West Bank Pogroms and Glimmers of Hope
As settler pogroms and Bezalel Smotrich’s “heritage” land grabs tighten Israel’s grip on the West Bank, Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan primary win shows that opposing military aid to Israel is now a winning message.
Rev. J. Mark Davidson
8/6/20264 min read
Developments in the Occupied West Bank, horrific as they already are, have worsened in recent weeks. Armed and aggressive Israeli settlers are carrying out attacks rightly called “pogroms.” The word, “pogrom” stems from a Russian root word which means “to destroy, wreak havoc, demolish violently.” Genocide and Holocaust scholars define “pogroms” as “publicly-sanctioned purgative attacks.” The tactics used against Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe in the 19th century - violent massacres and expulsions, burning of houses of worship, mob destruction of homes and businesses, physical assaults and murder, sexual violence, and state complicity – are exactly what has been going on in the Occupied West Bank for years, and accelerating since 2023. According to UN statistics, over 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem since October 7th, 2023. One in five of those murdered are children. Thousands of Palestinians have been injured, and tens of thousands have been ethnically cleansed from their homes, lands, and communities. Our VJP Board chair, Dr. Burhan Ghanayem, just returned from the region with devastating news. His extended family who live near Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank, report that there is “a new rule” being brutally enforced on Palestinians. Any Palestinian who attempts to defend themselves against settler attacks on their families, homes, and livelihoods will be severely beaten or killed. This includes raising their hands to shield themselves or their loved ones during beatings. Any form of resistance is now grounds for unrestrained violence by the settlers and the Israeli Occupation Forces. If a mob of violent settlers tries to set fire to your car, and you try to drive them off by blocking them or throwing stones, your entire property can be seized or destroyed, or you could be shot.
According to a report from Quds News Network on X, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich just announced the Israeli government allocated $37 million to develop 70 sites across the occupied West Bank it claims as so-called ”Jewish heritage.” This new allocation builds on a $83 million fund to expand “archeological” sites. Smotrich described this initiative as “a Zionist act of the highest order,” because it deepens Israel’s “connection to the land.” One of the main objects of this plan is “Solomon’s Pools,” a 2,000-yr. old ancient rock-carved water system south of Bethlehem, in Palestine-controlled Area A. Smotrich has targeted Solomon’s Pools for a hostile “takeover,” despite previous legal agreements in the Oslo Accords preventing precisely this kind of state-sanctioned encroachment. Palestinians fiercely oppose this proposed territorial expansion and creeping annexation. Yet Israel continues to pillage historic Palestine. This is the project to “Judaize” the land of Palestine, to seize it, erase its Palestinian origins, give it Hebrew names, and settle and build on it as if it was theirs. It is cultural genocide. Palestinians protest. Nevertheless, Israelis persist in their criminal plunder, yet another egregious violation of international law. Where is the public outcry that stops this?
Notwithstanding all of the above, Voices for Justice in Palestine is celebrating the primary victory of progressive Muslim candidate for Senate in Michigan, Dr. Abdul al-Sayed. One of the key planks in his campaign is something many of our members have long advocated for – ending US military aid to Israel in order to fund anti-poverty and middle-class initiatives in the United States, such as affordable housing, groceries, health care, education, and a living wage. Al-Sayed tapped into the reservoir of disgust and revulsion among the voting public at Israel’s genocide of tens of thousands innocent Palestinian civilians and its criminal destruction of Gaza. There was once a time not long ago when a majority of American voters across the political spectrum viewed sending billions of military aid to Israel as a necessary commitment to Jewish security. That ship has sailed. The new majority, strongest among young Democratic voters but increasingly represented across the board, now takes a dim view of candidates who toe the party line on Israel. Incumbents without a progressive track record on US-Israeli policy can expect to face stiff, principled opposition, as Rep. Haley Stevens did in yesterday’s Michigan primary election. Approximately $35 million in AIPAC money, millions more from corporate donors, and the endorsements of the Democratic Party establishment, were once considered essential to victory. Now, they stink with the stench of a toxic status quo. Increasingly, all this political power and wealth aligned with anti-democratic policies is being shown to be a questionable strategy, to say the least. It isn’t only Israel. Al-Sayed smartly linked the public’s disgust with AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and DMI (Democratic Majority for Israel) to the larger anger about a corrupt, anti-democratic billionaire class buying elections, controlling policy, and, in the process, impoverishing the public good. He condensed all these themes into a succinct, winning message: Get Big Money out of Politics, Put money in our pockets, and Pass Medicare for All. He was also able to connect with voters’ rejection of the reckless Iran War, which has already taken the lives of at least 18 American soldiers, injured over 600 hundred more, and squandered tens of billions of dollars. Dr. Al-Sayed’s primary victory joins earlier electoral triumphs from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, three Mamdani-endorsed candidates, and other progressive and Democratic Socialist candidates, are demonstrating little by little that “the times they are a-changing.” Gimmers of hope!