Photo: January 13 National March for Gaza in Washington, D.C.
One year ago, a mass movement in solidarity with Palestine emerged in the United States that transformed the political landscape of this country. As Israel used its U.S.-supplied arsenal to carry out a horrific genocide in Gaza – a war the regime has now expanded to Lebanon and the entire region – people of conscience took to the streets in historic numbers. Biden, the architect of the genocide along with Netanyahu, could not even run for re-election in large part because of the justified hatred his policies had provoked among large sections of the population.
People will never forget the scenes of death and destruction that unfolded before our very eyes – the people of the United States have seen the genocidal nature of the Israeli regime, and millions of people have developed a profound commitment to the Palestinian struggle for liberation. The emergence of new forms of communication that are less easily censored was a crucial factor that prevented the reality of the genocide from being covered up. For so long, public opinion in this country has been shaped by pro-Israel corporate media outlets and a consensus among ruling class politicians and institutions that no sympathy for Palestinians would be tolerated. But there has been a sea change in consciousness thanks to the heroism of the Palestinian people and the mass movement in the streets that refused to be silenced.
The movement in solidarity with Palestine is felt in nearly every section of society. Students have set up encampments at universities and defied police repression and ludicrously false allegations of anti-semitism. Major labor unions like the United Auto Workers and Association of Flight Attendants have publicly taken a stand for the first time in solidarity with Palestine. Healthcare workers, artists, journalists, educators and workers in other fields have formed organizations to support the Palestinian cause.
All these various expressions of solidarity with Palestine have converged for enormous national mobilizations and coordinated days of action. On November 4, January 13, June 8, and July 24; huge numbers of people converged in Washington D.C. for massive actions. After the 500,000-strong November 4th mobilization, a movement to “Shut It Down for Palestine!” was born and has held dozens of days of action to disrupt business as usual. Civil disobedience actions targeted arms manufacturers, marches shut down highways, and pickets demanded that major corporations divest from the Israeli regime. In total, millions have been in the streets in one of the most massive anti-imperialist movements in U.S. history.
The U.S.-Israeli onslaught continues in Palestine and Lebanon, and threatens to engulf the entire Middle East. Schools, hospitals, residential neighborhoods and places of worship have been bombarded in an attempt to make the targeted areas unlivable. The need to keep up the fight is as urgent as ever. And we should be under no illusion of a quick victory – like the Palestinian people understand so well, the movement for liberation is a long-term fight. The Party for Socialism and Liberation joins with so many other people around the world in this commitment: we will keep up the struggle until the occupation falls and Palestine is free from the river to the sea!
