Genocide: That’s what Israel is doing to Palestine, plain and simple. The language that Israeli officials have used to describe Palestinians is vile, and proves that this is not a war, but a massacre—a second Nakba. According to The Guardian, Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant said, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.” [1] The Guardian also reports that Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Palestinians barbarians, terrorists and monsters; meanwhile, over 8,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza, including almost 3,000 children. [2] The easier they are to dehumanize, the easier they are to kill.
According to World Population Review, the vast majority of the world recognizes Palestinian independence, but as always, it’s the colonialist nations—America, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, and the U.K., among others—that dissent. [3] The U.N.’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly condemned the killings of Palestinians, according to The Guardian, and has called for a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons. Craig Mokhiber, a senior U.N. official in New York, even resigned over the “wholesale slaughter” of Palestinian people, describing the conflict as “a text-book case of genocide” and adding, “What’s more, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and much of Europe, are wholly complicit in the horrific assault.” [2]
He’s right: The American response to the genocide of Palestinian people has been horrifying. As Israel cuts off Palestine’s access to food, water, medicine and internet, all while bombing thousands of innocent civilians, President Biden has expressed nothing but support for Israel. The New York Times reported that in a call to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Biden said, “If the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive and overwhelming”; he also requested that Congress send $14.5 billion in aid to Israel. [4]
The United States is supplying weapons directly to the Israel Defense Force—weapons that are explicitly being used to eradicate Palestinians. According to Business Insider, the Pentagon plans to place no limits on how Israel uses American weapons, including precision-guided missiles and carrier strike groups; in fact, Israel is the biggest receiver of American aid in the world. [5] This is where America is deciding to send its funds. Barely anything is given to Palestinians currently living through a desperate, overcrowded humanitarian crisis—or, for that matter, the humanitarian crises in places like South Sudan, which have been largely overlooked in favor of American imperialist interests in the Middle East.
America has immense power over Israel’s actions—Israel itself has admitted it. According to the Times of Israel, Gallant said in a recent defense committee meeting, “The Americans insisted [on humanitarian aid] and we are not in a place where we can refuse them. We rely on them for planes and military equipment. What are we supposed to do? Tell them no?” [6] President Biden has the power to cut ties with Israel and save thousands of Palestinian people, but of course, how else would the American military-industrial complex profit?
No wonder that, according to Time magazine, Arab-American support for Biden has dropped precipitously: Just 17 percent of Arab-American voters said they would vote for Biden in 2024, compared to 59 percent that voted for him in 2020. [7] Maysoon Zavid, a Palestinian-American comedian and disability activist who campaigned for Biden in 2020, was revolted by his response to Israel’s actions; when asked what Biden could do to win her support in 2024, she said, “There’s absolutely nothing that man could do. I mean, my God, what could ever bring back those kids? Nothing.”
The coverage of the attacks on Palestine is heartbreaking to read. Hundreds of men, women and children are being stuffed into refugee camps and massacred as the United States watches on. Biden and his administration have armed and funded the IDF for years, and now refuse to push for a ceasefire even as Palestinians continue to pull the bodies of their children from the rubble. For all his talk about being America’s first progressive president, Biden has revealed himself for exactly who he is: another cog in the imperialist machine.
SOURCES:
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/11/israel-palestine-war-biden-zelenskiy
[3] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-that-recognize-palestine
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/us/politics/biden-israel.html
[5] https://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-on-how-israel-uses-us-weapons-gaza-hamas-2023-10
[7] https://time.com/6330102/biden-israel-gaza-arab-americans-trump/