N.Y. YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE CONDEMNS SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST D.S.A. AND PALESTINE-SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS
The New York YCL condemns, in the strongest terms, the smear campaign being waged against DSA and all who are attacked and slandered for standing in solidarity with Palestinians. As we release this statement, millions of Gazans, most of them children, are facing relentless bombing and a forced relocation that the United Nations says would be "impossible"; an act of genocide.
Yet, this past week, Congressman Mike Lawler filed a resolution in Congress, not to condemn the terrorism of the Israeli Defense Forces, but to condemn the New York City Democratic Socialists of America for supporting Palestinians facing slaughter. NYC-DSA expressed support for a rally organized by several Palestinian justice organizations, the People’s Forum, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation — it was this action which was associated with terrorism; not the indiscriminate violence carried out by Israeli settlers.
Communists are familiar with the history of McCarthyite smear campaigns and how the United States and imperialist powers manufacture consent for their war games, particularly through mass censorship. As terror continues to be inflicted upon Gaza, one of the most important things those in peace and freedom movements can do is stand united in our calls for justice and liberation for the Palestinian people. As these smear campaigns arise, we must call them out for exactly what they are.
This attack on DSA is only one of continuing slanderous attacks against popular forces and public figures calling for solidarity with Palestinians under siege. While the U.S. propaganda machine has long demonized the liberatory efforts of Palestinians, they have also targeted anti-Zionist Jewish organizations such as Jewish Voices for Peace and IfNotNow. The GOP and conservative Democrats are calling for democratic socialists Rashida Tlaib and Bernie Sanders to be censured. We see student groups, trade unionists, even veterans organizations facing doxxing and lies. Journalists and other workers are being fired for recognizing the humanity of Palestinians.
Like the people in Palestine themselves, these slandered activists and organizations are not a monolith. They have differences of opinion in regards to the ongoing conflict as well as the strategy and tactics of the Palestinian liberation struggle. All are struggling through different phases of trauma and grief, being connected to Palestinians and Israelis on various sides of the conflict. However, while these organizations differ in opinion for the path forward, all are calling for solidarity with Palestinians in recognizing and fighting against the perpetuation of these war crimes by both Israel and the United States.
As freedom-loving peoples speak up to oppose genocidal violence and to oppose their nations sending more weapons and financial support to the Israeli war-machine, we see a suppression of dissent rivaled only by the manufactured consent for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq two decades ago. In the U.S., we are seeing mass arrests of peaceful protestors supporting Palestine, including New York State Assemblyman and DSA member, Zohran Mamdani. From France to Germany and beyond, national governments are banning pro-Palestine protests and arresting people for speaking Arabic.
Meanwhile, as the death toll continues to rise for innocents on all sides of this conflict, Israel has shut off Gazan access to food, water, medical supplies, and electricity, a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention. While attempting to leave Gazans to suffer under an information blackout, the U.S. military is sending ships to Israel to show support for these war crimes. Progressive Israeli voices call for a ceasefire, negotiations for return of hostages, and an end to the occupation., Israelis across the political spectrum rightly place blame on Netanyahu and the Fascist Israeli government.
In the face of the attempt to replace the grave reality of the situation with “alternative facts” being presented by the U.S. ruling class, we refuse to back down and we will not be silenced. We will not stop organizing until the U.S. imperialist machine is ended.
As the New York Young Communist League, we will speak the truth of what is happening. We will not allow our comrades to be slandered for doing the same. We stand in complete solidarity with any organization, movement, or individual who has recognized the dire reality that Palestinians face and has called for Israel’s murderous actions to be stopped immediately. It is shameful that calls for liberation and justice are defamed and wrongfully smeared as hatred.
We are urgently calling to end the illegal occupation of Palestine, and unapologetically stand with Palestinians as they fight for their liberation with unimaginable courage. We reaffirm our call to end all U.S. funding of Israel’s genocide. We stand in solidarity with all who fight for a true Peace.
End the war. End the occupation. Free Palestine.
New York Young Communist League Organizing Committee
October 15, 2023
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12klXk9--kUy_G3ae9MoL7UR7ytJ5wNiwMtA0YSvWUp4/edit?usp=sharing
