大象传媒

As I write this, Gaza has no water. For weeks now, families have spent their nights in the dark, because Israel has cut off electricity to the Palestinian enclave and also prevented residents from leaving. Gaza residents deal with nightly Israeli bombing raids of , in the darkness. Those wounded by the bombs are in the hands of a health care system in . Dedicated and exhausted, nurses and doctors work to save lives, also in the darkness, without running water, anesthesia, or other basic medicines and supplies. In three weeks, nearly 10,000 people 鈥�1,400 in Israel, and 8,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than 3,000 of whom are children鈥攐verwhelmingly by Israel鈥檚 siege. 

In response to this horror鈥攁nd to make our contribution to ending it鈥攎ore than 5,000 Black activists, scholars, artists, and workers have , an end to Israel鈥檚 siege, an end to the United States鈥� support for it, and urgent humanitarian relief to let the people of Gaza live. 

We are directing our demands to the U.S. government, which has been directly in this catastrophe. When Israel鈥檚 defense minister referred on television to residents of Gaza as 鈥溾�� and declared that Israel would cut off water, fuel, food, and electricity, U.S. officials did not object to the dehumanizing language or the violent act鈥攚hich is illegal under international law. 

Instead, the secretaries of and traveled to Tel Aviv to voice their support, followed by President Joe Biden himself. Since that visit, Biden has given multiple speeches in support of Israel鈥攁s it targets mosques, churches, schools, and hospitals. And he has called on Congress to give in 鈥渆mergency鈥� military funding, in addition to the $4 billion that the U.S. gives annually. 

Israel is seeking to isolate Gaza, trapping its people within, keeping aid workers and others from entering, and cutting off its residents鈥� phones and internet at will. But we refuse to let Gaza bear this alone. Our hearts are with its people, and we raise our voices against the governments besieging them.

In demanding a ceasefire and relief to Gaza鈥攁nd an end to U.S. support for its occupier鈥攚e are upholding a tradition of Black freedom struggle that sees justice as a matter that extends across and beyond national borders. 

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Riverside Church in New York, declaring that 鈥渕y own government鈥� was 鈥渢he greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.鈥�

That same year, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) for Palestinians after the 1967 War.

In 1970, 56 Black activists , 鈥淎n Appeal by Black Americans Against United States Support for the Zionist Government of Israel鈥� in The New York Times, declaring 鈥渃omplete solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters, who like us, are struggling for self-determination and an end to racist oppression.鈥� 

The Black Panthers with the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

These are only some of the most well-known examples of Black internationalism during the 1960s and 70s, but they barely scratch the surface of a whole universe of Black solidarity with people fighting colonialism and oppression all over the world.

We formed 鈥攚hich organized the writing and signing of the aforementioned statement鈥攊n 2015, following the previous year鈥檚 after the police murder of Mike Brown, and the , which happened at the same time.

That moment, captured by slogans such as 鈥淏lack Lives Matter,鈥� and 鈥淚 Can鈥檛 Breathe,鈥� was one of the most significant Black-led revolts that have shaken this country. Black people called attention to pernicious and ongoing racist police violence, mass incarceration, discrimination in housing and schools, racialized health disparities, and countless other aspects of American life that are marred by anti-Black racism. The movement has also pointed to the deep roots of these contemporary problems, launching a renewed conversation about slavery and episodes of white terror鈥攁s in the 鈥攁nd other racist abuses that have shaped the foundation of the U.S. economy and society.

A year after the 2020 racial justice uprising, many people in this country looked at Palestinians resisting displacement, , and yet another with different eyes. 

Additionally, there has been a significant uptick in pro-Palestinian activism in the U.S. overall. The growth of has made conversations about Israeli apartheid impossible to ignore on campuses across the country. The global campaign for 鈥攍ed by Palestinian civil society organizations鈥攈as invited people in the U.S. and around the world to engage in activism to advance Palestinian rights. And, we have seen the work and success of groups like , most recently engaged in direct actions in the and New York City鈥檚 to demand a ceasefire. 

These are just a few examples of a movement that has been educating and organizing for Palestinian rights. In combination with a different collective consciousness regarding racism driven by the Movement for Black Lives, more and more people in the U.S. have come to sympathize with Palestinians and understand their condition as shaped by structural oppression.

Now it is time to turn that sympathy鈥攚hich grows in the face of the latest Israeli assault鈥攊nto action, demanding an end to the hell rained down on our relatives in Gaza in the form of U.S.-made bombs, paid for by U.S. taxpayers, and dropped by U.S.-made aircraft.  

Ultimately, we must work for long-term justice and peace for Palestinians. But the first step is stopping the assault by winning a ceasefire. We demand it. The people of Gaza deserve to live.