Palestinian Political Prisoners
Palestinians, Native Americans: Linked Struggles
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Gaza Hope of Humanity by Samia Halaby
The New England Committee to Defend Palestine is a member of the Qawem Coalition. The following statement was put out by the Qawem Coaltion on January 12, 2009:
We Support the Resistance in Gaza
The recent massacres in Gaza demonstrate the zionists' capacity for
violence. They also reveal their fear and weakness in the face of
Palestinian armed resistance. Still humiliated by their defeat by
Hizballah in Lebanon in 2006, they have chosen to inflict massive
casualties on easy targets. The deliberate bombing of schools stands out
among the atrocities, which now include the bombing of mosques, hospitals,
ambulances, universities and all other forms of civilian infrastructure.
Because the assault comes after a regime of mass starvation--with people
forced to eat animal feed in the months before the military attack--we can
predict that the secondary casualties from lack of food, clean water and
medicine will dwarf even the staggering numbers from the attack itself.
The current attack can only be seen as the culmination of a deliberate
plan to starve and kill the people of Gaza. The portrayal of zionist
actions in corporate media as "retaliatory" and Palestinian resistance as
"provocation falsifies the nature and history of the zionist state.
"Israel" is a colonial settler state founded on the racist ideology of
zionism. It has followed the expansionist and genocidal logic of white
supremacist, settler-colonialism for over 60 years: its aim is to
completely eradicate the indigenous population, either by "transfer" or by
total annihilation.
Historically, the only force that has stood between the zionists and the
completion of this goal has been the armed resistance. It was the armed
resistance of Palestinians in the 1930s that first forced the British to
reconsider their goal of establishing a zionist state in Palestine. Armed
resistance forced Ariel Sharon to scrap his plan in 2000 of bringing a
million new settlers into the West Bank. Armed resistance drove Israel out
of South Lebanon, and forced 5,000 settlers out of Gaza.
In the absence of armed resistance, zionist expansion has continued
unhindered and without international attention--as in the case of the
Naqab, where Bedouins have been driven from their traditional lands. As
the collaborationist Palestinian Authority increasingly tightens its
repression against resistance forces in the West Bank, settler atrocities
against Palestinians aimed at driving them from their land now escalate
unchecked.
Rockets fired from Gaza on settlements in '48 occupied Palestine (e.g.
Sderot, Ashkelon) are not mere acts of symbolism: they have defeated the
capacity of the zionist state to offer settlers "security." Since
"security" is now the main promise which the state holds out to its
settler population, this defeat is quite significant. It has prevented the
zionists from achieving their "demographic" goals: deluging Palestine with
fresh new waves of colonial invaders.
We recognize that Palestinian resistance follows in the tradition of many
other indigenous peoples who have had to survive and defend themselves
against colonialism. First Nations peoples in the Americas, enslaved
Africans in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin and South
America, the Zapatistas in Mexico, the Herero in Namibia, the Mau Mau in
Kenya, Aborigines in Australia, Arabs in Iraq, and the Macheteros in
Puerto Rico have all had to, and continue to, defend themselves against
white supremacist violence and land theft.
All in the international community who support the Palestinian people in
their fight against zionist oppression must also support their struggle
against the colonization of their land. This means supporting not just the
right to resist, but the resistance itself, recognizing both its legitimacy
and its viability.
The resistance has issued statements asking all supporters worldwide to
state their support for the legitimacy of the Palestinian resistance and
recognize it as the sole alternative for Palestinian liberation. This was
their only request.
We, the undersigned, answer this call:
1. We reject zionism as a white supremacist colonial ideology.
2. We recognize the legitimacy of the Palestinian resistance as an
expression of the will of the Palestinian people. This includes the right
to decolonize all of historic Palestine by any means necessary.
3. We support the Palestinian resistance and acknowledge that it is the
sole legitimate alternative in the fight for Palestinian liberation.
Long live the Palestinian Resistance!
Qawem Coalition
We are encouraging organizations to sign this statement by sending an
e-mail to qawem@riseup.net. Names will be posted to the statement on our
website: http://qawemcoalition.org
Qawem Coalition Statement, January 12, 2009
Palestine Resistance Reports (archive of NECDP announce list)
Crónicas de la Resistencia Palestina
Singing for Justice as A Life-long Commitment
April 27, 2010
" . . . those of us who care about justice received with great joy and relief the news that Mr. Gil Scott-Heron canceled his scheduled concert in "Tel Aviv." In view of the destruction and suffering the Palestinians have endured for the sake of that racist colonial enterprise known as "Israel," the cancellation of this concert couldn't have been more just and appropriate."
Gaza, Greece, and the Meaning of Solidarity
January 20, 2009
"The ties are concrete that link the police murder of Alexis Grigoropulos in Greece, the murder of Oscar Grant in Oakland, and the genocidal zionist assault on Gaza. The central role of the "US" and "Israel" in developing a global system of police repression has everything to do with their common history as colonial settler-states."
For Palestine to Live, Israel Must Die
January 11, 2009
"Today the world watches helplessly while the zionist entity slaughters
the people of Gaza. This is nothing new -- for the past 62 years, the
world has watched massacre after massacre, attack after attack, and done
nothing about it. In this latest atrocity, at least 900 Palestinians so
far have been murdered from afar, with the zionist's US-supplied bombs
and other weapons, and more weapons are on the way. "
October 15, 2008
Why should movements for social and political change adopt anti-Zionist principles as part of their work?
Zionism must be confronted as a form of white supremacy that exists within our movements for liberation and social change. Zionism has its main base of political, economic and military support in the “United States.” While the vast majority of the world’s people recognize that the Palestinian struggle is a legitimate struggle against genocidal colonial violence, no movement in the US has yet emerged capable of challenging this base of support. One reason for this is the pervasive influence of Zionism across the entire spectrum of US politics.
A Short History of the Colonization of Palestine (pdf)
Myth/history fact sheet.
Confessions of a human bomb from Palestine
Featuring articles by and for u.s. political prisoners and their supporters.
Statements from U.S. Political Prisoners In Support of Palestine
See Jericho Boston for information on and activities in support of U.S. political prisoners.
