National March for Palestine
On May 29th, 2021, Troika members joined more than 35,000 of our comrades who rallied in the streets of Washington, D.C. for the National March for Palestine put together by US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). This article will offer brief insight into the march, why we must continue to stand in solidarity with Palestinians, and why we wholeheartedly support a sovereign Palestine.
The National March for Palestine in D.C. is a historic landmark in human rights history because it is the first time on Turtle Island (u.s.) that there has been a national march held for and led by Palestinians. Also, human rights is central in any national liberation movement by oppressed people seeking sovereignty all across the world. As we marched from Lincoln Memorial the ground shook and the energy grew electrifying as speakers proclaimed, “Free Free Palestine'' and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.” Children were leading chants and elders, who are older than “israel”, were watching as we collectively screamed chants for Palestinian sovereignty and against the human rights atrocities being conducted by the occupying state of “israel”. We marched through the streets of D.C., while it was raining, to uplift Palestine and show our disgust at the unwavering support of the u.s. government to the state of "israel", the u.s. donates billions of dollars in military funding.
We made it clear that there is a “both sides,” position to the question of freedom, soverignty, and human rights: you either support Palestine or you support "israel’s" campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the the Palestinian people using zionism. It is not complicated. Zionism is an ideology, not a religion, that was created in the 19th century, which claims the establishment of a jewish nation called "israel". This is being used to justify the illegal occupation of Palestine by zionists who have claimed the land to be “israel” since 1948.
At the National March for Palestine, we were once again reminded that Palestinians are still: being bombed, confined to open air prisons, subjected to checkpoints, tortured, imprisoned, and countless other human rights violations. We marched, with our Palestinian comrades in the diaspora, as many other countries have done, to show that “israel” no longer has the support of the American worker(s). People who are being oppressed and exploited are realizing that the Palestinian struggle for freedom is our struggle for freedom. We believe in human rights and the rights of Palestinians to resist settler colonialism by any means necessary. As Walter Rodney says,
“We were told that violence in itself is evil, and that, whatever the cause, it is unjustified morally...Violence aimed at the recovery of human dignity and at equality cannot be judged by the same yardstick as violence aimed at maintenance of discrimination and oppression.”
In other words, we will not tell Palestinians how to resist their oppressors. We, in Turtle Island, will support Palestine and play our role in destroying imperialism. As Che explained, “You North Americans are very lucky. You are fighting the most important fight of all—you live in the belly of the beast.”
People from all across Turtle Island showed up in solidarity with Palestine. But why? The difference is that, until the recent bombings, mainstream media was able to manipulate the narrative in favor of zionism. Most people were only able to see one-side, now that oppressed people in Turtle Island have seen what’s happening, they have been able to empathize with the Palestinian struggles and compare this to how we are being treated here. In fact, the oppression and exploitation of Palestinians is connected to our struggles for liberation here on Turtle Island. For example, Palestinians showed solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters in Ferguson by sharing guides with advice on how to deal with teargas and other practical lessons they learned while being attacked by the israeli occupation forces. As Ghassan Kanafani of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) beautifully summarized, “[t]he Palestinian cause is not a cause for Palestinians only, but a cause for every revolutionary, wherever he is, as a cause of the exploited and oppressed masses in our era. You have something in this world, so stand for it.”
We, Troika Kollective, are internationalists who believe in international proletarian unity against imperialism towards communism.
I took part in this historic march as a member of Troika because we are seeing that popular opinion on Palestine is finally shifting and this national march proves it. The PFLP is still actively fighting for the liberation of Palestine, newer orgs like Within Our Lifetime are bringing international attention, and movements like Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) have been growing and need larger mobilization efforts.
More and more people in Turtle Island and internationally are talking and should continue sharing information on the illegal occupation of Palestine by israeli zionists. In fact, we made history here in Florida, here in Miami when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding sanctions against "israel". It was the first time since to fascist bill, HB-1 (Anti-Rico Bill), was passed that the masses flooded the streets. No one was hesitant, just overwhelmed by the human rights violations and support by the u.s. government that is allowing this illegal occupation to continue.
We send revolutionary greetings to the people of Palestine and Palestinians abroad. We will stand with you till you return to your homeland.
Free all political prisoners! Free the land! All power to the people! Palestine will be FREE!
