Genocide in Gaza: Pivotal Issue of Our Time
LOS ANGELES COUNTY (USA), June 2— Gaza was, for years, the world’s largest open-air prison. Now it’s the world’s largest death camp. Masses worldwide are outraged. That includes increasing numbers inside Israel, where our International Communist Workers’ Party is growing.
For two months, the Zionist occupation forces (Israel) prevented any food, water, or medical supplies from reaching over two million Palestinian children, men, women. With the complicity of US imperialism, they are intentionally creating famine. Many have died. Many more will soon.
And the bombs keep falling. One Palestinian doctor lost her husband (also a doctor) and nine of their ten children in an Israeli air strike a week ago.
In a devilish new scheme, Israel has enlisted US contractors (mercenaries) to deliver an extremely limited number of food parcels from only one location in Khan Younis. This, instead of allowing the UN and other international agencies to provide food at hundreds of locations.
Then, over eight days, the Zionist military opened fire on crowds walking toward the food distribution site. Over one hundred starving people were murdered.
Mass anger is boiling over. Hundreds of thousands marched in cities across Europe in May for “Nakba Day.” Chants of “Free Palestine” rocked graduation ceremonies across the United States. Protesters have not been deterred by two misguided and much-publicized attacks on Jewish people in Washington, DC and Boulder, Colorado.
“We’ve been doing this for a year and a half,” a comrade said at a regular weekly protest in Los Angeles County. “Do you see any changes?”
“No political changes at all,” said D, “but social changes, yes.”
“We used to get thirty or forty people honking support and maybe fifteen giving us the finger,” agreed N. “Now almost everyone honks, and almost nobody gives us the finger.”
“Nothing has changed with the European governments,” mourned J. “They talk about genocide, but they don’t stop the weapons from going to Israel.”
“What are the Arab countries doing?” L wanted to know. The Saudi rulers are angrier about not being able to meet with Palestinian sellouts in the West Bank than they are about starving children and adults in Gaza.
“We had pictures of starving children at the vigil yesterday,” said R. “Some people stopped to look. Some cried. Some walked fast and pretended they didn’t see.”
We ourselves have changed. We have built new relationships. New communities. We’ve learned a lot.
“Before this, I didn’t know that our government is so corrupt,” said R. “The politicians in Congress, almost every one of them.”
“That’s why I always say that ‘Intifada, Revolution’ applies here too, not just in Gaza,” the comrade replied. “The system was never meant to serve us. It was set up from the start for the wealthiest to control everything.” R was not interested in Red Flag when she first saw it. Now, like many others in the group, she takes every issue.
The conversation continued and will continue as these friends and others persist in standing against the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza.
ICWP Pamphlet: Genocide in Palestine Demands Communist Revolution here