Anti-apartheid students, several labor unions, and numerous anti-genocide individuals have responded to the oppression by the ruling authorities in America, Europe, and their police against militant students by deepening and broadening the “Strike Camp in Solidarity with the People of Gaza” movement. Currently, 150 universities in America and at least 40 universities in Europe, along with several universities in Australia, India, Japan, and some countries in the Middle East, have joined forces against political and academic complicity in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the Israeli government and its ongoing war against them. Militant students and workers have confronted police and supporters of the Israeli government with slogans such as “Not in Our Name. You’re anti-Semitic, we are not.” and “Ceasefire Now,” and “Freedom for Palestine.”
The “Strike Camp in Solidarity with the People of Gaza” movement, which began on April 17th at the prestigious Columbia University in New York City, has evolved into ongoing struggles since the seventh of October and the announcement of full-scale support by the Biden administration for the Israeli army’s attack on defenseless people in Gaza. In the United States, several labor unions including the “United Auto Workers,” the “International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,” the “American Postal Workers Union,” and newly formed “United Starbucks Workers” have supported the “Strike Camp in Solidarity” movement with the slogan “Ceasefire Now.” This marks a significant shift in the American labor movement, which has long defended the allegedly “oppressed” Israeli regime. The regional branch of “UAW Local 9” participated actively in demonstrations alongside residents of the city of Seattle in the state of Washington on April 27th. Seattle demonstrators, along with representatives of nine local unions, protested and supported the demands of students, including:
– Ending all financial ties between universities and the Israeli government and its supporting companies involved in genocide.
– Immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
– Halting the sending of our money and taxes under the guise of financial and military aid from America to the Israeli government.
– Ending all investments in Israeli military industries and major arms-producing companies for that government in America. Later, a request was made to completely cancel and unconditionally drop charges against the 3000 detained students, adding to the aforementioned demands.
One of the union representatives at the Seattle demonstrators said: “I represent 9 million members. We demand an immediate and lasting ceasefire. With this same demand, the executive board of our union voted unanimously to send a clear message to Joe Biden that the war must end.”
At another gathering, a Jewish student advocating for peace participating in the protests said: “According to pro-Israeli media reports, Hamas killed a thousand Israelis during the October 7th raid. Since then, Israel has killed thirty-four thousand people until April 29th, a thousand of whom were children.” The retailers’ union also requested Biden to cut off all aid to Israel and to work towards a lasting ceasefire and sending humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
Since the messages and demands of the aforementioned unions remained unanswered by Joe Biden, the officials of the auto workers’ union proposed forming a body to remember Biden’s role in the massacre of the people of Gaza and the destruction of their homes, hospitals, educational centers, relief efforts, and the like during the upcoming presidential election. Members of one of the branches of the “American Communications Union” also recently asked their members to consider Biden’s lies about justifying genocide in Gaza and suppressing students in America when going to the polls.
According to Reuters, the “Strike Camp in Solidarity with the People of Gaza,” organized by the “Columbia University Against Apartheid Students,” includes a hundred student groups. The national, old, and non-profit organization “American Civil Liberties Union” in New York supported them financially and legally. According to recent reports, mainly the “Socialism and Freedom Party,” “Jews for Peace,” and “Students for Justice for Palestine” lead the student movement. Official Islamic media presence is highlighted, but according to Reuters, students of various beliefs (including Jews and Muslims) participate in the protests. Some liberals, who public opinion does not allow to deny the radicalism of protesting students, are mistakenly reminded that students have no class affiliation, so they are right.
Firstly, no student is without class affiliation, as unfortunately, in America, there are significant numbers of students who support the ruling authorities in Israel and America and the genocide in Gaza, some of whom have even attacked solidarity camps with the help of the police.
The police’s brutal attack on students at Columbia University sparked the anger of students and freedom-loving people, leading to expansion to some universities in France, Britain, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Belgium, Mexico, Australia, India, and Lebanon.
The “Strike Camp in Solidarity with the People of Gaza” movement has achieved many successes, some of which are briefly mentioned: raising awareness among wide masses about the genocide issue; efforts to disgrace the police and the majority of ruling authorities in Israel, Europe, and America, with Joe Biden at the forefront, dubbed “Joe Genocide”; publicly and haltingly ending cooperation with the government of Israel and companies and major supporting corporations by some universities such as the University of Barcelona; efforts to revive the suppressed democratic rights of people by their capitalists and governments, such as freedom of speech, freedom of association, and assembly in places traditionally perceived as public; awareness of facts, publicizing hidden government and university budgets, attracting the support of some unions, garnering support from the Democratic Socialists of America party and figures like Bernie Sanders, as well as many scholars, intellectuals, artists, and political activists. It should be noted that some protesting students have gone on hunger strikes to achieve the demands of the “Strike Camp in Solidarity with the People of Gaza” movement, greatly alarming authorities, and the number of universities accepting negotiations with student representatives is increasing.
