August 12, Washington DC—The American Public Health Association (APHA) recently blocked health workers within the association from submitting a resolution against the genocide in Gaza. Last October 2023 the APHA became the first health organization to pass an emergency ceasefire resolution about the war on Gaza, good for one year. While its governing body watered down the proposal from a statement of eight pages to one sentence, it voted overwhelmingly in favor as hundreds of supporters stood in the back of the room with signs and fliers. APHA officials looked on in horror. They showed themselves as more interested in supporting U.S. imperialism and Israeli genocide than promoting public health. The successful resolution read:

“In light of the continuing escalating of civilian casualties by Israel and the collapse of the healthcare infrastructure in Gaza, APHA calls upon President Biden and Congress to urgently demand an immediate cease-fire and call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the hostages and those detained; by restoring water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and by passing adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”

This was a resolution calling for humanitarian decency. It was certainly not revolutionary yet it scared the APHA pro capitalist leaders. But out of this struggle, more members than ever came to a Progressive Labor Party (PLP) meeting, and an ongoing cadre of supporters grew within the organization and created the Palestine Health Justice Working Group (PHJWG). This year, it submitted a more comprehensive permanent resolution for a vote at its 2024 meeting that condemns the Israeli occupation of Palestine, U.S. aid for Israel, and the constant bombing of Gaza that destroys health, lives, and infrastructure. It calls for humanitarian aid, sanitation, public health interventions for workers in Palestine and the end of the war, occupation, and U.S. aid. 

APHA bosses back genocide

APHA officials decided to stop it in its tracks without consulting with or notifying the Working Group. They have declared that it cannot even be considered, in violation of all their own rules! Now the most militant antiracist fighters in this association are being targeted as anti-Zionists and antisemitic. One of the accused is a PLP member, who has pushed for Palestinian and Israeli workers to unite against the capitalist rulers of Israel, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, APHA urges members to vote for the next U.S. President, although both candidates support Israel and its genocidal war. 

This October there will be mass actions at the national convention in Minneapolis, to protest the war and APHA actions. The PHJWG will attend pre-convention resolution hearings on Zoom, demonstrate with fellow workers, and loudly bring our concerns to the massive rank and file members of the union and the governing body. We have made t-shirts and buttons and leaflets that will be widely distributed. As we have done previously, PLP will prepare a special APHA Convention CHALLENGE issue and hold a meeting to put forward a revolutionary perspective.

Fighting back against genocide

Since the current war on Palestinians began, tens of thousands of students, young people, socialists, communists, and anti-Zionists around the world have risen in opposition. In the U.S., thousands have taken over streets, organized sit-ins from Grand Central to the U.S. Capitol and built over 50 encampments at universities. This has resulted in a militant movement against war, imperialism and racism. Despite many retributions, organizers continue to plan for local actions and days of rebellion at the Democratic Party Convention in Minneapolis, August 19 to August 23. Many have become more interested in communist ideas. 

The Progressive Labor Party applauds this commitment and militancy. We have joined demonstrations distributing thousands of CHALLENGE newspapers and conducting educational sessions about the war. Our line, “From the river to the sea, communism will set us free,” rejects a nationalist solution that divides Israelis and Palestinians into two (unequal) lands. We reject the policies of nationalism around the world, from those who support the fascist leaders of Israel to those who support the current leaders of Palestine, both the corrupt collaborators of Fatah and the Islamic fundamentalists of Hamas.  No workers will be free until there is an international anti-capitalist movement that fights for a communist system that discards the profit motive and is run by the working class in order to maximize the quality of life of all workers. If we organize ourselves around the world, involving ourselves in many mass struggles, we can do it.