Note: These remarks were delivered at a public forum on the history and current situation in Palestine and West Asia. The pamphlet entitled “Zionism: the Myths, the Lies, the Crimes” was recently published by fighting-words.net. This pamphlet is based on a series of classes delivered by Abayomi Azikiwe and David Sole during 2009 and 2013 in Detroit. The forum on July 15 reviewed some of the points raised in the pamphlet as well as an update on developments in Palestine and West Asia since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023. Yvonne Jones, an organizer for the Moratorium NOW! Coalition, chaired the forum.
By Abayomi Azikiwe
It is important to review the recent developments in the Gaza Strip, Palestine as a whole and the entire West Asia and North Africa regions in the aftermath of the events of October 7.
The war in Palestine and throughout the regions mentioned did not begin less than one year ago, it has a history of more than a century which some aspects were outlined in the pamphlet “Zionism: The Myths, the Lies, the Crimes”.
Having said this, it is essential to understanding the recent phase of the genocidal war that this settler-colonial history has only further confirmed the arguments put forward in the publication. Immediately after the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood, the United States government and its imperialist allies sought to provide not only a rationale for an escalation in attacks upon the Palestinian people. These states transferred weapons to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to injure, displace and kill even more inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, the Resistance movement which has the largest presence in Gaza as the administrative apparatus, has controlled the enclave since 2007. During that year the Israeli regime ordered the evacuation of the settler-colonial enclaves into the other areas of historical Palestine.
However, this purported withdrawal did not bring peace and stability to Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continued their periodic bombing operations and targeted assassinations.
Hamas, through its military wing known as the Al-Qassam Brigades, maintained their right to launch armed attacks on the settler-colonial outposts in other areas of the country. Hamas are not the only resistance organizations which have a presence in Gaza. Reports since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood indicate that at least nine different brigades are involved in the military campaign against the IDF. Another important organization is the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and its military wing known as the Al-Quds Brigades.
Other resistance formations include: the Popular Resistance Committees with its armed wing known as Al-Nasser Saled ad-Din Brigades; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) whose military structure is called Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine—General Command (PFLP-GC) with the military wing known as Jihad Jibril Brigades; Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine whose armed forces are the National Resistance Brigades or the Omar al-Qassem Brigades; Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, which could be the military wing of Fatah in Gaza; and Abd al-Qadar al-Husseini Brigade, also said to be an armed unit of Fatah; and the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement.
With the existence of these organizations on the ground in Gaza it is not surprising that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have not been able to subdue the people. The ongoing resistance is remarkable considering the large-scale assault on the Gaza Strip where nearly 39,000 people have been killed, most of whom are women, children, seniors and the infirm. In addition, nearly 90,000 have been wounded and injured. Gaza’s population of 2.3 million remains displaced and imperiled.
The lack of food, clean water, fuel, medical facilities, medicines and other essentials of life is undoubtedly contributing to the toll of those suffering from illnesses and dying daily. Gaza has been described as the largest open air prison in the world even prior to the events of October 7. Since the latest phase of the war, the conditions have worsened as the IDF blocks much needed humanitarian assistance from entering the enclave. The incessant bombing and shelling combined with the enhanced blockade has prompted billions of people around the world to describe the role of the settler-colonial regime in Tel Aviv as genocidal.
International Solidarity Has Further Exposed Zionism as an Imperialist Project
Emerging from the horrors of the last nine months has been the mobilization of the largest solidarity movement internationally. Demonstrations erupted in various geo-political regions around the world. In areas close to Palestine in states such as Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, etc., millions took to the streets in condemnation of the Israeli Apartheid regime.
In neighboring Lebanon, the Hezbollah resistance movement has opened another front against Tel Aviv. The Israeli government has relocated hundreds of thousands of its people from the border areas with southern Lebanon.
Resistance forces in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have engaged in military strikes against the State of Israel. Yemen has gone further than any other states by imposing a blockade on vessels conducting trade with the Zionist regime utilizing the Red Sea.
A report from The Cradle published on July 15 emphasized:
“The Armed Forces of Yemen’s Sanaa government, aligned with the Ansarallah resistance movement, announced on 14 July an operation against an Israeli ship in the Gulf of Aden and an attack targeting Israel’s southern port city of Eilat, known in Arabic as Umm al-Rashrash. Sanaa’s forces said the operations were a ‘response to the Al-Mawasi massacre in Khan Yunis, which was committed by the Israeli enemy [on Saturday].’ At least 90 Palestinian civilians were killed in the massacre in southern Gaza. ‘The naval forces, the unmanned air force, and the missile force of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a joint operation targeting the Israeli ship (MSC UNIFIC) in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of ballistic missiles and drones,’ Yemeni army spokesman Yahya al-Saree said in a statement on Sunday. ‘The Air Force launched a number of drones targeting a number of military targets of the Israeli enemy in the Umm al-Rashrash area, south of occupied Palestine. The operation achieved its goals successfully,’ Saree added.”
In Europe millions more have staged mass demonstrations and other acts of solidarity. In some European states such as France and Germany, solidarity activists defied bans on Palestinian support work as they marched in the central business districts of imperialist capitals such London, Paris and Berlin.
On the African continent there is much solidarity with the plight of the Palestinians. In the Republic of South Africa, the African National Congress government and the recently established Government of National Unity (GNU), have continued their solidarity. In December, the South African government filed a lawsuit against the State of Israel charging the apartheid regime of violating the Genocide Convention.
In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the charges brought by the South African government claiming genocide were plausible. A series of measures were ordered to be implemented by Tel Aviv, yet there has been no change in its military policy.
Solidarity in the U.S. Impacts Presidential Politics
The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden rejected the lawsuit filed by Pretoria saying the legal action had no merit. Biden has continued the decades-long subsidization of settler-colonial rule in Palestine. He is the only U.S. president who has traveled to Tel Aviv during a period of active combat operations.
Biden proposed to Congress and won additional funds to intensify the wars in Palestine and Ukraine. Funds were allocated also to contain China and enhance the militarization of the Southern border.
In the U.S., demonstrations erupted in cities in various regions of the country. Many of these manifestations were initiated and led by Palestinians, Arab and Muslim Americans. In addition, people from other nationalities and oppressed nations joined the Palestine solidarity struggle demanding an immediate ceasefire and the halting of all assistance from the U.S. to Tel Aviv.
African American progressives and several religious entities opposed Biden’s unconditional support for the Zionist state. In the Detroit metropolitan area where the largest concentration of Arab and Muslim Americans live several African American church leaders joined with other clergymen in a Michigan Task Force for Palestine.
The Listen to Michigan campaign led the electoral movement against the foreign policy of the Biden administration in Palestine. Organized in a matter of weeks, the coalition pointed to another form of solidarity during a national election year.
A description of the Listen to Michigan coalition taken from its website says:
“Michigan voters sent Biden a strong message during the Democratic primary that he can count us out for genocide. More than 100,000 multiracial, multi-faith, and anti-war Democrats voted ‘uncommitted,’ in strong opposition to Biden’s funding of war and genocide in Gaza. The very next day, a co-chair for Biden’s re-election bid told NPR that our ‘message has been received.’ What began as a grassroots movement in Michigan swiftly captured the nation’s attention. Our message spread to various Super Tuesday states, inspiring communities from coast to coast to stand up and make their voices heard at the ballot box. These primaries are an early litmus test for how much Biden’s stance on Gaza could hurt his reelection bid; the threat to Biden’s reelection isn’t that anti-war Democrats will vote for Trump, it’s that they won’t vote at all.”
Later the establishment of encampments on college and university campuses opened a new chapter in the Palestine solidarity movement. These encampments demanded full disclosure and divestment of all holdings held by higher educational institutions in the State of Israel and those who conduct business with the settler-colonial regime.
These encampments often referred to as “Free Universities for Gaza” were met with state-sanctioned repression. Students, staff and professors working in the Palestine solidarity struggle were subjected to threats from university administrators to terminate them.
As the impact of the encampments spread far and wide, many campus administrators ordered police to remove the demonstrators. Over 3,000 students, professors and community activists were arrested and charged with felonies and misdemeanors. In these evictions, police and vigilantes physically attacked the solidarity activists.
In order to justify these repressive acts, the Palestine solidarity activists were slandered as posing a threat to Jewish students and faculty. They were falsely accused of creating a public health and security threat to the campuses.
President Biden along with leading Republican and Democratic politicians echoed these same sentiments labeling the movement organizers as being antisemitic. However, these encampments and building occupations contributed immensely to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign which has existed for several years.
Despite the favored foreign policy status of Tel Aviv, events over the last nine months have illustrated the strength of independent politics. Therefore, we must move forward in our solidarity efforts until the people are liberated in a unified Palestinian state.
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