Students and working people across the country are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against US support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Contrary to what Fox News reports, these college encampments are peaceful and do not represent a threat to Jewish students, many of whom are playing a leading role or participating in the protests themselves. 

There is now a widespread effort from the bulk of the political establishment to demonize and criminalize student dissent. Many campus chapters of groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine have been undemocratically shut down by fearful school administrations, often under pressure from wealthy trustees. The president of the University of Michigan at this year’s honors convocation cynically proclaimed that he is “proud of [their] university’s history of protest,” but that students should not have taken a stand against the institution’s ties to Israel. The attacks of the rabid right are predictable, but even President Biden, who has been forced under pressure from the movement to pay lip-service to the idea of a ceasefire, stated that student protesters opposing the war on Gaza are “antisemitic”. 

At Columbia University, over 100 students camping on the expensive lawn – which their exorbitant tuition pays for – were arrested by riot cops and then suspended from college. This heavy-handed approach has backfired,  spreading the momentum of this movement to dozens of campuses across the country.

The US House of Representatives just voted by a huge majority, including almost all Democrats, to send billions more in “lethal aid” to Israel despite 63% of Americans now opposing such “aid”. The fact that most major unions and progressive organizations have already endorsed Biden in the 2024 Presidential race undermines the ability of the movement to exert pressure on him. 

We urgently need to build on the current momentum to maximize pressure on Biden to end US military funding and political support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. This means spreading the protests to every campus across the country and getting campus unions to pass resolutions of support, and organizing nationally coordinated walkouts and strikes culminating in protests in every major city across the US. Unions need to rescind their endorsements of Biden, and those who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people should not vote for either Biden or Trump this November but instead join the fight for a new political party that represents the interests of working people, youth, and students.

To build the strongest possible fight for Palestinian liberation, the movement needs to be clear that reactionary Hamas offers no way forward for the Palestinian people. Neither does Iran, whose counter-strike against Israel is really about defending its own regional imperialist interests. Nor do any of the hypocritical Arab regimes who proclaim their solidarity for the Palestinian people but also accept military aid from the US. The only solution to the oppression of the Palestinian people is to unite Jewish, Palestinian and Arab workers across the region and around the world in a mass movement to overthrow capitalism and colonialism. This is the only way to achieve genuine peace.

As socialists we believe the mass movement in the Middle East and across the world has a vital role to play in forcing the Israeli government to back down and agree to a permanent ceasefire. In the US workers and students can play a crucial role in strengthening the global anti-war movement by  ramping up solidarity action including nationally coordinated mass walkouts and strike action. The social power of the working class can play a decisive role in forcing Biden’s hand.

1. Divest college funds from state and private institutions linked to the brutal occupation of Palestinian land
2. Spread the struggle to every campus and build a mass anti-war movement of students and working people
3. Build towards a nationwide walkout and strike to shut down campuses across the country
4. End all US military support to Israel
5. No to Biden and Trump, for a new anti-war party for working people
6. For a permanent ceasefire now
7. End the occupation 
8. For a socialist Palestine and a socialist Israel in a socialist federation of the Middle East