WEST ORANGE, NJ, December 11—The attempted genocide by the Israeli government has sparked international outrage among workers around the world. New Jersey has been one of the sites where sharp struggles between antiracists and Zionists have been on display. Antiracist actions led by high school students and teachers have been a catalyst for students and workers to fight back in the area. The courage and multiracial unity of workers have also been met with nationalism and fear. The Progressive Labor Party (PLP) has been involved in such a struggle at the urging of one of the parents in town. We stand alongside these workers and struggle to win workers to see that capitalism is the main enemy that needs to be smashed.
Students lead the way
Though there have been several protests at U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s office, it was the students in West Orange who exposed the Zionists and their political misleaders. West Orange is a suburb of Newark and a town that likes to praise itself for its “diversity.” During the George Floyd protests, West Orange saw multiracial rallies chanting Black Lives Matter.
But when a Palestinian and Jewish student organized a walkout to protest the genocidal bombing of Gaza, the Zionist leadership responded by getting the Mayor and Superintendent to shut it down. Then, on a Zionist Facebook group, they exposed the names of these high school students who were planning the walkout.
In response, dozens of students, parents, alumni, community activists, and teachers filled the board of education meeting to support the students. The unity of Jewish, Arab, Black, and white workers showed the bravery and potential of the larger working class to fight back. As a result, the students held their walkout a week later. This shows that when workers fight back they can win.
Liberalism and nationalism - a tool of the bosses
Like many movements that we are part of, liberal misleaders make sure they can control the mass line of the movement. In this case, many of the leaders are winning workers and students to focus on city and school officials. At one recent town meeting workers and students were protesting the appointment of a human relations commissioner. This person was also head of the Zionist Facebook group that exposed the names of the students who were planning the walkout. Many members of the group spoke specifically about the commissioner. Some residents, however, made the wider connection to imperialist war and genocide by the Israeli government. One teacher stated, “I believe it is crucial to recognize that support for international wars will always impact our local dynamics. The ongoing support of a bloody war funded by the United States, driven by profit, has repercussions at the micro, local level.” Another worker also spoke out about the role of U.S. and British imperialism in the war - attempting to win workers to develop a more international, class analysis of the situation. The Party was also there to pass out a leaflet arguing that both nationalism and Zionism are two sides of the same deadly coin for workers. A Palestinian state will only funnel workers to be exploited by Palestinian bosses like Israeli workers are exploited by Israeli bosses. If workers are going to sacrifice their lives - it should be for a system that is going to free our class from these wars once and for all. We were met with positive reactions, particularly from some of the students who attended the meeting.
Overcome fear with struggle
Despite the growing anti-racist movement in West Orange, many of the organizers refuse to come out in person and instead participate through Zoom. The big reason is that Zionists have been doxxing (sharing personal information) of critics of the Israeli genocide. The town government has been supportive of the Zionists in trying to silence any opposition. At one of the meetings, a Zionist threatened the anti-racists by claiming “they are armed” at public gatherings. As a result many of the organizers, especially Muslim workers, stopped going to public meetings and instead attended through Zoom.
This was a temporary setback for the movement. As a result, the group was planning to speak at a town council meeting. Seeing that there were only a few workers there to speak out against the genocide and racist support by the administration, the council was able to delay the public speaking part until 1 am! Even those in attendance sat quietly despite attempts by more militant activists and PLP members to speak out against the silencing.
Some steps have been made, however, to try and fight this fear. A community group in the neighboring town of Orange held a potluck dinner to talk about and make plans for further fightback. This included parents, students, and organizers from West Orange, Newark, Orange, and neighboring towns. The dinner was opened by a long-time anti-racist fighter who connected the Palestinians to the millions of displaced workers all over the world. She also brought out the oil motives in the Middle East and connected them to the resources in Sudan, Afghanistan, and Haiti that drive imperialist ambitions. We then heard from various workers and students who reported on student walkouts, the desire to build groups that include working with organizers and their children, and how to build a movement that is going to fight both anti-semitism and anti-Muslim racism. The dinner was a perfect example of how workers overcome fear: by bringing workers and students together to organize and fight back.
Long road ahead
We have already learned many lessons. Whether it is struggling against the narrow liberal (and often nationalist) politics of the group or organizing social gatherings, we have learned that this is going to be a long-term struggle and we need to build stronger bonds with many of these members to win many of these students and workers to our line. When having one-on-one conversations when distributing our leaflet we see that students and workers are open to it. Still, as usual, the leadership of these groups ensures that the liberal line of the misleadership prevails. The potential is there, and we plan on being there for the long term to build the Party and win many of these courageous workers to fight for a communist future.
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Editorial: Taiwan, flashpoint of inter-imperialist rivalry
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- 15 December 2023 1514 hits
Imperialist war drums are beating loudly in the Pacific as the U.S. and China vie to control resources, markets, and geopolitical leverage. At the center of this grab bag is Taiwan, the island republic claimed by China-- and viewed by the U.S. as a strategic counterpoint to China’s rising power. In advance of Taiwan’s January 13 elections, the two superpowers are competing for regional supremacy as they move toward World War III. Their maneuvers lay bare their bloodthirsty drive for profit and also expose the lethal dangers of nationalism.
Progressive Labor Party (PLP) stands firm that working people have no nations—and no side in the capitalist bosses’ dogfight. The bosses cloak their insatiable greed in nationalist rhetoric and calls for a false unity with “their” workers. But all alliances with capitalists offer workers only misery and death.
The working class can turn inter-imperialist war into class war, a revolutionary war for communism. We can connect our communist politics to every struggle we’re immersed in, from the fightback against racist cop terror to strikes and struggles for decent healthcare. We can call out nationalist misleaders who distract the working class and divert their anti-imperialist anger. It’s up to the workers of the world to reject all criminal bosses and respond with international working-class unity and communist revolution.
Imperialists at sea
The South China Sea, a major shipping route and fishing ground, is a linchpin in the global battle for supremacy between China and the U.S.—and a flashpoint for inter-imperialist war. More than 21 percent of the world’s trade, amounting to trillions of dollars, passed through it in 2016 (CNBC, 11/17). China and the U.S. are Taiwan’s two biggest trading partners. The Taiwan Strait, the main shipping route for "goods from Asian factory hubs to markets in Europe, the U.S. and all points in between” (bloomberg.com, 8/2), anchors global supply chains.
Perhaps most important, Taiwan produces over 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors and over 90 percent of the advanced microchips that power everything from mobile phones and artificial intelligence technology to weapons of mass murder (The Economist, 3/26). China’s threat to take over Taiwan and its claim to nearly all of the South China Sea prompted U.S. rulers to bar Taiwan companies from selling their most powerful chips to China (NBC News, 6/29).
Fighting a rising global power
A decaying, divided, and desperate U.S ruling class is straining to contend with China, an economic giant that now sees itself as a global power and is acting as such. “Long reluctant to inject itself into conflicts far from its shores, Beijing is showing a new assertiveness as Xi Jinping begins his third term as the country’s head of state, positioning China to draw like-minded countries to its side and to have a greater say on global matters” (Wall Street Journal, 3/22). China’s willingness to wade into international matters sends a message to traditional U.S. allies that the old world order, dominated by the U.S. and its NATO allies since World War II, is a thing of the past.
In planning their takeover of Taiwan, China’s bosses have studied the Russian playbook. They have repeatedly warned the U.S. to steer clear of Taiwan. After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the contested island last year, China defiantly conducted live military exercises in the area. While the U.S rulers want to avoid a military conflict with China until they are ready (Foreign Affairs, 8/23), make no mistake: War is coming. In a system based on theft from workers and the violent elimination of all competition, the imperialist bosses will ultimately have no other choice.
The dangers of nationalism
The poison of nationalism is an essential tool for the capitalists to win workers to fight in this impending war. China is fiercely promoting its nationalist “One China'' rhetoric (The Diplomat, 8/16). Taiwan and U.S. bosses use similarly divisive tactics. With the upcoming election around the corner, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has deployed former ambassador Hsaio Bi-khim to the U.S. to fan the flames of nationalist identity politics. Hsiao’s popularity with younger voters reflects a surge in Taiwanese identity across the island and diaspora. By contrast, the main opposition party, Kuomintang, which favors close ties with China, has chosen a hardline anti-U.S. media personality, Jaw Shaw-kong, as its vice-presidential candidate “to appeal to the party’s traditional base of mainland-descended voters.”
Whether pro-China or pro-U.S., no brand of nationalism serves Taiwan’s working class, which suffers from the diseases of capitalism: unemployment, inflation, stagnant wages, and housing shortages (The Diplomat, 5/15). Racism, a natural byproduct of nationalism, prevails as well. The country’s prosperity has been built on apartheid and the racist treatment of 700,000 migrant workers from Southeast Asia. They labor in unsafe factories and are exploited by third-party labor brokers (thediplomat.com, 10/10/19). Whether peddled by bosses in Taiwan or China, Gaza or Israel, Ukraine or Russia, all nationalism represents a counter-revolutionary attack on the working class.
Dark night shall have its end!
The Chinese bosses long ago reversed the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the historic uprising for communism, and plunged the world into a dark night from which we still struggle to emerge. But Progressive Labor Party declares that dark night shall have its end! Workers around the world are already showing it is possible to reject imperialist war and identity-based divisions. Anti-Zionist Jews in Israel and around the world have bravely called for an end to the genocidal war in Gaza. International protests against Israel’s vicious ethnic cleansing have been filled with workers of all stripes.
PLP must sharpen the struggle to turn struggles against imperialist war into struggles for communist revolution. Amid the growing danger posed by rival gangs of capitalist bosses, we must maintain our unwavering trust in and dedication to the international working class. Our goal is to end this criminal system and build a communist world run by and for workers. Join us!
No shackling of patients
November 14 was a busy day for U.S. PLP members and friends at the American Public Health Association (APHA) meetings in Atlanta, Georgia. We joined protests against Cop City in Atlanta and Israel’s genocide of Palestinians abroad. We were also instrumental in getting a policy passed by the APHA against shackling prisoners in health care settings (like handcuffing them to the metal rails on a hospital bed).
We worked for over a year with friends and PLP members to craft this resolution, just as we have done before on successful resolutions against police brutality and for prison abolition. This strong anti-racist policy statement gives us a new tool to demand humane treatment of prisoners at our local institutions. Two of us engaged in this policy work also hit the streets as a security team at the Cop City rally, openly advocating against capitalism and for communism. These actions opened the door to deeper political conversations at a later social event. A fellow rally security member was excited to meet a communist and to learn more about the PLP.
Handing out our newsletter, APHA Challenge, at sessions where we presented or spoke from the floor was another way we got into good conversations, including one with an interested activist who remembered us from our campaign last year around global vaccination access.
While PLP has provided consistent leadership in struggles at APHA for decades, today’s multiple crises for the global working class mean that the party group in the APHA must grow as class struggle intensifies!
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We will remember Claude
We live in a world where it’s “normal” to commit genocide, but it’s “unreasonable” to remember the dead.
In one New York City high school, on what would’ve been his 18th birthday, students wanted to memorialize Claude.* After what happened in March, in fear of retaliation, students wanted permission before putting up a memorial again.
Claude was a son, brother, friend, thinker, creator, student—and a victim. He was doubly targeted by the capitalist violence in the street and the racist education system in the schools. Following his killing, students had fought to memorialize Claude. In response, the administration had taken down the memorial not once, but twice! And each time, we rebuilt it bigger. (See CHALLENGE 4/12 and 4/26 for the full backstory.)
When I met with the principal this week to submit the students’ request, she eventually said yes. I quickly informed the students of the small win. I also asked staff to join me in wearing Black in memory of Claude.
Twelve hours later, before the school day, I received an email revoking permission to post the memorial.
When I arrived at school, I saw many workers in Black. Students and I began our morning with a circle in the hallway in front of the memorial. One student led us through a speech and ten seconds of silence. We then wrote messages on the poster.
After morning check-in, I was told by the administration to take down the memorial.
I replied, “No, I’m not doing that. I won’t be the one to remove it.”
She did a double take and said, “Okay, I’ll take it down myself. I’m not scared.”
The simple act of remembering a Black working-class student is defiance in this Black-run school. The fact that a memory of a child’s killing is so threatening exposes the racist anti-student nature of schools under bloody capitalism. One purpose of capitalist education is to recreate all the inequalities that make this profit system run. Capitalism’s schools censor and repress anti-working-class ideas. Bringing attention to Claude shatters the image of this “good school.” His memorial is a reminder that this whole system is disproportionately rigged against Black, Brown, and immigrant students. Such a system doesn’t deserve to exist.
Well, the principal finally backed down for now: “I don’t want to fight…we’ll keep it.”
Taking small risks like these helps build working-class confidence for the bigger battles ahead. Our next battle is fighting anti-Muslim racism (more next time).
Throughout the day, students from all grades signed the poster. Hundreds were careful to not let it wrinkle as they passed through the hallway. For now, the memorial is up.
Our principal was trying to bury Claude’s memory like how Israel buried 14,000 of our working-class siblings.
Students and education workers here have yet to see it, but the very group of people who kill kids overseas are the same people who kill kids in the streets.
Be it Brooklyn or Gaza, this profit system tries to bury us, but the working class remembers. We will remember Claude. We will remember the genocide. In their memory, we will fight for the kind of world they deserve.
*The pseudonym Claude is inspired by the communist fighter and writer, Claude Mckay.
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Canada: worker organizer solidarity with our class in Gaza
A Progressive Labor Party (PLP) member organized a solidarity event with workers in Palestine in his rural Maritime-Canadian community. The event was part of a national day of action demanding that the Canadian government support an immediate ceasefire in Israel-Palestine and call for an end to the blockade of Gaza.
More than 250 workers and their families showed up, a substantial turnout in a town of 5000. The highlight was a “complicity tour” that involved marching to various sites in town at which designated speakers critically connected the location to Canadian support for the ongoing genocide. The stops included the local university, where the speaker called out the administration’s cowardly unwillingness to condemn Israeli state violence and made the case for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement. Then it was on to Scotiabank, whose logo blazes the same shade as the blood of Palestinian children, with the institution’s massive investments in Elbit Systems, an Israeli death merchant.
The gap between a ceasefire demand and PLP’s call to turn the guns around appears wide indeed, but by working in a reform-oriented organization Party members will continue striving to keep the revolutionary horizon in view, testing our line among an expanding coalition of community members.
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Response to Gaza genocide: teacher stops business as usual
As the bombs were falling on our working-class brothers and sisters in the Levant (Gaza and surrounding area), the New York City Department of Education dropped a bomb on NYC teachers. The Chancellor put out an email saying that teachers could be fired for anything they post on social media. This is a clear escalation, and an example of liberal fascism increasing, due to the need for the ruling class to silence any criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Not a word of criticism was broached by the Teachers’ Union thus their silence is complicity. Upon seeing the letter, my club of Progressive Labor Party (PLP) teachers began formulating a plan to respond. One teacher shared a template that some teachers were using to write a letter to the teachers union’s president. We then decided that the club would take this course of action.
In addition, I decided that I wouldn’t be teaching my usual classes and would, instead, have a class discussion on Israel/Palestine. I was able to have a sharp conversation in the classroom and had several students — including some Muslim students — thank me. This also opened up the ability to have conversations with teachers, in which I consistently brought up the Party’s analysis thatU.S. support of Israel’s genocide is all part of inter-imperialist rivalry.
While sitting in the teacher’s center during my off period, I quickly wrote a letter and asked for input from a young Latin teacher with whom I’d had a few political conversations. She was happy to help, and shared that not only was the Israeli genocide fueled by the Leviathan Oil fields off of the coast of Gaza, but that there were plans to create a canal that would rival Egypt’s Suez Canal and be totally under the control of the U.S. and Israel.
I then sent the letter to our entire staff. Several teachers thanked me, especially one teacher with a Muslim name who said he was afraid of speaking out due to racism. Many good conversations with students and teachers and much base-building occurred by following and carrying out the plans that my club had made. Of course, as part of our plan, we decided to share our experiences with CHALLENGE to help the Party grow and learn.
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Letter: Chicago’s Black Friday- Shut this genocidal system down
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- 30 November 2023 1092 hits
On November 24, I joined three other comrades at the "Save Gaza," Black Friday March on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, the "Magnificent Mile," of expensive shops and restaurants. Several progressive groups were present at the event such as the US Palestinian Community Network and Students for Social Justice at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC).
Shoppers unnecessarily crossed through the rally, and at one point a racist shouted, "Stop killing babies and raping women!" While I don't know what kind of statistics there are about rape in this conflict, the hard evidence about the Israeli Defense Force's current killing of 6,150 children in just under two months should be spiking the radar of any "pro-lifer." The dehumanizing tactics of Hamas are centered in the imagination of those all too unwilling to grapple with Israel's own dehumanizing, US-supported tactics on Palestinians, where prior to the current slaughter 40% of the male population in Palestine had been imprisoned.
Once the march of about 1,000 took off, there were several stopping points in front of businesses like Victoria's Secret and Starbucks shouting, "Shame on You!" while cops blocked the entrances. At one point we chanted, "CPD, KKK, IDF, they're all the same!" At another point an Arab American cop guarding a business was a particular focus for a small group of Arab protesters.
I carried a sign with the picture of Murod Kurdi, an Arab American worker from the nearby suburb of Oak Lawn who was murdered by a drunk driver. I got the opportunity to explain the PLP's support of the case to a worker handing out flyers. He referred to the area Murod was from as "Little Palestine,” on account of the large diaspora there. A family with a 5-year-old boy and his family holding signs of support for Palestine came closer to have him read my sign and ask about it. When the boy struggled to understand the importance of an Arab worker killed by a drunk driver, a member of their group explained that if the driver hadn't been white, they likely wouldn't have gotten away with it.
Though most shoppers hid away in stores or acted as unaffected as possible, I did get some CHALLENGEs to a few of them. A pair of young workers gazed from the sidelines in awe, and when handed a CHALLENGE and told it was a communist paper, one responded, "The people control the means of production!" I got handed one to a young Black worker who raised her fist and began to march along the sidewalk with us. Another worker outside of Starbucks recognized CHALLENGE and asked for one.
Ending at the historic Water Tower, an organizer called for high school students to organize walkouts, for college students to challenge their learning institutions that often have Zionist backing, and to continue coming out every week.
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Pakistan: in capitalist crisis, workers organize
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- 30 November 2023 1739 hits
Workers in Pakistan are grappling with a dire economic situation. Inter-imperialist rivalry is heating up, particularly in dependent countries like Pakistan. It depends upon the financial capital of Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the U.S., in that order. For example, in order to obtain the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, Pakistani bosses are forcing workers to produce weapons for Ukraine as collateral for the latest bailout package. In addition, Pakistani bosses are raising funds by stealing from workers and selling national assets like its ports to the UAE.
Various social issues are escalating, while the ruling elite shamelessly serves the interests of imperialism. Unemployment is spreading rapidly, inflation is increasing daily, and workers across different industries are losing their jobs. Farm workers are being compelled by landlords to work longer hours for lower wages, and women and children are being pushed into bonded labor. The Progressive Labor Party (PLP) is taking a leading role in the working-class fightback in Pakistan, explaining the situation and pointing out the need for a communist revolution as the only solution.
Workers fight back; bosses terrorize with crackdowns
The most impoverished sections of the working class face a lack of job opportunities in both the public and private sectors. Local industrialists and feudalists prioritize exploiting workers and shifting their capital abroad, resulting in daily suicides among workers and their families due to unemployment, lack of food, and shelter. Working-class individuals are actively participating in Action Committees, organizing protests and sit-ins against new taxes, high inflation, unemployment, and terrorism.
Government employees are staging strikes and sit-ins to pressure authorities to increase their pay in line with inflation. However, the finance department's adherence to IMF instructions makes it challenging for the government to provide relief. The fear of displeasing international monetary organizations like the IMF has led to a situation where Pakistan's default could collapse the capitalist economic system, leading poor workers to challenge the state due to hunger, exploitation, and poverty.
Protests extend from teachers to clerks, with various organizations, including the All-Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA), mobilizing. The Punjab government's attempt to privatize schools is seen as a move that will increase unemployment and exploitation. The government is also set to introduce amendments to pension regulations under IMF instructions, sparking agitation among poor people against the ruling class's actions.
AGEGA's militancy has triggered a brutal crackdown, resulting in the arrest of over 556 demonstrators. Protesters from various unions, including the Punjab Teachers Union, All Pakistan Clerk Association, Health Employees' Association, and the Punjab Professors and Lecturers' Association, were subjected to torture and false cases, highlighting the intense suppression by authorities.
Party exposes bosses’ privatization schemes and corruption
The impending privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is perceived as a ploy to appease capitalist supporters. Capitalist bosses, in every election, fund campaigns of almost every party expected to form the next government. This privatization, along with other institutions, is viewed as a means to bribe capitalists, although it raises concerns about the impact on public services.
Despite approximately 23 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, public school' neglect continues. Teachers' unions are criticized for their role, seen as self-serving and aligned with bureaucracy and politicians. The Progressive Labor Party (PLP) is involved in these actions, using them to provide true revolutionary leadership, guiding workers to see their revolutionary potential, and understanding the root causes of Pakistan's political, social, and economic challenges. While participating in reform struggles, PLP offers hope for a brighter future, distinguishing itself from other leftist and socialist parties.
Only working class PLP can lead the way
Political parties in Pakistan have often manipulated Palestine and Kashmir issues for sympathy and funds. Religious parties exploit these issues for financial gain. Despite working-class people's disconnection from these geopolitical concerns, religious parties use mosques to mobilize mainly businesspeople, shopkeepers, and government employees in rallies lacking the passion of the working class.
Religious parties' reluctance to aggressively address the Palestinian genocide is attributed to their ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The PLP supports progressive students, workers, and political activists in organizing demonstrations against imperialist greed and exploitation. The Party emphasizes the need to fight against the capitalist system, which it sees as the main cause of global bloodshed. PLP advocates for international organizations under its red flag to eradicate every evil of capitalism and establish a political and economic system guaranteeing equality, justice, and peace – communism.
