Workers and students in New York City have risen up in anger at the fascist collective punishment that the Israeli government is raining down on the workers of Gaza.
Every day, hundreds to thousands have gathered – and Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members have been there in the struggle, pointing out that neither the Big Fascist government of Israel nor Hamas, the Small Fascists they helped install in Gaza, can lead workers to liberation. Most importantly, PLP called for a communist revolution that rids the world of all bosses and their lethal capitalist system.
In the Bronx, around 100 protesters gathered in front of the offices of Richie Torres, a representative to the U.S. Congress. This racist Democratic Party liberal weaponizes his Gay and Latin identity to try to convince his constituents, who live in the poorest Congressional district in the country, to unconditionally support the fascist, genocidal Israeli government. Our line stood out against the backdrop of Palestinian nationalism, as Hamas’ brutal attack has revealed their true nature as capitalists willing to kill workers for control of “their” workers. In fact, a recent survey showed that even Gazans see through Hamas’ lies; 44 percent of those surveyed in the territory said they had no trust in the Hamas government (Foreign Affairs, 10/25). Many of the demonstrators eagerly took our literature, which attacked both groups of bosses. PLP members had conversations with workers, struggling with them to understand that there cannot be a “Free Palestine” without destroying capitalism.
On Friday, October 27, a thousand people gathered in and around Grand Central Terminal, shutting down one of the busiest train stations in the country. After hundreds sat down inside the station, hundreds more took over 42nd Street outside and began marching west. As in the Bronx, the chants were mostly for an immediate ceasefire and for a “free Palestine.” While chanting “Arab, Jewish, Black, and white. Workers of the world unite!” we distributed more than 300 copies of CHALLENGE and 300 leaflets. One demonstrator, after carefully reading our leaflet, called it a “breath of fresh air” because it criticized Hamas while attacking the barbarity of 75 years of Israel’s colonial apartheid state and the ongoing Nazi-like collective punishment of Gaza.
Workers all over the world are demonstrating the powerful sense of solidarity that we have as members of the working class. This display is truly inspiring, lighting the way to a world where the international working class will be all there is, a future where every boss, whether Israeli or Palestinian, U.S. or Russian, will be nothing but a relic of the past. We are struggling in demonstrations, teach-ins and in one-on-one conversations with our friends, students, and coworkers to build communist ideas and our Party – to make this future a reality.