The world has watched over eight months of heinous criminal war by the Israeli military against the Palestinian masses with an overwhelming number of the casualties being women and children. With no clear ending in sight, millions are asking what it would take to end the deeper conflict that lies at the root of the current brutal war.
While a ceasefire is urgently needed, it is by no means an end to the long national conflict. Even if the war ended tomorrow, the Gaza Strip has been wrecked by months of ongoing bombings and mass destruction to infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and houses and of course the incredible cost in life and the trauma that millions of Palestinians will continue to carry with them.
Who will oversee the process of rehabilitation is a question that remains unanswered. The Israeli and U.S. regimes share no interest with the working class of the region, let alone the Palestinian masses, with Israel’s goal of turning Palestinian workers into nothing but a subservient source of cheap labor. But Hamas and Fatah, the two leading Palestinian factions, have also shown time and again that they are incapable and unwilling to advance the interests of the Palestinian masses. Proposals for a joint coalition of reactionary Arab monarchies to take control of the Strip have been outright rejected. That proposal is correctly seen by the masses in the region as a collaboration with the Israeli regime and would have posed these governments directly against the interests of the Palestinians for independence and security.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the first step towards any solution is to immediately end the war and occupation and pull out all military forces and settlers from the occupied territories.
The Right For Self-Determination: One Or Two States Solution?
Marxists support and fight for the right of oppressed nations to self-determination, including the right to form their own independent state. This is not a moral question, but a democratic right that capitalism has failed to ensure to all nations. This right has been denied to the Palestinians for over a century by the brutal intervention of European and U.S. imperialism and by the Israeli state and the nationalist Zionist forces pre-1948.
The complex history of the region which includes the mass expulsion of Palestinians since 1947, the prolonged occupation, and the just Palestinian struggle for independence, as well as regional wars and the constant feeling of insecurity among Israeli Jews cannot be summarized in a simple formula. However, the issue is often simplistically reduced to the choice between a one or two states solution, a paradigm that has different meaning to different people.
We of course reject the reactionary Israeli far-right’s version of a one-state solution under Jewish rule. Achieving this will require mass expulsion of millions of Palestinians from their lands and homes which can only be carried out through a bloodbath on a scale not seen before in the region. While not a mirror image of the far-right, some on the left call for the establishment of one Palestinian state with Israelis forced to leave their homes. We reject this idea as well not only because it is utopian, but primarily because it points directly against working class solidarity and interests. It is clear to the majority of people in the region that a real solution will have to consider that both national communities have developed their own deep national consciousness over the years and are not going away, willingly or otherwise.
In the late 1980s, the long struggle for Palestinian independence erupted into a mass uprising, known as the First Intifada. Ordinary workers, many of them women, organized general strikes and mass protests. This rebellion forced the Israeli and U.S. ruling classes to negotiate a way forward while preserving their interests. The Oslo Agreements, while sold as a step towards peace and ultimately a Palestinian state, were instead an effort to sub-contract the oppression of Palestinians to the newly formed Palestinian Authority. While these agreements fell apart shortly after, the idea of a separate Palestinian state alongside Israel – or a two states solution – was favored by the U.S. ruling class with the verbal agreement of a wing of Israeli capitalism and the Palestinian Fatah Party to serve their privileges and interests.
But for Marxists the key question is not the number of states, but their social character. For a section of the Israeli ruling class, the most beneficial outcome is a weak and poor Palestinian state, subservient to Israeli capitalism and ruled by an emerging loyal Palestinian capitalism. No other type of Palestinian state would be allowed to develop by the Israeli ruling class. This scenario would inevitably ensure continuous social explosions and nationalist oppression.
The call for one bi-national state that includes Gaza, the West Bank, and modern-day Israel flows from the genuine struggle of Palestinians to return to lands they were expelled from. On the basis of capitalism, however, there cannot be real equality and peace, particularly along national lines. Nationalist explosions due to the ongoing exploitative nature of capitalism under this solution, even if it could be achieved, would more likely end with an actual Apartheid state with Palestinians losing basic democratic and labor rights.
Furthermore, the current Israeli state, with the strongest military in the region and a deep nationalist sentiment shared by a large portion of the Jewish population, will use all its might to fight against such a possibility as it would put them in a minority within a few years. The century-long mistrust and fear between the communities – largely due to the reactionary role played by nationalist pro-capitalist forces – which has only risen in historical proportions since October 7, also means that the vast majority of Jewish Israeli workers will see this as an attack on their own right to self-determination including security and the ability to manage their own lives.
Given the current level of violence and suspicion between ordinary Palestinians and Israeli Jews, Marxists support the rights of each nation to decide on their future, including the formation of separate states. However, we should never limit ourselves to what seems possible within the capitalist framework.
There is no escaping the fact that all capitalist plans for the region, based on the narrow interests of the ruling classes, have completely failed in providing basic rights including the right to security for ordinary people, and that a fundamental systemic change needs to happen throughout the region in order to win real liberation – a change that would put working people in power to organize society democratically and collectively to provide the basic needs to all based on genuine solidarity.
We think that ultimately the only solution is a socialist confederation of the Middle East based on the shared interests of all working people, with the right of nations to join or leave based on their democratic decision. Such a structure would allow free movement of people with collective stewardship of the region’s resources as part of an international planned economy democratically run for the benefit of all working people. All this while ensuring full protection of national, religious, and other minority rights. The Russian Revolution of 1917 enshrined the right of all nations , formerly trapped in the Tsarist Russian Empire, to self determination. This was the basis of the original voluntary Soviet Union, not the Stalinist caricature that came later.
We believe any future border between socialist states must be reached by democratic agreement not be imposed by force. But what is necessary to solve the conflict is first and foremost a socialist revolution to overthrow all the reactionary ruling classes of the region. It is possible that In the course of struggle both communities will find a shared interest which would allow an agreement to form one bi-national state by and for all working people.
But we need to be sober in understanding that due to the prolonged and deep-rooted nationalist consciousness and mistrust we are very far from this point. In winning people over to the idea of socialism and against the brutality of the occupation and siege, we have to respect the right of both communities for self-determination, especially when today the Palestinian masses are fighting to throw off the yoke of occupation and achieve self-rule while most Israeli Jews see their own national independence as under threat. It is more likely that genuine independence and security for both communities will become the strongest factor strengthening solidarity as a basis for eventual merger.
While this issue remains incredibly polarizing and complex, we have seen plenty of examples of struggles against the ruling elites in the region, that point towards the potential for cross-community solidarity.
Protests in Israel against the corrupt Netanyahu regime and his attempt – in collaboration with despicable far-right figures – to push through a far-reaching reactionary agenda – shook the country from the beginning of 2023 up until October 7. While protests haven’t returned to the 2023 levels, large rallies and marches are regularly organized blocking main highways and outside government buildings to demand a return of people abducted on October 7 as part of a ceasefire deal, as well as for bringing down the far-right government, with some calling for the Histadrut trade union to step in to organize a general strike.
A series of protests in Palestinian towns and cities within Israel have also been organized under ongoing police repression to call for an end to the war and against anti-democratic repression of anti-war organizing.
In the West Bank, protests in solidarity with Gaza have been brutalized by the Palestinian Authority police forces and, while protests in Gaza itself are almost impossible under conditions of incredibly brutal war, sentiment against Hamas had been growing before the war for their inability to provide any way forward. This included labor strikes and pro-democracy protests. To be clear, we do not think that it is correct to draw comparisons between the oppression carried out by the Israeli state and that of Hamas or the PA. The main responsibility for the situation in the region lies with a series of nationalist Israeli governments over decades, backed by European and U.S. imperialism. They have used divide-and-rule tactics against the Palestinian factions while ensuring that the Palestinian masses live in dire conditions under constant threat of war while Israeli Jews are kept in constant fear and their living standards are being eroded. This, again, shows that Jews within Israel have far more in common with Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and within the Green Line, than they do with “their” governments.
Some on the left would point towards certain reactionary ideas within Israeli society, such as racism and ultra-nationalism, as the reason for why Israelis will never be won to true solidarity with the Palestinian masses. We think that this idea itself is nationalist and does not see political outlook as something that changes with experience rather than being tied to one’s nationality alone. The reason that Israeli workers have a key role to play is rooted in their position in society. Just like workers in all other countries, workers in Israel – including the large Palestinian population living within Israel – are the only section of society with the potential power to shut down the Israeli capitalist economy and replace the bosses’ government with a democratic workers’ government. This might seem far-fetched right now, but ultimately there is no other way to bring down Israeli capitalism, the main imperialist regional power.
This is not to suggest that Jewish workers in Israel will be the “liberators” of Palestinians. Palestinian liberation has to be the result of a mass united struggle of workers from both national divides. Therefore, a reactionary political mood is something that needs to be battled against by pointing forward in a way that ensures the security and right for self determination for both communities as a starting point. This requires an explanation that all previous “peace” agreements were constructed in the bosses’ interests and that their failure also reflects these interests rather than some natural hatred between the two communities. Just as we reject billionaires’ attacks on our living standards and working conditions, we need to reject their self-serving nationalist plans for the region and instead support the creation of mass democratic and militant workers’ organizations that can organize all workers to find a solution based on common class interests. This is not fundamentally different from how we should fight xenophobia and racism in the U.S. by explaining how the ruling class profits from racial division and the need for common struggle to win good jobs, housing, and healthcare for all.
There’s a need in Israeli society to form a genuine mass party of working people to pose a real alternative to Netanyahu and capitalism in general, as well as fighting for a genuine democratic and fighting leadership of the trade-unions. A strong union movement, unlike the current Histadrut leadership, must point towards workers’ solidarity rather than spread nationalist sentiment in society. This struggle must demand an end to the bosses rule, bring big business under democratic workers’ control, and divert all profits to social programs, jobs, and infrastructure to increase living standards for all.
There is also a necessity for a mass alternative to the reactionary Hamas and Fatah regimes in the occupied territories. A mass party of struggle, working in coordination with a similar formation within Israel, can strike a blow against the regime of war, occupation and nationalism – all rooted in the crisis-ridden capitalist system. This means an uncompromising fight against the fanatic far-right settlers, for community self-organization, and a struggle against the anti-democratic attacks on all those organizing against the war in communities and universities, particularly Palestinian citizens of Israel.
We, therefore, call for a democratic, independent, socialist, and equal Palestinian state and for a democratic and socialist struggle in Israel and throughout the region which includes guaranteeing the safety and equal rights of all nationalities and minorities; for a shared capital city in Jerusalem; a just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees which guarantees the right of all to return if they so wish, while guaranteeing equality and higher standard of living conditions.
Next Steps For The International Solidarity Movement
Millions have participated in the international solidarity movement, making their opposition to the war clear. Socialist Alternative has been out in protests across the country since October, including on a number of campuses. With some Israeli officials threatening to continue the war for several more months, we think that students should rebuild campus occupations and hold large rallies at the start of fall semester. But we also need to expand this movement. Labor actions in academia, such as the UAW 4811 strike in California, and the sickouts taken by City University of New York educators on May Day need to be organized on a larger scale, as well as spreading to other industries, particularly logistics, transportation, and weapons manufacturing. We should also organize to occupy public spaces, such as city squares and offices of politicians who support this genocidal war or refuse to act against it. Unions representing the majority of unionized American workers have passed ceasefire resolutions and the potential is there for their leaderships to put their money where their mouth is.
Struggle should not be kept outside this year’s presidential elections. We’ve already seen the significance of the “uncommitted” vote, as well as the “Abandon Biden” campaign. We strongly support a political vote against both Biden and Trump – the current and former bankrollers of Israeli capitalism – and instead urge a protest vote for the strongest left candidate, either Jill Stein or Cornel West. This should be paired with strong mobilization to protest at the August Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
We should see this movement and the revitalizing labor movement as a step towards constructing a new party for working people in the U.S. Already, demands for a higher minimum wage and universal healthcare have mass support, but no political home. Neither is there a political home for those serious about fighting for LGBTQ rights and against racism, sexism, and xenophobia. The broad solidarity with the Palestinians, paired with rejection of U.S. imperialism’s role around the world is another important basis for a new workers’ party, pointing to the rejection of the thoroughly pro-business and pro-imperialist agenda of both Democrats and Republicans.
Socialist Alternative is open to work with other groups to build campaigns to assert as much pressure as possible while showing solidarity with those facing continuous war in Gaza and the West Bank.