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POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM AND INTERFERENCE IN PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTS

Cassie Sipe

May 1, 2024

While president Biden pretends to “hold Israel accountable” with phony calls of restraint, it’s clear the US doesn’t actually believe in a two-state solution or a ceasefire, which they have vetoed every chance they get. Every time President Biden “reprimands" Israel, he turns around and provides it even more of the military and intelligence support it needs to perpetuate its genocide of Palestinians. 


RFK Jr. has been more honest, recently admitting the quiet part out loud: “Israel is a bulwark for us, it's almost like having an aircraft carrier in the Middle East. If Israel disappears, Russia, China, and BRICS countries will control 90% of the oil in the world and that would be cataclysmic for US national security.” US imperialism needs its "unsinkable aircraft carrier" in Israel, along with what former president Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell address called the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex, to keep the forever wars ablaze.



Two-state solution hypocrisy


So-called progressives like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Marianne Williamson, and Penny Wong channel their "activism" into a dead end by advocating for a two-state solution. But the land between Israel and Palestine cannot be divided while an ongoing genocide persists, and any two-state solution would also allow for a Zionist ethnostate to continue indefinitely and unencumbered.


US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims that the U.S. supports a two-state solution, yet our country recently single handedly blocked Palestinian membership at the UN. 


Israel has now formally opposed a 2-state solution, while Hamas supports it. However, the American uni-party continues its pretense of advocating it without applying any pressure to Israel. 


Ceasefire hypocrisy


Over the past several months, the US has exercised its veto power at the UN to shield Israel from accountability five times. On October 16th, the West initially vetoed Russia’s humanitarian ceasefire resolution. Then again on October 28th, the US vetoed Brazil’s draft resolution. Next, on December 8th, the US vetoed the UAE’s draft resolution. And again on February 20th, the US vetoed Algeria's draft resolution. They claim to have done so because they object to the “language” of the bill or because the bill “prevented Israel’s right to military action.”


Kamala Harris called for a nonsensical "six-week permanent ceasefire," but how can they agree to a "permanent ceasefire" if the US's prerequisite is Israel’s right to military action? Their solutions are always non-starters.


Given that Israel has failed to fulfill any of its official war aims, a ceasefire would behoove it, and the US is now pushing for one of terms favorable to its ally. Had Israel cared about its own captives, it could have agreed to these terms; instead, it has chosen to kill many of them under its Hannibal doctrine, which seeks to eliminate any Israeli liabilities. 


This came despite an “Artists 4 Ceasefire," open letter earlier this year to president Genocide Joe Biden, in which hundreds of pro-Palestine celebrities demanded a ceasefire, the release of all captives, and an end to violence on both sides. Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Israel celebrities presented another open letter commending Biden's support for Israel, urging for "peace" and the "release of hostages." 


Problematic protests alienate workers, prevent a mass movement


On October 30th, 2023, In Dagestan, at the Makhachkala Airport a mob of radical Islamic extremists backed by Ukrainian intelligence rioted while “hunting” for Jews. Russian authorities condemned the riot and quickly arrested the perpetrators. The US and Ukraine were quick to propagandize the incident into a PR win for Israel, to portray it as the victim, even though evidence later emerged that the riot had been arranged by Ukrainian intelligence.


There are many non-violent campus protests taking place right now such as the one in Texas. However, certain violent incidents instigated by police and agent provocateurs serve as a diversion, feeding the mainstream media narrative about growing "anti-semitism" on college campuses while drawing attention away from Israel's industrial slaughter in Gaza and the recent exhumation of Palestinian civilians from mass graves.


Ultra-left opportunistic protestors from prominent groups have recently shut down the Brooklyn Bridge in New York as well as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Such tone-deaf, ineffective actions enrage and alienate workers trying to get to work or drop their kids off at school. Much more effective actions like those of Palestine Action focus their efforts on disrupting business as usual at weapons factories, government buildings, and powerful companies complicit in genocide.  


The alternative to ineffective or violent protesters are positive protests in which they shut down capitalist Warhawks like with the Wall Street protest. A great example is the protest in Australia where protesters blocked weapons shipments to Israel. Blocking weapons is one of the most effective forms of protests against Israel. An example of positive disruptive protests would be the protest at the university of Texas, which was peaceful until the cops showed up. Ironically many of the students arrested at the sit-in had their cases dismissed.



Protests on college campuses have recently sprung up across the country. Some protests on US college campuses have been very effective, hence the condemnation and violent crackdown in response. Students at Columbia University occupied the campus grounds and a building, demanding the university divest from Israel. Once the NYPD counter terrorism forces arrived on the scene, the students announced they intend to sit-in for three days. Police have since cracked down on campuses all over the country, even violently arresting bystanders like professors as well as Jewish presidential candidate Jill Stein, charging the slight, 73-year-old woman with assaulting a police officer. 



Then there have been the Zionist agent provocateurs and other malign actors. One leader of the Colombia protest, Khymani James, pronounced that Zionists “don’t deserve to live” and told them to “be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.” Such remarks suggest Khymani James may in fact be working for the university or as a federal informant, bent on delegitimizing protest, as James has deep political ties and influence within the university. Illhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have also made appearances at protests, seeking to play both sides, as though there were no contradiction in condemning US-funded genocide and also voting for Joe Biden this November. 


But pro-Palestinian activists have increasingly called out politicians like war-criminal Hillary Clinton at her own event as well as other prominent politicians including Nancy Pelosi, AOC, Keir Starmer and President Biden.


 They even recently interrupted Congress and staged a sit-in at MSNBC. After Nancy Pelosi was met with angry protesters she went on a xenophobic rant about pro-Palestine protests being influenced by Russia and China. She recently doubled down saying “there’s a Russian tinge to it.” 


Weaponized identity politics serve imperialism and neutralize protests


As Ruha Benjamin rightly points out, leftwing DEI hires like Linda Thomas-Greenfield (America’s Ambassador to the UN) are used to enable Israel’s genocide. 



Then there’s Infamous race hustler, BLM activist and social media influencer Shaun King, known for exploiting BLM and now the genocide of Palestinians. He spoke at a conference discussing his documentation of Palestinians fighting to survive on his Instagram account “eye on Palestine.” On his account he claimed he participated in ceasefire negotiations and helped with the release of 2 hostages. However, the hostages' families exposed his lies and King has since been shunned by pro-Palestine activists.


Another example of identity politics is activists making the protests against genocide part of the Democratic-Republican culture war. BLM and LGBT flags at protests turn off potential allies and divide what should be a mass movement that includes all of the working class enraged by the taxpayer-funded endless wars and our government's massive military and financial support for an apartheid regime 5,000 miles away. 


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