The new Nakba and its consequences

For several months, pro-Palestinian and far left writers have been talking about the impending human catastrophe in Gaza. Today we have to adjust what we are saying. The catastrophe is no longer impending, it is here now. This is the central fact to be grasped as we wait for the Israeli attack on Rafah. The purpose of this article is to look at these developments and some of their consequences.

Israel had said that it planned to attack Rafah on March 10, which was anticipated to be the first day of Ramadan. The big majority of Gazans have taken refuge there. It lies on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. There is literally nowhere else for the Palestinians to go.

Rafah is the only significant location in Gaza that has not yet endured a sustained attack by the IDF. The Israeli army has gained at least some ability to function in the rest of Gaza. Therefore, the attack on Rafah would be the culmination of this phase of the Israeli offensive. The countdown to the attack on Rafah forms the background to all other events surrounding the war.

The catastrophe has arrived

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Palestine, was quoted in The Financial Times on March 11. He said “Hunger has reached catastrophic levels…Children are dying from hunger.” McGoldrick’s present tense is instructive. It’s happening today, not a prognosis for the future. All the other evidence reinforces this dire statement.

The current death toll as of March 12 is 31,112. This is about 1.4 percent of the total population. The corresponding figure for the United States would be about 4.8 million people. This is somewhat more than the entire population of the state of Louisiana.
72,760 people have been injured.
More than 8,000 Palestinians are missing under the rubble. Tragically, at this point very few are likely to be found alive.
85 percent of the population are now refugees.
360,000 homes have been destroyed or seriously damaged. This is more than half the housing stock.
All the basic institutions of human life are disintegrating: hospitals, clean water, electricity, hygiene, food supplies, and civil functioning.

The “flour massacre” is an example of the current situation in Gaza. This occurred at the Al-Nabulsi roundabout north of Beersheba on the night of February 29. Word spread that relief trucks carrying food would be there. Naturally, a large crowd gathered. Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd, killing 118 people and wounding about 760. The IDF claimed that most of the deaths were due to a stampede around the trucks. This story, of course, quickly evaporated as doctors reported that the vast bulk of the casualties had gunshot wounds. It was a veritable massacre.

The Al-Asqa Mosque has been the location of attacks by the Israeli army on Palestinians on many occasions. Israel has issued new directives severely restricting Palestinian access during the current month of Ramadan. This is certain to be the location of new conflicts in the coming weeks.

The peace talks have not yet gone anywhere. The original aim was to have some sort of agreement in place by March 10. Obviously, this has not happened. While an agreement is still possible, it is still very much up in the air.

Verbal repositioning by US imperialism

A certain repositioning by US imperialism has been taking place. Vice-President Kamala Harris made a well-publicized speech calling for a cease fire. President Biden has distanced himself from Netanyahu and spoke of a cease fire a number of times: at the State of the Union speech, at a (probably set-up) “hot mic” comment made as he was leaving the podium on the same night, and in subsequent interviews.

There are two reasons for this change in outward stance. The first is the upcoming presidential elections. Biden is very vulnerable on the Palestinian issue. Many supporters of a cease fire have adopted a tactic of calling for a Non-Committed vote in the primaries. This project has had some real success. In Michigan, the Non-Committed vote was over 100,000 or 13 percent of the Democratic vote. In Minnesota the votes were 18.9 percent, in North Carolina 12.7 percent, and in Massachusetts 12.7 percent of the total. Other states had smaller figures. These votes were not just from the Middle Eastern and Muslim communities. The campaign has also been attracting support from younger voters. These are the type of voters who would have supported Bernie Sanders in the last two presidential elections. This presents a real problem for Biden’s so far lackluster campaign. The need to win back these layers is one of the key reasons why Biden and his supporters have adopted a more pro-Palestinian verbiage.

The second reason for the change is that US imperialism does not want the whole Middle East to go up in flames. This would destabilize a crucial geopolitical region. Therefore, the US has been cautious in responding to the actions of Iran and its allies. As the carnage in Gaza mounts, US imperialism has to be seen as distancing itself from the murderous results of the Israeli offensive. This accounts for the new terminology. It also explains the US air-drops of food and the proposed new mobile harbor.

While anything that isolates the Israeli government is positive, we should have no illusions about what is going on here. The United States is still fully committed to Israel as its “aircraft carrier” in the oil-rich region. US aid to Israel has not slowed down for a minute.

Sir Ronald Storrs, the first British governor of Jerusalem, cynically but candidly, stated imperialism’s long-term project. He wanted a “little Jewish Ulster” in the Middle East. This meant a loyal beach head in a potentially hostile region. This still remains world capitalism’s goal today, changes in posture and positioning notwithstanding.

The many forms of the Palestine movement

The large street demonstrations still remain the backbone of the Palestinian solidarity movement. The March 9 London demonstration, which was in the hundreds of thousands, was one of the largest so far. However, we have seen many different forms of action taking place alongside them.

We have already discussed the Non-Committed vote campaign in the primaries.
Jewish organizations such as the Jewish Voice for Peace have organized a very large number of sit-ins, demonstrations, and civil disobedience actions.
There has been a constant stream of student demonstrations. These include walkouts by high school students.
Over 70 cities and towns have passed resolutions calling for a cease fire.
There is a mushrooming of smaller local actions. If I may give a personal anecdote. I try to follow the Palestine solidarity movement in Chicago as closely as I can. Twice last week while driving I heard on the car radio traffic report, of all places, of roads being blocked by Palestine demonstrations that I had no idea were even taking place! This is a small example of the growth of the movement.
The suicide of Aaron Bushnell is a striking example of how deep this new mood goes. The twenty-five-year-old airman set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on February 25. He made quite clear that his action was to protest Israel’s war on Gaza. Aaron explained that he could not stand by as the horror in Gaza continued. He had drafted a will so that his savings would go to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Aaron’s action shows the enormous effect that the “first genocide in live time” has had on popular consciousness around the world. His action will be remembered as the self-immolations by Buddhist monks during the Vietnam war are still remembered today.

Marxists have a special responsibility when it comes to Palestine. Our whole world outlook is based on the struggle of the working class and oppressed. Today, the oppressed Palestinian people are facing a vicious offensive from the Israeli capitalist state, backed up by the world’s largest imperialist powers. Our job is to do everything we can to support the Palestinians in this situation. That’s why building the Palestinian solidarity movement remains a central task for all Marxists.