The brutal war between the Iranian oil bosses and Israel’s tech tycoons, as part of the showdown between U.S. and Chinese imperialists, ended, or at least was paused, in the middle of its second month. We must – as communists – take a hard look at the political forces at play in Israel. Contrary to state propaganda “Hasbarah,” which paints the Israeli nation as a monolithic entity in support of Benjamin Netanyahu’s murderous regime, in reality some Israelis oppose the recent wars and the government behind them.
Liberals will always bow to fascism
The most obvious observation we can make is that liberalism, here and everywhere, is thoroughly rotten and subservient to fascism. From Yair Lapid, the centrist liberal leader in Israel, to General Yair Golan, so-called leader of the “ Zionist Left,”, all liberals fawn and bow before open fascism. Not one liberal openly criticized the war in principle. Sure, they all criticize the details of war, the strategy and tactics – but not the war itself. General Golan’s “hard-line opposition to Netanyahu” facade conceals a great deal of militarism and the lack of a sufficient political spine to openly oppose this war.
Meanwhile, no matter how low the liberals bow before Bibi’s war machine, the fascists and religious fundamentalists still drool and openly call for violence against the “Left” (“respectable” liberals included!). Netanyahu’s thugs physically harass and openly attack well-known opposition figures and beat up anti-regime protesters on the streets. Netanyahu’s media hounds bare their teeth against any opposition, loyal as it may be, spreading libel and filth against all who oppose the government.
Liberalism, as an “opposition” tactic, always fails. This is mainly because most liberals would rather support fascism than working-class and communist forces. Faced with barbarous militarism and cruel state repression, liberals retreat, fawn, and bow their heads. Then, fascists crush them. Countless times in the past century and a half, all over the world, it always ends the same way: fascists opposed by liberals win, and in many cases many liberals join them.
The only political party in Israel openly and resolutely opposing the war, militarism, and fascism is Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), a multi-ethnic alliance of leftist movements led by the Communist Party of Israel (CPI). From day one, Hadash was open in its opposition for the war, without fawning in front of fascists and nationalists. This stands in stark contrast with the intentional weakness shown without exception by all liberals.
Hadash does not buy into the Israeli government’s claims that it wishes to topple the Iranian theocratic regime, nor does it fall into the trap of “defensive” military arguments. Instead, its members risk police and thug violence to openly protest the war in the streets. With a strong and uncompromising communist leadership, its members lead the remaining true-left opposition in struggle against Netanyahu and his billionaire backers.
Progressive Labor Party members, we recognize that despite the reformist nature of the movement’s leadership, its younger members fight hard for a communist future and are willing to take risks in the real war – the fight against fascism and militarism. Despite the movement’s electoralism and its intermittent compromises towards Palestinian nationalism, its actions as Israel’s active and uncompromising opposition show that communists, need to stand on the front lines against murderous reactionaries and their corporate bosses.
Another spirited rally brought together roughly 20 staff and students at our Brooklyn campus to protest ICE kidnappings and the drive toward imperialist war. As the rally unfolded, dozens of students passing by raised their fists, chanted in solidarity, and some stopped to join us. The response made clear that there is a deep well of anger and resistance among young people.
Firing up against capitalism
This marked our fifth rally of the year, and we are already preparing for the next on May 1st—International Workers’ Day, or May Day. Our school’s anti-ICE committee has decided to hold future rallies after school rather than in the morning, so more students can witness—and take part in—the growing resistance within their own community to the racist violence of this system.
At our most recent organizing meeting, we discussed the escalating war in Iran and the very real threat of World War III. There was unanimous agreement: we must organize not just for our students, but with them. We also debated how to invite student participation while navigating school rules. In that discussion, one deeply committed antiracist teacher captured the mood perfectly: “So what if we get in trouble? Bring it on!”CHALLENGE newspaper was distributed to all as was an invitation to PLP’s annual May Day march down Flatbush Avenue.
Her righteous anger at the system is what should be driving all of us to continue to organize to smash capitalism. It reflects a growing understanding that this racist, imperialist, capitalist system offers our youth nothing but repression at home and war abroad. Our responsibility is to keep building, organizing, and fighting for a communist future: one where all young people, no matter where they are born, are valued and can live with dignity, free from exploitation and violence.
Pakistan
On this May Day 2026, we send militant and internationalist greetings from the factories, fields, universities, and streets of Pakistan. This historic day stands as a powerful reminder that the working class across the globe faces one common enemy: the capitalist system and its imperialist domination. Our struggles are not separate or isolated—they are united expressions of a single, worldwide class struggle against exploitation and oppression.
Fighting back is the only option
In Pakistan, the working class continues to face deepening attacks—skyrocketing inflation, mass unemployment, privatization, and brutal state repression. These conditions are not accidental. They are the inevitable products of capitalism, imposed by a ruling class that serves imperialist interests. From industrial workers to agricultural laborers, from students to unemployed youth, the burden of crisis is placed squarely on our class. Yet even in these harsh conditions, resistance persists and grows.
We firmly reject the illusion that workers share any common interests with the ruling class—whether local or international. The enemy is capitalism itself. As Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels made clear, the history of all societies is the history of class struggle. Today, that struggle is global in scope and demands a global revolutionary response—one being built through the efforts of the Progressive Labor Party to unite workers under one red flag.
We recognize that nationalism, reformism, and revisionism serve only to divide and weaken the working class. These ideologies obscure the fundamental contradiction between labor and capital, thereby strengthening the ruling class. As Vladimir Lenin emphasized, without revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement—but theory must guide practice toward the abolition of capitalism, not its reform.
The line advanced by the Progressive Labor Party makes it clear that only the international working class—united across all borders—has the power to overthrow this system. There is no progressive section of the bourgeoisie, no path through alliances with ruling-class forces, and no national solution to a global system. The task before us is the fight for communist revolution, led by a politically conscious and organized working class.
We draw lessons from the history of past struggles—not as fixed models to imitate, but as experiences to critically assess, learning from both their victories and their defeats. Our central task remains the building of a mass, revolutionary movement rooted in the working class and guided by a correct anti-revisionist line.
Reject all the bosses’ dividers!
Comrades, on this May Day, our message is clear: your struggle is our struggle. We stand with you not as representatives of separate nations, but as members of one international class. Your victories strengthen our resolve. Your setbacks deepen our collective understanding.
Let us reject all divisions imposed by capitalism—nation, race, religion—and unite as one working class. Let us build a revolutionary international communist movement under the red flag of the Progressive Labor Party that can bring an end to this system once and for all.
Workers of the world unite—not for reform, but for international communist revolution.
Colombia
In the context of the commemoration of International Workers’ Day, please accept our cordial and militant greetings from Colombia. This historic date calls upon us to remember and uphold the struggles of the global working class against exploitation, racism, sexism, wage slavery, and all forms of oppression imposed by the capitalist system—along with its deadly wars, which are currently unfolding in regions such as Iran, Gaza, and Sudan.
Throughout history, the working class has demonstrated its strength and determination through great revolutionary feats. As Victor Hugo once expressed, even the darkest night ends with the rising of the sun. However, that dawn demands that we confront the darkness and tear down—brick by brick—the walls that block the light. These words reflect the fighting spirit that has driven workers to organize and resist in the face of exploitation.
Today—in an era marked by an imperialist offensive and deepening inequalities—we, the workers, continue to face war, hunger, misery, violence, and repression. Policies involving cuts to healthcare and education, the persecution of migrants, police terror, and imperialist wars are all manifestations of a system that prioritizes profit over human life.
In the face of this reality, the international working class continues to organize and resist. Through marches, forums, protests, and community-based work, class consciousness is being strengthened, winning new adherents to our struggle. Internationalist solidarity is being demonstrated toward peoples suffering the consequences of war and domination, while simultaneously denouncing repression, racism, and the rise of reactionary forces.
It is fundamental to strengthen political organization and conscious action in every sphere: in the countryside, in the cities, in schools, and in workplaces. Building a communist world requires perseverance, education, and unity—while recognizing that both advances and setbacks are an integral part of the struggle. This May Day serves as a clear call for working-class unity on a global scale—to reject all forms of oppression and to continue building alternatives that enable us to transcend current conditions. History demonstrates that organization and collective struggle are fundamental tools for achieving profound transformations.
From the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), we will continue to commemorate this date as a symbol of resistance and hope, reaffirming our commitment to the struggle against predatory capitalism—along with its militaristic and anti-immigrant offensives—until the day the red flag is raised in every corner of the planet.
Sudan workers suffer as Western powers throw around cash
France24, 4/15–On the third anniversary of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), international donors gathered in Berlin on Wednesday, pledging $1.3 billion in aid. The conference, however, underscored the diplomatic paralysis surrounding the conflict: neither warring party was invited, and Khartoum denounced the meeting as “surprising and unacceptable”...On the ground, the scale of suffering contrasts starkly with the limited international attention. More than 33 million people now require assistance, while nearly half the population faces acute food insecurity. Over 4.5 million have fled to neighbouring countries, including more than one million to Chad alone.
U.S. sends thugs to Cuba to demand surrender
New York Times, 4/18– The Trump administration sent a senior delegation to Cuba last week to discuss a deal to address the humanitarian crisis on the island … officials warned in the meeting that Cuba’s government had a small window before the humanitarian crisis on the island deepened … Cuba has been in an economic free fall ever since the United States cut off oil shipments to the island from Venezuela and Mexico in January…“It’s called a new dawn for Cuba,” Mr. Trump said …The U.S. delegation … proposed bringing Starlink satellite internet to the island and allowing free connectivity. It also urged the Cuban regime to make economic changes to attract foreign capital, grow the private sector and transition to a market-based economy.
Israeli military begins turning Lebanon into Gaza
Al Jazeera, 4/18–Israeli forces say they have established a so-called “yellow line” in southern Lebanon, similar to an Israeli military measure in the besieged Gaza Strip…Since a “ceasefire” in Gaza took effect in October, Israel’s so-called “yellow line” has divided the Palestinian territory into separate zones, with an eastern area controlled by the Israeli military and a western area where Palestinians face fewer restrictions on their movement … Israeli troops routinely fire on anyone approaching the line, and they have demolished hundreds of homes in the zone under their control.
U.S. troops run out of food (in addition to missiles)
Yahoo News, 4/17–U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East during the Iran war are facing scarce food supplies, forcing some to ration their meager meals and endure prolonged hunger, according to a new report. Alarmed by these conditions, family members have reportedly spent significant sums sending care packages to help nourish their loved ones. But U.S. Postal Service deliveries to the region have been suspended, leaving boxes stuffed with home-cooked meals and protein bars stranded in limbo... A photo taken aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, shows an equally unappetizing meal: a tiny clump of carrots, a hamburger and a thin slab of meat.
China moves to split Taiwan from U.S.
DW, 4/10–”The world today is far from peaceful, making peace more precious,” China’s President Xi Jinping emphasized in opening remarks at a meeting with Cheng Li-wun, the chair of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) party…Both Xi and Cheng reiterated their opposition to Taiwan independence, though neither explicitly mentioned unification…The KMT is Taiwan’s main opposition party and has traditionally advocated closer ties with China while opposing formal Taiwan independence…Despite the peace rhetoric, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported detecting 15 aircraft sorties and 24 naval vessels operating around Taiwan since Cheng departed for China on Wednesday.
Retirement benefits not keeping up with military budget
USAToday, 4/11–The clock is ticking faster toward the depletion of Social Security’s trust fund that helps fund benefits for about 70 million Americans. The Congressional Budget Office said this month it expected the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund − one of the two funds used to pay Social Security benefits − would run dry in 2032, a year earlier than expected. CBO, which provides budgetary analysis to Congress, estimated last year that the trust fund would be emptied in 2033…When the fund is depleted, Social Security recipients could see an average 28% cut to monthly retirement and survivor benefits, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said.
- Information
Editorial: Lebanon - imperialist slaughter & mass displacement
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- 10 April 2026 1237 hits
As the Middle East crisis deepens, Lebanon has again become a target for imperialist slaughter. Hours after State-Terrorist-in-Chief Donald Trump threatened that Iranian “civilization will die tonight,” the war between the U.S.-Israel and Iran reached a fragile ceasefire.Whatever happens next, the conflict has already spiraled into a global crisis. From soaring fuel prices and disruptions of vital global supply chains to the disintegration of U.S. alliances, these events bring the spectre of world war ever closer.
The so-called ceasefire excludes Lebanon. Backed by the U.S. imperialist Reich, the Israeli Zionist regime persists in its attacks on southern Lebanon, killing 1,500, injuring 4,800 and displacing 1.3 million.
There are no good sides in the bosses’ wars, only rival rulers using workers as cannon fodder. No ruling class will save us—not the Lebanese bosses, not Iran, not China, not Russia, and certainly not the U.S. or Israel. The solution lies within the working class. That’s why workers, soldiers, and students must turn this imperialist war into a class war. Progressive Labor Party is building toward that communist future.
A triangle of misery in crisis ridden world
Our class siblings in Lebanon are trapped inside a trinity of misery: U.S.-Israel imperialism, the failing Lebanese government itself, and the bosses of Hezbollah, the fundamentalist, Iranian-backed political party and paramilitary.
While the Israeli bosses claim to be targeting Hezbollah, they are bombing our class into oblivion. The Zionazis are proudly using the genocidal “Gaza Model” to destroy homes and infrastructure, exile 600,000 residents, and possibly occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River. Nearly one of five people in the country are displaced. All of Litani’s major bridges have been bombed in order to sever the area from the rest of the country.
Seventy percent of Lebanon’s population lives in poverty (World Bank Report, 2024).Its currency has lost nearly all of its value, and healthcare and electricity are next to nonexistent. Consumed by “political gridlock among Lebanon’s sectarian leadership,” this war could bring Lebanon to the brink of collapse (Foreign Affairs, 4/3).
And then there’s the Shiite Muslim organization Hezbollah, often described as a “state within a state” (Council of Foreign Affairs, 3/2). It grew as a result of the Israeli invasion of 1982 and the subsequent 18 years of occupation. Hezbollah functions as a proxy for Iran and vehemently opposes Israeli and Western imperialism. The Hezbollah bosses cynically foment religious divisions and resentments. They are not for workers’ liberation; they’re just funded by a different set of regional imperialists, Iran.
Crossroads
As imperialist powers compete for dominance, war becomes inevitable. U.S. imperialism is in decline, weakened by decades of failed wars and deep internal splits within its ruling class. But declining empires do not go peacefully. At the same time, rivals China and Russia are pushing their influence.
For the U.S., Israel functions as a pillar of regional power, a counterweight to Iran, which is allied with Russia and China. Iran, in turn, rules via its proxies, including Hezbollah. Lebanon borders Syria and Israel, and its coastline on the Mediterranean makes it a geopolitical flashpoint.
Lebanon’s fragility is rooted in the legacy of colonial rule, where government power was systematically divided along religious lines. “By controlling newspapers, schools, higher education and cultural institutions,” French and British imperialists divided the Arab population (Daily Sabah, 2/17/22). Workers were stripped of power by class collaboration and religious misleaders. This is the standard imperialist playbook—sow divisions while weakening local government, which keeps it vulnerable to imperialist control.
Today’s war builds on that foundation. As U.S. imperialism weakens, it becomes more volatile and dangerous. When Trump launched Operation Epic Fury on Iran without a plan or consultation, it deepened rifts with European allies—first by excluding them, then by blaming them for withholding support, and now by insisting that they deal with the consequences (The Hill, 4/4). These allies are “left searching for better ways to navigate the new world order where Trump whipsaws friends and foes alike” (NY Times, 4/8). U.S. allies are scrambling to delay the inevitable, which is a bigger war.
War brings misery to workers everywhere
Imperialist wars hit workers everywhere. As wars spread across the region, the disruption of energy supplies, especially through the Strait of Hormuz, is driving up fuel prices and the cost of living worldwide. That means higher costs for food, transportation, fertilizer, rent, life-saving medications, and more. Workers who were already struggling are being squeezed even harder.
At the same time, Trump is proposing a $1.5 trillion war budget, the largest funding increase since World War II, while telling workers to make do with less (Reuters, 4/3). Under the profit system, there is always money for war and more racist cops and ICE Gestapo, but never enough for housing, healthcare, or education.
Choosing between ruling-class murderers is a trap. The only force capable of ending this capitalist nightmare is the international working class.
By organizing across the bosses’ borders and rejecting nationalist divisions, workers can begin to fight for a communist future. We need all of society to be organized to serve the needs of the many, not the profits of a few. There is nothing “natural” about the carnage of war; it’s a necessity of capitalism.
Wherever we are, we must organize to smash the bloodsucking bosses. And to make that victory last, you need to join PLP. March with us on May Day!
