Early Thursday morning, Chancellor Gene Block was testifying in front of a Congressional Hearing which slandered and attacked people standing up against the U.S./Israeli genocidal slaughter of the Palestinian people, with the lie that anti-Zionism is the same as anti-Semitism. The pro-Palestinian organizers at UCLA were ready with their response to “Genocide Gene”—a second Palestine Solidarity Encampment! The instagram post announcing this said it was “in solidarity with the Palestinian people and in defiance of the McCarthyist censorship of pro-Palestine voices.”
Our salute to these organizers: Instead of the terms being set by the fascists and liberals in Congress, they were set by students acting to STOP THE GENOCIDE!
And our salute to the hundreds of students and others who came out to support.
Do not underestimate the difference you have made.
Your actions inspired people here and around the world... they've shaken awake many, many more and they've contributed to ripping the camouflage off the rulers of this country. They are not champions of “freedom and democracy.” They are not “protectors of human rights.” Their claims of “free speech” are mere window dressing. Beneath these claims lies the reality of a ruthless capitalist-imperialist dictatorship.
The repression has come down on you so hard because, as the revolutionary leader Bob Avakian explains:
fundamental interests of U.S. capitalism-imperialism are at stake. Because Israel plays a “special role” as a heavily armed bastion of support for U.S. imperialism in a strategically important part of the world (the “Middle East”). And Israel has been a key force in the commission of atrocities which have helped to maintain the oppressive rule of U.S. imperialism in many other parts of the world.
But that repression, while vicious, also further exposes this system's nature—and their vulnerability.
…this repression is happening because representatives of the ruling class in this country have a definite sense that if youth especially at “elite” universities begin to seriously question and act against what this system is doing—if the system “loses the allegiance” of large numbers of those students—that can be a big factor in creating a real crisis for the system as a whole, as happened in the 1960s: a crisis that, now more than ever, this system really cannot afford, when the whole country is already being torn apart by deep divisions, with bitter clashes right among the ruling powers.... The ruling class is desperate to prevent opposition to its fundamental interests from spreading and involving masses of people, from all parts of society. [bold and italics ours] [From @BobAvakianOfficial on social media and substack]
Be very clear: they are afraid of our defiance... and they are afraid of it spreading!
The most important way to learn more, and to hear almost daily analysis of key developments and really hard questions from the revolutionary leader, Bob Avakian, follow: @BobAvakianOfficial on all social media platforms or scan this code & subscribe to YouTube.
Even as the genocide of the Palestinian people continues—with more horrific intensity every day. Over 40,000 people murdered, the people of Gaza forcibly starved, the hospitals, schools, mosques, farms and housing turned to rubble.
THIS U.S.-BACKED GENOCIDE MUST BE STOPPED. We, here in the U.S., have a special responsibility to call forward massive and sustained struggle, uniting all who can be united to create a deep enough political crisis to compel the rulers of the U.S. to back off their support for Israel. This would be a huge contribution to bringing the slaughter to a HALT! Nothing less is required. —from our statement, “A Crucial Crossroads in the Struggle to STOP the U.S.-Israeli Genocide of Palestinians… A Historic Moment in the World. How Do We Go Forward?”
What's needed right now:
1. Uniting all who can be united to declare: “Stop the U.S./Israeli Genocide of Palestinians Now!” The resistance needs to broaden, deepen and grow more determined.
To all the students who have been inspired and challenged, but don't know what to do or how to help: STOP WAITING! There is no neutral in the face of a genocide, and you are needed in this fight!
The protest needs to spread on campus... and taking if off campus, reaching into the ghettos and barrios, the arts districts, the suburbs and beyond. And everyone under attack needs to be defended.
2. While we unite from different perspectives, we need to open up the discussion and debate over the deeper causes—of the century of oppression faced by Palestinians, along with the other truly horrific ways that this capitalist-imperialist system oppresses people—and what it will take to finally win real and lasting liberation and emancipation.
Everyone who seriously agonizes about the future and wants to see a world without the unjust brutality we are witnessing in Gaza, and in this illegitimate repression, needs to dig in seriously to the source of all this: the system of capitalism-imperialism. And dig into the solution to it: a real revolution. The Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity invites you to talk with us. Find out about the strategy, vision, plan and leadership for this revolution. Bring the spirit of defiance and your desire to get to a world where these kinds of crimes never happen again to anyone! With this whole system in crisis and society being ripped apart, the revolution that's needed to overthrow this system could happen not just in some far off place and time, but right here and right in this time we’re living in.