This report was written by Viktor Medem, an unaffiliated socialist activist, writing in a personal capacity. We are publishing the report as a contribution to debate and discussion around left perspectives on the issues.
For Workers' Liberty's own response, click here.
In the United States, the response of left-wing Palestine activists to Hamas’s 7 October massacre of 1,400 Israelis has created fault lines whose full implications are only beginning to become clear. What is clear, however, is how news of the massacre was greeted. When it broke, the response of almost all the major Palestine solidarity activist groups ranged from gleeful celebration to immediate blame of Israel, without even a token denunciation of Hamas. The attacks also immediately energised the movement, which has held bigger and bigger marches since. During a number of these, speakers have openly praised the attacks in general, with some going as far as to specifically praise the murder of civilians.
Our War Crimes are Good, Actually
The suspects ranged in ideology. The ultra-campist Party for Socialism and Liberation said the massacre was “a morally and legally legitimate response to occupation.” They co-organised a New York City rally with the Students for Justice in Palestine, another national group, who called it a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance.” The city’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)—the largest group of its kind in the country—endorsed the rally too. (However, they rescinded the endorsement after national criticism.) Other DSA chapters were more effusive though, one calling the attack an “unprecedented anti-colonial struggle.” Jewish Voice for Peace, which has been repeatedly criticised for antisemitism, immediately posted attacks on Israel without condemning the massacre. (They too were forced to walk this back.) The National Lawyers Guild, the primary legal group which defends leftists, simply posted its support for Palestinian “armed struggle.” And Black Lives Matter Chicago tweeted an image celebrating the massacre.
Fortunately, these pro-massacre and Hamas-apologist attitudes did not sweep over the whole left and stopped at the social democratic mainstream. Senator Bernie Sanders denounced the massacre. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DSA’s most prominent member, issued a scathing rebuke. In Colorado, several elected officials resigned over DSA statements.
But to the left of that, and excepting certain individuals, unambiguous denunciations of the massacre and Hamas are still rare. Less uncommon are perfunctory “killing all civilians is bad” statements immediately followed by accusations against Israel and without further mention of Hamas or the incident. Even this amount of distancing has tapered off as the attack on Gaza has proceeded. Some even argue that speaking about it, including referring to Hamas’s hostages, is carrying water for the IDF. Indeed, there are numerous reports of Palestine activists tearing down posters of the hostages.
For decades, the Left has represented Israel as the pinnacle of whatever the activist theory of the day opposes. When it’s imperialism, Israel is the fountainhead of imperialism. When it’s fascism, Israel is the most fascist state. For several years now, the US Left has taken up the theories of “settler-colonialism” and the related idea of “decolonisation” and turned them into an orthodoxy. Israel is almost never acknowledged on the Left as a Jewish state whose founding was driven by antisemitism, nor even that Jews are originally from the area, but rather is almost uniformly portrayed as a genocidal settler-colonial state.
Arguments
The arguments supporting the massacre have shifted rapidly. There is little talk of the Right of Return or Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). What there have been are numerous pro-massacre arguments. These include the explicit invocation of settler-colonial theory, with all Israelis coded as “settlers”—and therefore fair game to be killed. The familiar argument that “you can’t tell the oppressed how to resist” is a frequent carte blanche for even the worst atrocities. Some white leftists even half-joking (but only half) agree that it would be understandable if they were killed by Native Americans.
The pro-Islamist sentiment that was common on the left in the ‘00s has resurfaced. Hamas was said to be the “only effective resistance” to Israel, although after the bombing of Gaza that argument has subsided. Similarly, the massacre was understandable because there was “no other option” and that it was the “will of the people,” despite the hoped-for uprising in the West Bank failing to materialise. A common perspective is also that the Palestinians have no political agency and can only react to Israel; therefore, Israel is responsible for the massacre. (DSA’s Libertarian Socialist Caucus explicitly made this argument.) Of course, any condemnation of Islamists is denounced as Eurocentric and the product of white privilege.
Within a week, however, some arguments have turned into their opposite. Some leftists now claim that these pro-massacre and pro- Hamas statements never happened! All of this is powered by delusions about the conflict that are common coin. Palestinians are said to be the “most marginalised group in the world.", squared off against the most oppressive state in the world in a Manichaean battle between good and evil — not a hot and cold dirty war that has gone on for decades.
As the attack on Gaza has gone into full swing — eclipsing not just the Hamas massacre in terms of casualties, but even the 2014 Israeli bombing of Gaza which killed 2,000 — the most popular talking point is that Israel is committing “actual genocide.” The accusation of genocide has been levelled for decades; more sophisticated activists justify such a broad interpretation of a UN definition that it could cover the oppression of almost ethnic/national group. But the claim is being taken for a reality, driving the already wild rhetoric into orbit. (Of course, statements by Israeli leaders have only fed this, which at least give the claims some basis.) The irony that Israel is also being criticised for ethnic cleansing for trying to force those in Gaza away from the bombing—and even into Egypt—is lost on the accusers.
Reactions
Without skipping a beat, many leftist Palestine activists shifted from justifying or excusing the massacre to protesting the Israeli attack. They are clearly oblivious to the chasm they have opened with many other leftists, especially Jews. This may reverberate for years and strongly impact the Palestine solidarity movement, with the potential to foster a major split. At least one Jewish Currents staff member, whose platform has pushed for anti-Zionism to be at the centre of leftist Jewish identity while also downplaying left antisemitism, was quite publicly taken aback at the realisation that his comrades would have leapt for joy at his murder. And disgust has been widespread by many other Jews and others sensitive to antisemitism, not a few of which are also anti-Zionists themselves.
This reaction was compounded by the widespread silence —especially in the first days—from left platforms which apparently did not approve of the massacre but were lost for words or bullied into silence. After a week, some radicals were able to regain their footing, forwarding slogans like “Against Hamas and Israel.” Despite their poor statement at the beginning of events, the group IfNotNow has become the main one people are rallying around who denounce the massacre and Hamas apologetics. Atlanta Antifa issued a solid statement condemning the bombing, Hamas, and war crimes while still calling for activism to support Palestinians. This has been a welcome pushback, although their exception proves the rule here. Other antifa groups have been quiet about this.
Many leftist Palestine activists have celebrated everything they denounce Israel for —murdering children, wantonly violating international law, and committing war crimes. Their insistence on a One State Solution appears to have lost any potential Israeli-Jewish buy-in in one fell swoop. What this all will mean politically to Palestine activism will be seen shortly. One thing is certain though: as a result of these events, a new injection of antisemitism into the left has begun.
