The Pro Palestine Movement HAS to Talk to Republicans
Only 10% of Republicans Support Ending Aid
This poll should be tatted behind the eyeballs of every Pro Palestinian organizer in the USA. We have to change these numbers, right now a change in Democratic opposition to aid from 38-45% would not represent a change in the political balance of forces, but a move from 10-11% on the Republican side would.
Of course the Pro Palestine Movement is mostly composed of Democrats and people to the left of the Democrats, but we shouldn’t accept the political silos of the dominant party system. Our movement represents the interests of all working Americans, so we have to reach out to all working Americans. I know many of us may be morally repulsed by talking to people who are willing to remain affiliated with a Naziesque party after all this time, but in the American system people only have two ideological camps to choose from. It may be that our program can be improved by the addition of Republicans whose different worldview may yield new perspectives on what our demands should be and how to articulate them.
Strategic notes:
avoid opportunism: the Palestinian movement is based upon humanistic and universalistic principles, we should not sacrifice our most cherished ideals in the search for popularity. Instead, we should tailor our arguments to appeal to the broadest possible audience without watering them down. Propaganda aimed at Republicans and conservatives should be carefully worded to avoid opportunism or pandering.
Phase 1: By conducting propaganda work aimed at convincing normies, we will by definition pick up Republicans as well. This will be useful as the the fist phase of the plan should be to create organic connections to the 10% of Republicans who already support ending arms to Israel. From that 10% we should form organic Republican Pro Palestine groups that are aligned with our values. If left to their own devices, the Republican anti Israel movement (which will emerge!) will be thoroughly compromised by online fascist trolls.
Genuine Populism: Our movement is aimed at fighting the American ruling class in both parties who are fundamentally committed to Israel out of shared class interest. Bringing the Republican masses into the political struggle on our side would be a major blow against the political division that plagues our country. The movement for Palestine is based on sound morality, and that morality can unite anyone with a human heart regardless of sectarian affiliations!
tactical notes:
Invite Republicans: when you are setting up above ground Pro Palestinian events, make a point of inviting local Republican politicians and organizations. This will require caution, to avoid being doxxed or having an event raided by counters; but it can be done: 1) all initial invites should be delivered in person not online, and in a respectful and impossible to misrepresent manner, make sure all invites are delivered both verbally and in written form, film the invitation if possible. 2) make sure the event will be well attended and that the core message and agenda has already been set before inviting Republicans (overtime trust can be built) 3) allow any Republican groups that attend meetings a genuine say in late stage planning, however. Learning to deal with people you don’t wholly trust is one of the most valuable lessons an activist can learn!
Arguments to Convince Republicans: isolationism: compare how much we send to Israel to how much we spend on our own citizens, advocate for ending aid in terms of potential tax cuts on the middle class. Class politics: support for Israel is a project of the elites, explain why they support Israel in populist terms without abandoning our Marxist understanding of economics and politics. Pro life: Israel is murdering babies. American history: Reagan called the Israelis to heel, why can’t weak Biden?
This essay is just a few quick notes on a topic which deserves to have whole libraries devoted to it. I firmly believe that convincing a critical mass of Republicans to embrace the Palestinian cause is one of the crucial tasks of the Pro Palestinian movement, and especially the pro party left within it. If we are serious about breaking the progressive and labor lefts from the Democratic coalition, it will require taking the most proletarian and isolationist/non interventionist/(in some cases) anti imperialist portions of the Republican coalition with us!