Two years have passed since October 7, 2023. In that time, according to official figures, over 66,000 Palestinians have been killed—including more than 20,000 children. The US-backed Israeli regime has bombed Gaza to rubble, under which tens of thousands more are likely dead.
Life expectancy in Gaza has nearly halved. The IDF is choking off supplies of food and medicine. In August, the UN declared a famine in northern Gaza, affecting over half a million people. Famine will soon spread to the rest of the strip, where hunger and malnutrition are already at catastrophic levels.
Last month, Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza City. It’s likely the first phase of a plan to permanently occupy all of Gaza. Among countless other atrocities, Israel attacked al-Rantisi children’s hospital three separate times on the offensive’s opening night. Babies in incubators and children on dialysis numbered among the victims at al-Rantisi, which is only one of at least three Gaza City hospitals targeted by the IDF.
“The defining issue”
As our British comrade Fiona Lali of the Revolutionary Communist Party recently put it, Palestine has become “the defining issue for a whole generation of people.” But without a mass workers’ party to give this fighting spirit direction, its political expression is necessarily distorted.
The Palestine-solidarity movement in this country ebbed after the UAW political strike at the University of California and the nationwide student encampments were crushed last year. While anger no longer finds an outlet on the streets, the rage is still growing. Only 32% of Americans support Israel’s actions in Gaza, down from 50% in November 2023. 50% of Republicans aged 18 to 49 now have an “unfavorable” view of Israel, up from 35% before the war.
Austerity at home to fund genocide abroad
What explains this shift? Cuts to social spending at home are forcing millions to ask: why is there money for genocide but not for education, healthcare, and fighting climate change? The “Big Beautiful Bill” slashed about $1.4 trillion from SNAP, Medicaid, and other social programs which millions of workers rely upon to supplement their low wages. Meanwhile, Trump and co. increased funding for imperialist wars and immigration crackdowns by $325 billion.
To satisfy his megalomania for building a “Riviera of the Middle East,” Trump had the GREAT Trust plan drafted. It would offer Gazans “voluntary” relocation with a $5,000 payout and subsidies for four years of rent elsewhere. After clearing away the rubble, capitalist developers would build “AI-powered, smart cities,” flush with waterfront casinos and resorts.
Trump isn’t the only one who shares this gruesome vision. Shortly after the IDF commenced its ground invasion of Gaza City, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Gaza could be a “real estate bonanza. We’ve done the demolition . . . now we need to build.”
But the memory of military failures in Iraq and Afghanistan remains strong. Those wars cost at least $5.8 trillion. With austerity at home there’s little appetite for similar imperialist adventures. In fact, opposition to these “forever wars” was one reason Trump was elected in the first place.
Palestine has become “the defining issue for a whole generation of people.” / Image: RCA
“America First”
With the Palestine-solidarity movement at an ebb, and no mass workers’ party to take up the fight, some on the populist right are filling the political vacuum. MAGA diehard Marjorie Taylor Greene came out alongside the likes of Democrats Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to condemn the genocide and the $622 million of new funding for Israel’s “defence” in Trump’s megabill. Meanwhile, “America First” poster-child Tucker Carlson said the US should “drop Israel” as an ally altogether.
Both Greene and Carlson were once pro-Israel. At the start of the war, Greene even wanted Congress to censure Tlaib for alleged “antisemitic activity” and “sympathizing” with Hamas. Now they’ve changed their tune, attempting to tap into the growing, yet distorted, anti-imperialist mood of the working class. Charlie Kirk was also changing his views on Israel, prior to his murder.
The liberal-socialists have given Greene and Carlson ample opportunity to strike anti-Zionist poses. Both Bernie Sanders and AOC have voted in favor of funding Israel’s genocide.
Neither Democrats or Republicans!
For his part, Zohran Mamdani garnered huge support for defending Palestine during his primary campaign. Since winning the nomination, however, he’s moderated his rhetoric in the face of attacks from the capitalist press and Democratic establishment.
Disappointing as it may be, running as a Democrat has forced Zohran to find an accommodation with the supporters of genocide. A resolution calling for Democrats to support an arms embargo against Israel was rejected at a recent DNC meeting. If Zohran wants to mount a real struggle against the Zionists, he must take up a fight against both the Republicans and Democrats—but he’ll have to break with them first.
We can have no faith in the parties of the rich. The working class must build a party of its own. Only a party with a revolutionary program to overthrow capitalism in the belly of the beast can end support for the genocide in Gaza and attacks on workers here at home.