed Israel was committing genocide.
At a gathering with Jewish voters in late September, she repeated that characterization, drawing visible disapproval from the audience. The local Jewish Federation described her remarks as crossing a red line.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is seeking reelection against Nithya Raman
(Photo: AP)
Raman sought to reassure the audience that she recognized Israel's right to exist and did not intend to make a boycott part of city policy. But a statement sent to the DSA this week went further than her previous public comments.
"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 said.
That language failed to satisfy the organization's national leadership, which is seeking a clearer personal commitment to the boycott movement. Raman has described the confrontation as internal political theater that should not distract Los Angeles residents from issues affecting their city.
The dispute has also exposed tensions between the DSA's national leadership and its Los Angeles chapter. Local officials have defended their decision to endorse Raman and challenged the effort to overturn that endorsement.
A difficult choice for Jewish voters in Los Angeles
For many Israeli and Jewish residents of Los Angeles, the mayoral election presents what some describe as a political trap, a choice between imperfect candidates rather than a clear-cut decision.
On one side is Bass, whose standing among parts of the Jewish community has suffered because of dissatisfaction with city management, her absence during the devastating wildfires and what critics describe as delayed responses to violent incidents and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on university campuses and outside synagogues.
On the other is Raman, whose increasingly critical position toward Israel has raised concerns among some Jewish voters about the political direction of the city under her leadership.
"She's our Mamdani," a Jewish resident of Beverly Hills told ynet, drawing a comparison between Raman and New York City's socialist mayor.
The resident described the choice in stark terms: "Voters in this city now have the pleasure of choosing between complete incompetence from Mayor Bass and political radicalism from her challenger Raman. Good luck to all of us."
Those views are not universal within the Jewish community, but they illustrate the political tension facing voters who are dissatisfied with Bass yet uncomfortable with Raman's positions on Israel.
Obama steps in as another socialist faces a Senate test in Florida
Across the country, another socialist candidate is confronting a different political challenge.
Angie Nixon, 42, a Florida state representative from Jacksonville, is seeking to return a U.S. Senate seat to the Democrats for the first time since 2019.
Unlike Raman, Nixon is not currently being asked to demonstrate her loyalty to the DSA, which she joined only this year and which has not formally endorsed her campaign. Her challenge lies instead with moderate voters, particularly within Florida's Jewish community.
Nixon grew up in a poor Black neighborhood, raised by a mother who worked two jobs to support her children. She began her career as a labor organizer, established a bookstore and community center in Jacksonville, and became one of the most prominent Democratic critics of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A charismatic campaigner who draws enthusiastic crowds at rallies, Nixon has focused on lowering living costs, expanding access to health care, housing and child care. Her positions on Israel, however, remain contentious.
A month after the October 7 massacre, Nixon called for a ceasefire in Gaza during a session of the Florida House of Representatives. Many lawmakers turned their backs on her, and her proposal was defeated by a vote of 104 to 2.
In August, Nixon achieved an upset in the Democratic Senate primary, defeating Alexander Vindman, the Jewish former military officer who became nationally known for his testimony during Donald Trump's first impeachment proceedings. Vindman had raised millions of dollars more than Nixon.
Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(Photo: X)
Sen. Bernie Sanders has also endorsed Angie Nixon's Senate campaign
(Photo: X)
Since then, several prominent Democrats have lined up behind her. Former President Barack Obama announced his endorsement last weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders has appeared at campaign rallies in Florida, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has publicly backed her candidacy.
Nixon continues to accuse Israel of genocide and currently opposes U.S. military aid to the country. At the same time, she has intensified her efforts to engage with Jewish communities in recent months.
Some Jewish Democrats in Florida say meetings with Nixon have changed their impressions of her, although they continue to struggle with her positions on Israel. Some acknowledge that they may vote for her despite their reservations because they cannot support the Republican alternative.
Other Jewish activists view Nixon's opposition to Israeli government policy as a reason to support her and point to her relationships with both Jewish and Muslim communities.
Unlike her unexpected victory in the Democratic primary, Nixon enters the general election trailing her Republican opponent in recent polls.
Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to the seat after Marco Rubio became secretary of state, received 50% support in a New York Times/Siena poll released Wednesday, compared with 44% for Nixon. Another recent survey showed Moody ahead by four percentage points.
If Nixon wins, she would become the first Black woman to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate.
For both Raman and Nixon, the approaching election poses a broader question for the American left: how candidates who have built their political identities around progressive activism navigate disagreements over Israel while seeking support from a much wider electorate.