The Black Lives Matter movement can take credit for having forced Israel to back off, even if only partially and temporarily. It is an example of international solidarity in action which goes all the way back to 2014.

In that year, the black community in Ferguson rose up almost as one person after Michael Brown was killed by the police. They were met with repression, including heavy tear gas. 6500 miles away, people in Gaza were under heavy bombardment from Israel. Despite having to deal with that attack, they sent tweets to Ferguson’s black community, expressing solidarity and explaining how to deal with tear gas. Now, the black community of Ferguson, and the entire Black Lives Matter movement, has returned the favor. It was this movement that set in motion a chain of events that resulted in the cease-fire in Israel/Palestine. (See this short interview in Ferguson in 2014:)

Those who doubt the connection should consider the chain of events:

On May 10, formal military hostilities opened up between Hamas and Israel. This had followed weeks of Israeli attacks on worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem as well as plans to evict Palestinian families in Sheik Jarrah.

Three days into the Israeli slaughter, Biden commented that “Israel has a right to defend itself.” This is the classic dog whistle for the meme: “Israel is the victim and they are just defending themselves.” Biden’s support for Israeli war crimes was met with an outcry from within his own party. This was really a first. The Washington Post reported on the several comments: “The president needs to tell Netanyahu to stop,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Of Biden’s response, he said, “I think it has to be much stronger.”

Representative Debbie Dingell (D, Mich.) commented on the Arab community in her district: “I’ve lived in this community for 30 years. These are very intense, passionate and caring people, and they did not believe that in the midst of a war in the Middle East that their voices should not be heard because many of them have family there, and they are deeply concerned.”

Ocasio Cortez on Firingline; she was a lot more conciliatory in 2014.

The evolution of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is also instructive. In 2018, she appeared on PBS’s “Firingline” and when questioned on the issue of Israel-Palestine started off with the ritual assertion that “Israel has a right to exist.” Then, when challenged on calling Israel’s occupation of the West Bank what it is – an occupation – she said: “I am not the expert in geopolitics…. I may not use the right words.” And she said that “of course” she’d be happy to talk with “leaders” in Washington DC on the issue and also willing to visit Israel (presumably as a guest of the Israeli regime).

Now, two days after Biden’s apology for Israel, Ocasio Cortez commented on the floor of congress, “Do Palestinians have a right to survive? Do we believe that? And if so, we have a responsibility to that as well.” She later more directly criticized Biden, tweeting, “If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to?”

Congresswoman Cori bush: She owes her election to the uprising of the black community in Ferguson.

Representative Cori Bush, whose district includes Ferguson and whose election can be attributed to the uprising in that city, directly linked the two issues. She promised to “fight for our rights in Palestine and in Ferguson,”

Even the main leadership of the party in congress showed a slight shift. The Washington Post reported “Even longtime Israel hawks such as Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) have shown a sensitivity to the shifting winds in their party with carefully worded comments suggesting they would not always march in lockstep with the Israeli government.”

Led by Ocasio-Cortez, several Democrats in congress then moved to block a $735 million arms sale to Israel. Nobody expected that sale not to go through, but the fact that there was opposition was significant.

As a result of these “shifting winds”, according to AP and other sources, on Wednesday, May 19, Biden told Netanyahu that he expected “a significant de-escalation”. Netanyahu in effect told Biden buzz off. Nevertheless, and despite the fact that the majority within Israel opposed a cease fire, the very next day he accepted exactly that – a cease-fire/

The very next day after the cease-fire, Netanyahu sent his troops into the al Aqsa Mosque. Israel will not reverse its aggressive, racist policies.

Where to from here?
Palestinians celebrated the cease-fire as a victory, and so it was to an extent. Netanyahu and his racist base had wanted to kill a lot more people in Gaza and reduce many more buildings and infrastructure to rubble. The pressure from the US – mostly behind the scenes – forced him to stop, at least for now. In order to placate his racist base, Netanyahu immediately sent his forces into al-Aqsa Mosque to attack Palestinian worshippers there. A remaining question is whether the Israeli supreme court will okay yet another land theft in the eviction of Palestinian families from Sheik Jarrah.

Sorgente: Israel-Hamas Cease Fire and Black Lives Matter Movement – Oakland Socialist

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