During the early morning of March 18, as people were asleep or preparing suhoor to begin their Ramadan fast, the Israeli occupation forces openly resumed the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza. Over 400 Palestinians were murdered in a single day, including 174 children – one of the largest child death tolls in Gaza ever recorded.
Israel’s recent assault follows several violations of the recent ceasefire, including a weeks-long siege on Gaza cutting 2.2 million people off from food and electricity. This recent genocidal escalation and brazen refusal to abide by the ceasefire lays bare the intentions of the Zionist project: the theft of Palestinian land and the annihilation of the Palestinian people.
In the face of this inexcusable violence, our commitment to the Palestinian solidarity movement and to the liberation of the Palestinian people will only strengthen.
People today are increasingly seeing past the bankrupt morality of the pro-genocide bipartisan consensus. As a result, both parties have attempted to silence activists, and have increased the political repression of anti-Zionists. In the Bay Area and across the U.S., ICE has targeted immigrants who’ve spoken up against fascism and for Palestine. People like Mahmoud Khalil – a leader of the Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia University, who was arrested off the streets walking back from iftar and has been threatened to lose his green card without due process. Moreover, local students, workers, and faculty have faced harassment, expulsion, firing, arrest, and more for their principled advocacy for Palestinian liberation.
In the face of such odds, people have continued to stand strong and speak out against the genocide: thousands filled the streets across San José, San Francisco, and the U.S. this week in protests against the ceasefire violation. The Palestinian solidarity movement is only growing in power, and no government repression will stop it.
To end the immediate genocide for good, we must march onward and continue the struggle for Palestinian liberation, by fighting for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and by securing an arms embargo. We must fight at every level, from local businesses, to city councils, to county supervisors, to state legislatures, to Congress and the highest levels of government, to cut off all U.S. support to the genocidal state of Israel. In Silicon Valley, we must also fight big tech companies, which have created dangerous AI weapons and tactics of surveillance, often first unleashed on Palestinians before being used by police and military here in the U.S. This is our duty as socialists in the Bay Area, as the cause of liberation here, in the heart of the tech industry fueling the war machine, is inextricably linked to the cause of liberation in Palestine.
To build our power as a movement, we need you — yes, you! — to take a stand for justice and join an organization. The Bay Area has several groups fighting for the Palestinian cause: Palestinian Youth Movement, Arab Resource & Organizing Center, Jewish Voice for Peace, Vigil 4 Gaza, and San José Against War. Additionally, we at Silicon Valley DSA have our own International Solidarity Working Group which supports Palestine solidarity. Our work includes the No Appetite for Apartheid campaign, where we educate local businesses on the Israeli apartheid regime, and convince them to boycott and remove Zionist food products from their shelves.
Together, through persistent organizing, dedication, and solidarity, we will fight Zionism, imperialism, and all forms of oppression. Together, we will win a better world. One where Palestine will be free!