Washington Communists Take a Stand for the Intifada!

Following the renewed assault against Palestine by the Israeli state which began in October, Socialist Revolution members in Bellingham, Washington have been standing up. Along with multitudes of their fellow workers, youth, and comrades around the country, they are fighting for the cause of Palestinian liberation and against the repugnant, genocidal policies of Israeli and US imperialism. Comrades did not wait for permission to take part in demonstrations against the horror that is daily unfolding in Gaza, which has found ready, rabid defenders everywhere in the capitalist media and institutions—including university administrations.

As communists, swimming against the tide is nothing new to us. In recent years, millions of young people have come to communist politics and are hungrier than ever to find a revolutionary answer to the crimes of imperialism. They reject the stale, liberal arguments that pose the ultimate aim of the current movement as obtaining a temporary “ceasefire,” and working towards a “two-state solution.” Demanding that imperialist lions turn into lambs is no solution at all. It would be a serious mistake for the Palestine solidarity movement to curtail its radical demands and instead embrace “what’s possible” under the constraints of the capitalist system. The only realistic solution is a revolutionary one: to end imperialism once and for all. With no other local groups offering leadership, the comrades in Bellingham decided to organize a rally at Western Washington University (WWU), proudly raising the slogan “One Solution: Intifada, Revolution!”

As it turns out, liberals and reactionaries don’t like it when revolutionary students and workers make them “uncomfortable” with declarations that fall outside of the narrow confines of university-approved “free speech!” Almost instantly, Zionists on campus began complaining to the administration. In response, WWU President Sabah Randhawa sent out a feckless public letter denouncing Socialist Revolution. He ignorantly claimed that our call for intifada—the revolutionary self-organization and uprising of Palestinian workers against oppression and exploitation—was tantamount to calling for violence against Jewish people. Even more ridiculously, this petty-bourgeois gargoyle compared the phrase “one solution” to Hitler’s “Final Solution” in a clumsy attempt to brand us as antisemites!

Comrades did not take these libelous smears lying down. Facing threats and intimidation from faculty, administration, Zionists, and a small number of students advancing identity-politics claims that we were misrepresenting “their” movement, comrades in Bellingham issued our own public letter defending the proud, revolutionary heritage of the First Intifada. We further exposed the hypocrisy of the WWU administration, whose budget—including Randhawa’s nearly half-million dollar salary—is partly made up of healthy “contributions” from war profiteers like Boeing. Comrades made the case for using militant class struggle methods to end the ethnic cleansing: mass demonstrations, shutdowns, and general strikes.

Needless to say, with support coming from as far away as Seattle and Vancouver, the rally was an excellent success, especially considering the campaign of slanders, pressure, and intimidation comrades had to endure just to exercise the basic right to demonstrate! Several new comrades were welcomed into our ranks, inspired by the boldness of Socialist Revolution’s principled stand and revolutionary program.

Are you interested in joining an organization that will always fight on the side of the oppressed and exploited, no matter the pressure that comes from the media and institutions that uphold capitalist rule? Then join the communists—join Socialist Revolution!