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.
