Contrary to claims propagated for almost 75 years, no massacre of Palestinians by Israeli fighters took place on April 9, 1948 in the village of Deir Yassin, just west of Jerusalem. This false narrative was invented to smear the new-born State of Israel. What actually happened, how did the falsehood spread, and what have the consequences of this calumny been for Israel?
Over the past few years the DSA's sole focus has seemingly become the Israel/Palestine conflict. WHat started out as solidarity with Palestinians has evolved into what seems like a singular focus, if not obsession, on opposing Israel and ending U.S. aid to it. In some progressive circles, cutting military funding to Israel has become one of the movement's defining causes, if not its most important one.
For as much as folks decry Israel first, the DSA movement has become Palestine first. Which is fine if you're anti-Israel, but the problem is that their goals will not accomplish much of anything to help actual Palestinians and does nothing to help foster peace and coexistence.
Many activists argue that if the US would only end support for Israel, it would lead to the eventual dismantling of the Israeli state. Which, ironically, seems to focus more on tearing Israel down than creating a Palestine. The parallel to Palesitnian leaderships viewpoint in the 1940s is worth noting.
But the problem is this: Israel is not a fragile country that survives because Washington writes checks. It's a wealthy, technologically advanced nation with a powerful military, a strong economy, and a population that has spent generations believing its survival is at stake. People can hate Israel all they want, but the idea that Congress cutting aid would suddenly cause the country to disappear, or start that trajectory is detached from reality.
Even if every dollar of U.S. military assistance went away tomorrow, Israel would still exist. Its government would still make decisions based on what it believes are its security interests. Its citizens would still overwhelmingly support maintaining a Jewish state. In other words, the political goals many activists want would remain just as distant as before.
And in the midst of all this, this fixation and obsession on all things Israel actually does nothing to help Palestinians, especially those who live under the brutal control of Hamas. Following many DSA leaders, it seems that turning a blind eye to the living conditions of Palestinians under Hamas is the norm. Because the goal isn't to lift Palestinians up, it's to bring Israel down. But the only way to actually help Palestinians is through a viable peace process. Justifying terror attacks as resistance and working tirelessly to dismantle Israel is futile.
This approach favored by many DSA candidates tends to treat Palestinians as symbols rather than people. It's why some would have you believe that the Israel/Palestine issue represents everythign thats wront with the world and western society. The cause has become a signal fo rpolitical identity rather than a cause designed to help people actually living in the middle east.
What makes the issue even stranger, especially for someone who once ran in DSA circles, is that they used to focus on issues like healthcare, wages, unions, housing, and economic inequality. Those are issues that directly affect millions of working Americans. Yet many candidates seem more animated by Middle East politics than by the struggles of the people they claim to represent at home.
To be 100% clear - none of this means people should ignore Palestinian suffering or stop criticizing Israeli policies. Legitimate criticism is great. But a movement should be judged not only by its intentions, but by whether its goals are connected to realistic outcomes.
So to summraize, if the primary objective is simply ending aid to Israel, DSA politicians and activists should be honest about what comes next. If that policy neither dismantles Israel nor meaningfully improves Palestinian lives, it seems that they are more interested in a symbolic victory than a real victory for people who live there..