From the July-August 2018 issue of News & Letters

The aspirations and depravity that the world witnessed on the split TV screen on May 14 told everything: On one side were Palestinians in Gaza demonstrating for their right of return and against the impossible, vile living conditions they endure under Israeli control. On the other side Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were celebrating the opening of the American Embassy ordered by U.S. President Trump to be in Jerusalem. Since protests began on March 30, at least 135 Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli sharpshooters who targeted medical workers and youth. Hundreds were wounded.

Palestinians, seeking a non-violent way to militantly protest, organized the Great March of Return rallies. Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel, sought to co-opt the demonstrations. Neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas genuinely represent the Palestinian masses. In Israel, citizens need to break the grip of right-wing reactionaries leading their occupying country to a dead-end apartheid state.

Trump’s inflammatory action of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is part of his administration’s plans to back up Israel’s determination to destroy any possibility of creating a viable Palestinian state. Kushner’s so-called “peace plan,” promised to be released soon, will certainly point only to a further denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination and to the continuation of Israel’s deadly occupation.

–Eugene Walker