Larry David kvetches about Democratic Socialists of America, takes aim at their antisemitism

Larry David, the famously cranky creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, has just penned a “modest proposal” skewering the hypocrisy and antisemitism of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in the online publication Air Mail.

David’s piece, titled “The View from Here,” was published over the weekend and featured the subhead, “A comedian’s modest proposals for the Democratic Socialists of America.” He opens the piece by saying that he recently attended a DSA meeting and joined the group.

The DSA counts New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani among its members, and Mamdani has endorsed DSA candidates for public office, including Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is running for US Congress as a Democrat.

The DSA promoted and urged its members to attend the notorious rally in Times Square in New York City on October 8, 2023, that celebrated the Hamas massacre the previous day. Multiple DSA chapters condoned and gave explanations for the massacre.

Since then, they have doubled down on accusing Israel of genocide and apartheid.

Tackling this issue head-on, David writes, “The DSA has great respect for religious traditions. Because of our burgeoning Muslim population, we want to take all measures to give these people a strong sense of belonging in America.

“Along those lines, we’ll require that all Caucasian women wear a hijab on weekends in solidarity with their Muslim sisters. In addition, Jews will no longer be allowed to refer to themselves as ‘the Chosen People.’ Henceforth, their new nickname will be ‘the Bagel People.’”

His proposal continues: “We strongly believe in a two-state solution. To this end, we propose that Palestinians should be given all the land currently occupied by Israel and that Israel should be given Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific, where the weather is beautiful, and grapefruits are aplenty. We think the Bagel People will be very happy there.”

Larry David mocks DSA with outlandish proposals on housing, pets, reparations

David includes his trademark irreverent shtick in the proposal, ribbing the group by suggesting that all homeowners be forced to leave their doors open and host any and all strangers; that people be granted bereavement leave when their pets die and maternity and paternity leave when they adopt pets; and that as a form of reparations for slavery, whites be enslaved to Black families for a year.

Towards the end, he writes, “We Democratic Socialists love to laugh … but not at the expense of others. The last thing we want is for any person to be offended by a joke that targets them or someone they know. No one should ever have their feelings hurt.

“Consequently, any comedian who is responsible for causing emotional discomfort in any way will be sent to a facility where they will be re-programmed and hopefully emerge with a greater awareness of the sensitivities of their fellow citizens.

“If, however, the re-programming is unsuccessful, the repeat offender will be sent to Pitcairn Island to live with the Bagel People.”

Air Mail, co-founded by former Vanity Fair and Spy editor Graydon Carter in 2019, tends to feature articles on entertainment, celebrity gossip, and the high life rather than politics, but its editors made room for David’s DSA piece.

Larry David's DSA satire sparks criticism and confusion online

The New York Times wrote an article on the piece and reported that DSA representatives did not respond to their request for comment. Some actual DSA members and sympathizers, not known for their sense of humor or satirical acumen, slammed the piece online, while others seemed merely bewildered by it.

On a Reddit thread, one user wrote, “It’s still pretty weird, but I would need more context before jumping to the conclusion that this is supposed to be read as disparaging DSA rather than making fun of its naysayers…

“I just can’t bring myself to believe that Larry David doesn’t know the difference between personal and private property. Isn’t Bernie [Sanders] like his first cousin or something?”