The brutal Israeli war on the Palestinian people has now lasted 300 days with at least 40,000 deaths, the majority of which are women and children. The fascistic government in Israel has spared no one in Gaza as they waged a 10-month campaign of destruction and death against all parts of the Gaza Strip. Illegal settlements and violence have increased in the West Bank. Israel has resisted all international calls for peace and justice, including from the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.

The struggle for survival by the Palestinian peoples is a special concern for activists gathering here today in Dearborn, Michigan, home to the largest Arab voter base in the U.S. It is a major concern for the Arab community to stop their tax dollars from being used to provide weapons, such as the current U.S. funding of the Israeli war machine. The U.S. is committed to sending $3.8 billion per year from 2019 to 2028, or about $38 billion total. The Biden administration and Congress have approved an additional $14.5 billion in military aid to Israel since Oct. 7.

Today’s action was part of the Mask Off Maersk campaign, which targets the Maersk multinational shipping and logistics company that facilitates the flow of weapons to Israel. The corporation has shipped over $300 million in weapons components from U.S. arms manufacturers to Israel. Demands on Maersk include ending the transportation of weapons and components to Israel and ending contracts that fuel the genocide of the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian Youth Movement and allied organizations did a banner drop over Ford Rd., a major highway in Dearborn. The banners read, “Hands off the Middle East!” and “Maersk ships 90% of weapons to Israel.” Activists carried signs that said “Ceasefire Now!,” “Workers for Palestine,” and “No to regional war!”

Palestine solidarity organizers are demanding an end to weapons shipments, military aid, and divestment from the criminal Israeli government.

Palestine solidarity organizers are demanding an end to weapons shipments, military aid, and divestment from the criminal Israeli government. They believe that the struggle to end Israel’s genocide against Palestine, and the criminal occupation of their lands, is the only way to defeat fascism.

“We are calling for a bottom-up, people’s movement and worker-led struggle to enforce an arms embargo on Israel” and to demand that our tax dollars not be spent on weapons used for genocide, declared Zaya Maqdessi at the rally. “This global effort will converge labor unions, student movements, community-based organizations, and other progressive sectors in support of Palestine.”

For 300 days now, activists here in Detroit have organized for a ceasefire in Israel’s brutal campaign against the Palestinian people. There have been dozens of rallies, large and small, as well as direct actions, including sit-ins, street demos in front of corporate and political offices, and occupying the front gates of weapons manufacturers.

Ceasefire resolutions have been passed in numerous municipalities inside and surrounding Detroit.

Ceasefire resolutions have been passed in numerous municipalities inside and surrounding Detroit, including Dearborn, Ypsilanti, Hamtramck, and others. There has even been the first Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions resolution passed in the U.S. Activists here have gotten creative and started a boycott initiative in order to educate consumers on which products they purchase support Israel’s apartheid policies.

Times are feeling especially bleak here given the recent news of the political assassination of Hamas political leader in Iran, the drive for a wider, regional war by Israel which would involve Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran, as well as the stagnation of the Biden Administration’s policy in securing an immediate and lasting ceasefire. U.S. weapons shipments continue.

But, there have been positive developments still and activists are taking note.

The power of organized labor in the National Labor Network for Ceasefire has taken trade-unionists and turned them into fighters for peace. Additionally, the recent Beijing Declaration on Palestinian national unity has been met with hope and optimism for a resurgent Palestine Liberation Organization and steadfastness of the Palestinian people to defend their inalienable rights to self-determination. The global solidarity with students in the university divestment movement has been appreciated and given new hope to international peace efforts.

The Detroit Club of the Communist Party USA has been in the thick of, and made valuable contributions to, the struggle for peace in Palestine and an immediate, lasting ceasefire.

The Detroit Club of the Communist Party USA has been in the thick of, and made valuable contributions to, the struggle for peace in Palestine and an immediate, lasting ceasefire. We have participated in the divestment movement on college campuses, such as Wayne State and University of Michigan, the trade-union struggle for a ceasefire with locals in the IBEW, UAW, SEIU, UFCW, and AFT. We have played integral roles in securing numerous resolutions at City Council meetings, including the ceasefire resolutions and Move the Money resolutions.

We remain committed to the demands for an independent Palestinian state with the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Our Party continues to call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the genocide, an end to the criminal occupations of Palestinian lands, and the end to all aid to the fascistic Israeli government. We uplift our neighbors, fellow workers, and community members across the Detroit region in saying our demands boldly and with conviction.

The struggle will not rest and will not stop until Palestine is free.

Images: Detroit rally for halting U.S. weapons to Israel by Detroit Club CPUSA (Creative Commons).

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