May 12th, 2021
The North New Jersey chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America whole-heartedly condemns the crimes of apartheid and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians. While violence has escalated recently, these crimes are longstanding and endemic to the settler-colonial project of Israel. Our chapter stands firmly in solidarity with Palestinians struggling for freedom.
We echo Rep. Cori Bush’s call to cut the massive US funding to Israel. We call on Biden and Secretary Blinken to condemn Israeli violence and cut all US aid to Israel. We also demand New Jersey politicians, especially Sen. Bob Menendez as Ranking Member of the Senate Foregin Relations Committee, cease to be complicit in the colonization of Palestine. We extend our solidarity to the Palestinian community here in North Jersey.
Palestinians struggling for liberation against Israeli occupation forces and settler militias, backed by US military aid, have been fighting fiercely and bravely in recent weeks. Throughout the holy month of Ramadan, Palestinians have faced unconscionable police brutality, airstrikes, and planned home expulsions. Israel’s most recent rounds of air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip killed at least 43 Palestinians, including 12 children. Attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces injured hundreds, all amidst Israeli intentions to deepen the occupation of East Jerusalem by displacing Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood—what amounts to ethnic cleansing.
It should be clear that violence in Israel and Palestine is not an equal back-and-forth exchange. From 1948 onward, Israel has forcibly removed Palestinians, and stolen their homes and land. Israel has benefited from global capitalism’s interests in suppressing anti-colonial struggle. Namely, US Democrats and Republicans alike have provided massive financial, diplomatic and military support to the Israeli state, currently providing $3.8 billion every year.
We stand against the Zionist project of colonizing Palestine through Israeli settlements, demolitions, and home expulsions. This ethnic cleansing and apartheid are ongoing and have only been amplified in these recent weeks. As socialists, we commit ourselves to fighting for a better world, which means a free Palestine.
In solidarity,
NNJ DSA