Decolonizing Palestine: Rising Support and the Urgency to Defund Israel

The Path To Palestinian Liberation Necessitates Halting U.S. Funding

This article aims to highlight the colonial formation of Israel and how the state’s militant expansion is funded today. It also seeks to highlight the rising global support for Palestine and emphasize the crucial role the United States foreign policy can play in shaping the outcome of the Palestinian liberation struggle.

Global Support For Palestine Is Rising

The commemoration of al-Nakba, or “the catastrophe,” is a poignant reminder of the origins of the state of Israel and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. This historic gathering, the first ever at the United Nations, served as a stark reminder of the atrocities that marked the inception of the Israeli state.

Despite the regretful history of the United Nations with the issue, it played a crucial role in recognizing the plight of Palestinians. The global solidarity with the Palestinian cause, demonstrated by the attendance of most of the world at the commemoration, is a testament to the increasing recognition of the state of Israel’s repression. Furthermore, the global protests in solidarity with Palestinian liberation movements against Israel demonstrate increasing consciousness surrounding the oppression of Palestinians in the face of the imperialist machine.

The Untold Story: How Colonialism Shaped Modern Israel

The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 were instrumental in shaping the Middle East as we know it today. The Sykes-Picot Agreement, a clandestine treaty between Britain, France, and Russia, divided the Arab lands of the Ottoman Empire among themselves. This top-down project, spearheaded by Mark Sykes and Francois Pico, was a European project with no consultation with the Palestinians or Arabs. It’s the same old headline: imperialist powers commit land theft for capital expansion without regard for native human life. The Balfour Declaration followed this, laying the groundwork for establishing Israel. This British commitment to set up a Jewish nation-state in Palestine revealed a deep hypocrisy on the part of the British, who had promised (lied to) Arabs that it would fight for their national liberation.

Going Deeper: The Colonization Of Palestine

The birth of Israel, marked by the displacement of Palestinians during the Nakba, is a testament to the lasting impact of colonial policies meant to foster divisions and hostilities among different ethnic and religious groups. Rinad Abdulla states in her journal on apartheid in Palestine, “The urban planning of Israeli apartheid has therefore created a landscape that is visibly differentiated on religious and ethnic bases.” These divisions were exploited to serve a political project — creating a colonial state in the Middle East.

The United Nations, in its collaboration in handing over Palestine to the British mandate and ultimately to Zionist settlement, played a crucial role in establishing Israel.

The British army occupied Jerusalem from December 1917 to May 1948, during which time they implemented the Balfour Declaration, promising to favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. The British government during this time promoted Jewish immigration, encouraged Jewish settlement, subsidized Jewish defense, and protected the Jewish minority community, known as the Yishuv, from the native Arab population. This support laid the groundwork for establishing Israel, which had significant consequences for the Arab majority in Palestine.

The Zionist project of creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine resembles other colonial projects where settlers declared independence only when they no longer required the “mother country’s” soldiers to subdue the natives. This perspective presents the Israelis as colonizers and is shared even by some Israeli historians, such as Tom Segev and Naoimi Shepard.

The United States Offers Critical Support For Israel

The United States has both directly and indirectly supported measures contributing to the hardship of Palestinians. Direct support includes the provision of substantial military aid to Israel, amounting to $3.8 billion annually as of 2021, a significant portion of which contributes to Israel’s defense budget, making Israel the top recipient of U.S. foreign aid. In 2022, the U.S. continued to provide significant security assistance to Israel, with the annual amount being $3.3 billion​.

Indirectly, the U.S. often supports Israel in the United Nations by using its veto power in the Security Council to block resolutions criticizing Israel’s policies or actions. A noteworthy example is the U.S. veto of a U.N. resolution in 2011 that would have condemned Israeli settlement building in the West Bank​​.

The United States and Israel: A Historic Alliance

The relationship between the United States and Israel has evolved significantly over time, shaping the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. The United States, the first country to recognize Israel as an independent state on May 14, 1948, eventually became one of its staunchest allies. This alliance, coupled with the historical and ongoing issues surrounding the creation and existence of Israel, continues to fuel the imperialist agenda in the region. For instance, the United States funds and trains the Israeli military. Plus, United States evangelicals make up a critical political support base defending Israeli zionist policy.

The amount of aid the United States provides to Israel has varied over time. In 2016, the U.S. and Israeli governments signed a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining a framework for U.S. military aid to Israel from 2019 to 2028. Under this MOU, the United States pledged to provide $38 billion in military assistance to Israel over ten years, making it the most significant military aid package in U.S. history.

Supporters of U.S. funding to Israel argue that it primarily bolsters Israel’s defense capabilities and ensures its security in a volatile region. However, this type of propaganda is meant to distract us from the billions in material aid clearly going to an ongoing settler colonial project. The funding is a precise U.S. geopolitical strategy in which capitalist interests override human rights considerations. The vast monetary support provides Israel with superior military capabilities, which are frequently used not only for defense but also in enforcing a system of occupation and control over the Palestinian population, perpetuating the latter’s statelessness, dispossession, and deprivation. These funds could be better used to promote self-determination for all people in the region, including Palestinians.

The Fight For Palestine Is Praxis

The increasing global solidarity with the Palestinian cause demonstrates a growing recognition of the oppressive policies enacted by the state of Israel. From the historic gathering at the United Nations to global protests in solidarity with Palestinian liberation movements, people around the world are awakening to the realities faced by Palestinians under the imperialist machine. It is imperative to harness this rising support and channel it toward meaningful political action.

The United States holds significant influence over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Directly and indirectly, it has contributed to the hardships faced by Palestinians. Through substantial military aid and the use of its veto power at the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. has perpetuated the Israeli occupation and hindered efforts for justice and equality. This complicity demands that Americans take responsibility and actively work to challenge U.S. policies that enable the Israeli government’s oppressive actions.

Americans have a duty to raise awareness and engage in political activism to defund Israel and advocate for the self-determination of the Palestinian people. By exposing the capitalist interests prioritizing military aid over human rights, we can challenge the hegemonic narratives surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is crucial to form alliances, join grassroots anti-imperialist movements, and aggressively pressure elected officials to redirect resources toward promoting justice and self-determination for Palestinians in the region.

“Workers of the world, unite!”

A Marxist lens compels us to perceive this not just as a historical or political predicament but as a class struggle against a system that concentrates power in the hands of a few. Through their unwavering resistance, Palestinians embody a proletarian struggle opposing an oppressive bourgeois order. As the world pivots towards a more equitable understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is essential to recognize that this is not only about religion or nationalism but also about a systemic disparity in power, land, and resources.

The rising global support for Palestine presents an opportunity for Americans to engage in meaningful political activism. By harnessing this momentum and challenging U.S. policies that enable the Israeli occupation, we can work towards a more just and equitable future for Palestinians. Through awareness, education, and collective action, we can build a movement that advocates for the defunding of Israel and supports the self-determination of the Palestinian people. Let us seize this moment and participate in the struggle for justice and liberation.