Arizona State House Prepares Attack on Palestine Solidarity

Despite the propaganda offensive being carried out by the capitalist press on Israel’s behalf, thousands of Arizonans have joined the international mass movement to defend Gaza. This movement, based on the unity of the world working class, is the only force in society capable of defeating American and Israeli imperialism and thereby guaranteeing genuine freedom for the Palestinian people. In this struggle, freedom of speech and other democratic rights are powerful weapons directed against the ruling class.

Unable to answer this movement politically, the servants of imperialism have instead resorted to lies, repression, and bureaucratic maneuvers to silence any opposition to the ethnic cleansing in Gaza. In Arizona, these attacks on basic rights have mostly been concentrated at the state’s public universities, where student groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine have had their events canceled and been falsely accused of spreading antisemitism.

Now, a new attack is being prepared by the Arizona House of Representatives, which has unanimously passed a resolution “supporting the nation of Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its citizens from terrorism.” Far from a symbolic gesture, this resolution gives a green light to the repressive forces of the bourgeois state to harass and persecute the Palestine solidarity movement under the spurious pretext of “fighting terrorism.” In the face of this attack, the workers’ movement must unite and fight back with mass political action.

Fighting terrorism or repressing solidarity?

The resolution reads:

Be it resolved… That the Members of the Legislature support Arizona’s law enforcement community in its efforts to remain vigilant in protecting Israeli Americans, Jewish Americans and all supporters of Israel from acts of crime and unlawful discrimination that tend to manifest in times of turmoil. That the Members of the Legislature support Arizona’s officials in the Executive Branch in holding fully accountable any individuals who engage in any acts of terrorism supporting Hamas as prohibited by Arizona Revised Statutes section 13-2308.01 and other state laws. That the Members of the Legislature encourage all other Americans to likewise condemn Hamas, as well as any official body that refuses to recognize Israel’s right to act decisively in self-defense to protect its citizens.

In the same breath, the legislature condemns both those who engage in acts of terrorism and those who refuse to recognize Israel’s right to self-defense. No mention whatsoever is made of the over 30,000 Palestinians killed by Israel in their own land since October 7, the overwhelming majority of whom are civilians and children, not terrorists. Furthermore, the resolution describes the events of October 7 as unprovoked, completely ignoring the storming by Israeli settlers of the Al-Aqsa Mosque—Islam’s third-most holy site—not to mention decades of Israeli occupation and apartheid.

In reality, this resolution has nothing to do with terrorism, and is instead intended to whitewash the crimes of Israel. No acts of terrorism have been committed in Arizona, and support for Hamas has played no role whatsoever in any of the many demonstrations which have taken place since October 7. Likewise, there have been no manifestations of antisemitism. Speakers routinely differentiate between Judaism and Israeli imperialism and are often Jewish themselves.

This has not stopped Zionist activists at Arizona State University from claiming that they received death threats at a student government meeting, referring to signs or chants of “intifada until victory!” or “long live the intifada!” Trumpite senator Anthony Kern has similarly claimed in a recent committee meeting that many Jewish students he has spoken to “fear for their lives.”

In reality, calls for a new intifada have nothing to do with terrorism or harming Jewish workers or students, and instead refer to a democratic mass movement against the violence and oppression suffered by the Palestinian people. Indeed, it is the Zionists and their apologists, including the House, who uphold Israel’s right to commit acts of state terror against innocent Palestinian civilians.

It is absolutely clear that this resolution intends to embolden police and other state bodies to persecute and harass peaceful demonstrators who refuse to recognize Israel’s right to engage in mass murder, equating these protesters with violent terrorists and antisemites. We should expect to see an increase in police methods such as “catch-and-release,” in which demonstrators are detained by police despite committing no particular crime, before being released later. These methods are intended to intimidate workers and young people and thereby discourage them from participating in completely legal and peaceful political expression.

We will not be silenced!

Without ignoring important political differences, the workers’ movement must come together to prepare mass demonstrations against this resolution and the government which approved it. All possible steps must be taken to broaden the movement as far as possible and bring fresh layers into the struggle, including the members of trade unions and workers of companies like Raytheon that supply arms to the Israeli war machine.

Together with the Palestinian-American Community Center, Socialist Revolution has already helped organize the first of these demonstrations to oppose this attack and declare: “We will not be silenced!” We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated, and we will not stop our fight for a genuinely free Palestine. We will continue to organize new demonstrations across Arizona, and are eager to collaborate with anybody and any organization who agree with these aims to make these demonstrations as successful as possible.

If you’re a communist fighting for a free Palestine, then get organized! Both capitalist parties are united against the Palestinan people and the working class. Join Socialist Revolution today and help us build a mass, revolutionary communist party capable of leading Palestine and all of humanity to freedom!

Down with the Democrats!

Down with the Republicans!

Down with imperialism!

Intifada until victory!