By: Trevor Loudon | New Zeal

Lutheran pastor Reverend Khader El-Yateem is the latest Democratic Socialists of America crypto-communist to seek public office. He is running for the New York City Council to represent the Bay Ridge area in Brooklyn. El-Yateem says he’s running as a Democrat to “reform the party from within.”

According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

“When I became a citizen of the United States it felt like I was born again, and the moment I became a U.S. citizen I registered as a Democrat. As an Arab-American, the Democratic Party is the closest to me, and I think it’s up to us to rise up and to fight and to reform the Democratic Party, so people like me and others can participate.”

El-Yateem is a 22-year resident of Dyker Heights, having immigrated to America from Palestine with his family in 1992. The founder of the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church, El-Yateem has served on the Community Board for 12 years.

“I felt Trump ran his whole campaign targeting Arabs and Muslims. After the election, the Arab and Muslim community became surveillance targets again.” 

According to Brooklyn DSA Electoral Working Group coordinator Tascha Van Auken, who’s coordinated the group’s efforts withing the El-Yateem campaign, the DSA has sent 25 to 30 volunteers to Bay Ridge per week to help canvas and door knock since El-Yateem gained the group’s endorsement. And like El-Yateem, she said that “residents of the 43rd District don’t tune out when they hear the dreaded “s” word.”

“As far as the DSA goes, this district went for Bernie, so when people hear ‘Democratic Socialists of America’ I think people associate that with ‘Bernie Sanders’ and have a positive reaction to it.”

According to Van Auken, DSA chose to endorse El-Yateem in part “because he’s Trump’s worst nightmare: an Arab-American immigrant working to build the political revolution who refuses to take money from developers.”

Check this out.

Then go here to donate to the best of Rev. El-Yateem’s Republican opponents, Bob Capano.