This is the last of a three-part series. The first detailed how Israel is carrying out a mass dispossession of Palestinians in Gaza — like the 1948 “Nakba,” or catastrophe, that led to Israel’s founding as a colonial settler state. The second documented how long-standing Israeli government policy made possible the the October 7 pogrom by Hamas. This concluding part focuses on what may be a way out of these dire conditions.
This is the second of a three-part series. The first detailed how Israel is in the middle of carrying out a mass dispossession of Palestinians in Gaza — like the 1948 “Nakba,” or catastrophe, that led to Israel’s founding as a colonial settler state. This article documents how the October 7 Hamas pogrom was made possible by long-standing Israeli government policy.
This is the first of a three-part series. It documents how Israel is carrying out increasingly genocidal attacks and a mass dispossession of Palestinians in Gaza — similar to the 1948 “Nakba,” or catastrophe, that led to Israel’s founding as a colonial settler state.
United Auto Workers (UAW) members who recently concluded a strike against General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis scored a victory for the union and the working class. For the first time in many years, a nationwide strike by industrial workers resulted in a substantial improvement in wages and working conditions. That strengthens the UAW and the entire working class. It is proof that union power can achieve results.
This article reports on the Oct. 3-Nov. 20 U.S. speaking tour by the award-winning Cuban journalist Liz Oliva Fernández. The tour is promoting two soon-to-be-released documentary films — “Uphill on the Hill” and “Hardliner on the Hudson” — by Belly of the Beast. This is a “U.S.-based media outlet that tells Cuba’s untold stories through hard-hitting journalism and stunning cinematography,” according to the group’s website. The tour is also helping expand support for the campaign to end Washington’s economic war against Cuba.
This is the second of two parts of an interview with Palestinian American scholar Rashid Khalidi on the dynamics of the crisis unfolding in the Mideast. Khalidi lays bare Washington’s complicity and responsibility for the brutal war on Gaza, unleashed by Tel Aviv in response to the October 7 pogrom by Hamas. The war on Gaza, marked by increasingly genocidal death and destruction with no end in sight, has already claimed the lives of over 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,000 children.
This is the first of two parts of an interview with Palestinian American scholar Rashid Khalidi on the dynamics of the crisis unfolding in the Mideast. Khalidi lays bare Washington’s complicity and responsibility for the brutal war on Gaza, unleashed by Tel Aviv in response to the October 7 pogrom by Hamas. The war on Gaza, marked by increasingly genocidal death and destruction with no end in sight, has already claimed the lives of over 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,000 children.
This is an article on an October 30 meeting at a mosque in Haifa, Israel, where the 600 Jews, Muslims, and others present called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The significance of this rare but powerful event can only be understood by considering the atmosphere in which it occurred. Israel is at war, which a large majority of Israelis support. At the same time, the government of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unleashed a widespread crackdown on anyone opposing the war or advocating peace.
This “Discussion with Our Readers” column takes up the Jewish question, the history of the struggle for Palestinian self-determination, and the reactionary character of Hamas.
This is an article published in Cuban daily Granma on October 17, 2023. It reports on the Cuban government’s condemnation of the bombing of the Al Ahli hospital in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 500 people. It also reports on the Cuban government’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and the occupied territories.
One might reasonably ask, what is the value of reviewing a brief pamphlet, written over 50 years ago, that its publisher has now taken out of print? The answer is quite a lot — in light of the brutal October 7 Hamas attack that left over 1,000 Jews and others dead, and the murderous Israeli response that has targeted the entire Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip. Even the title may strike some as jarring today. The Israeli siege of Gaza, the cutoff of food, water, fuel and other necessities, accompanied by a brutal air war, with a ground invasion apparently imminent, pose the real danger of the survival of the 2+ million residents of Gaza as an immediate concern to humanity. Is the survival of the Jews also posed? This review of the pamphlet, “How Can the Jews Survive? A Socialist Answer to Zionism,” delves into these questions.
This an essay by Fadi Abu Shammalah, the executive director of the General Union of Cultural Centers in the Gaza Strip, written from the the Khan Unis refugee camp in southern Gaza. We are publishing it because it graphically depicts the dire situation the population of the densely populated territory faces, which “threatens Palestinians there with death and destruction that can become genocidal,” as a World-Outlook editorial, titled “Oppose Israel’s War on Palestinians,” pointed out two days ago.
The Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip — cutting off water, food, and electricity to its inhabitants, accompanied by widespread bombings that set the stage for a ground invasion — threatens Palestinians there with death and destruction that can become genocidal.
Working people around the world should do everything in our power to stay the hand of the Israeli government as it mobilizes its military to inflict further devastation on the Palestinian people in response to the repugnant attacks by Hamas. The atrocities by Hamas must be unequivocally condemned.
On September 15, the United Auto Workers union (UAW) began a coordinated strike against the three major U.S. automakers. The UAW targeted one plant each at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, involving almost 13,000 workers. The union is acting to defend its members from the debilitating effects of the automakers’ decades-long campaign to slash the unionized workforce, drive down wages, and weaken the union by instituting a permanent two-tier wage and benefit system. This strike deserves the support of the entire labor movement and all working people.
In recent months World-Outlook has published several articles on the various indictments of Donald Trump, expressing our views on the most effective ways to oppose the danger of Trumpism. The most recent was “Third Trump Indictment: What Is at Stake?” Several readers replied to the article. In response to one of them, we published the column “Confronting the Danger of Trumpism,” which also elicited replies. This is a compilation of all these comments, which we are sharing in the interest of encouraging further discussion and debate.
On August 1, special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by the U.S. Justice Department, indicted former U.S. president Donald Trump on federal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Two days later Trump pled “not guilty” to all four counts in federal court in Washington, D.C.It is indisputable that Trump and his allies engaged in a concerted campaign to overturn the election results. To this day Trump peddles the bold-faced lie that the election was “stolen” from him. The new indictment, however, sets a dangerous precedent that the government can criminalize some political advocacy. If it prevails in this case, who will future administrations — liberal, conservative or extreme rightist — target in years to come? We stand with defense of democratic rights, not defense of Trump. This is the second of a two-part series.
On August 1, special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by the U.S. Justice Department, indicted former U.S. president Donald Trump on federal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Two days later Trump pled “not guilty” to all four counts in federal court in Washington, D.C.It is indisputable that Trump and his allies engaged in a concerted campaign to overturn the election results. To this day Trump peddles the bold-faced lie that the election was “stolen” from him. The new indictment, however, sets a dangerous precedent that the government can criminalize some political advocacy. If it prevails in this case, who will future administrations — liberal, conservative or extreme rightist — target in years to come? We stand with defense of democratic rights, not defense of Trump. This is the first of a two-part series.
SOFIA, Bulgaria — More than 5,000 people, mostly young, rallied outside the Palace of Justice here on July 31 to condemn violence against women. “Not one more woman!” proclaimed many of the signs. “We will not be silent,” was the theme of the action at Bulgaria’s capital. “Stop the genocide against women.” Similar protests took place nationwide. Bulgarian National Television reported the evening of July 31 that many thousands filled the squares of more than 30 cities and towns across the country. Demonstrations with the same demands spread to other cities on August 1. A harrowing attack against an 18-year-old woman — identified so far only by her initials, DM, to protect her from further abuse — and the authorities’ initial refusal to prosecute the perpetrator prompted the actions.
MIAMI—Fifty people attended an event organized by the Miami Caravan Against the U.S. Blockade of Cuba here on June 25. The event was one of many across the nation in support of a national march in Washington demanding the removal of Cuba from the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The national action was organized by the National Network on Cuba and endorsed by more than 70 organizations. Estimates of the size of that action range from 300-500.
The federal indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump is one more sign of the factionalism that characterizes virtually every aspect of capitalist politics in the United States today, and the crises of the system that underlie it. This is the second of a two-part series.
The federal indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump is one more sign of the factionalism that characterizes virtually every aspect of capitalist politics in the United States today, and the crises of the system that underlie it. This is the first of a two-part series.
Brian Elam, a militant trade unionist, revolutionary socialist and determined fighter for the interests of the international working class died Friday, June 2 at his sister Mary Ellen’s home in Kokomo, Indiana. He was 71 years old. The cause of death was cancer. Brian was an early supporter of World-Outlook and helped it become known among other workers.
MIAMI — On Sunday, May 28, about 35 people in 30 vehicles, plus two courageous bicyclists, brought to the streets of this city our call to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba and for Washington to remove the island nation from the State Department’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism.” The caravan ended with participants lined up along a sidewalk at the Miami International Airport, where hundreds of drivers and others saw and heard our demands. The action took place without incident despite threats by right-wing supporters of U.S. policy toward Cuba. This was a different outcome than those during the January, February, and March caravans.
HAVANA, Cuba — Over 1,300 delegates from 58 countries, representing 271 organizations, congregated here on May 2 to celebrate the “International Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba and Anti-Imperialism – 200 Years After the Monroe Doctrine.” The conference at the Palacio de Convenciones was the closing event in a series of gatherings that, beginning on April 25, brought union activists and other friends of Cuba from outside the island together with workers and other Cuban citizens. The goal was to acquaint international visitors with the growing systemic difficulties faced by the Cuban people due to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade the U.S. government has imposed for 61 years and to give them an opportunity to see first-hand the creative resilience with which many ordinary Cubans face the resulting scarcities and continue to resist.
On May 3, U.S. Homeland Security agents at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airport detained three young activists returning from their first trip to Cuba. The three were released four hours later with just enough time to catch their connecting flight to Los Angeles. In a violation of constitutional rights, the agents took the travelers’ phones and presumably inspected them. The cops offered no reason for the detentions. A handful of other people returning from Cuba were also detained at the Miami and Newark airports, so the Florida detentions were not an isolated incident.
This discussion-with-our-readers column takes up questions on plea bargaining and where do the prevailing ideas in society come from. These questions from World-Outlook readers arose from facts and opinions expressed in the news analysis “Trump Indictment: What Are the Issues?”
In this article, Ron Kaminkow answers claims by U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that she voted to approve the anti-labor contract President Biden and Congress imposed on freight rail workers in late 2022 at the request of Railroad Workers United (RWU). Kaminkow is a railroad engineer working at Amtrak, a founder of the RWU and a member of its steering committee.
The April 5 grand jury indictment of Donald Trump announced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg marks the first time a former U.S. president has been charged with a felony. The decision, prosecutors claimed, reinforces the “rule of law.” Many who oppose Trump welcomed the charges, arguing Trump would finally be “held accountable” for some of his actions. Many hope it might derail Trump’s campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination for which he is the front runner. Yet for the moment it appears the indictment has put wind in the sails of the right wing in U.S. politics. In fact, Trump’s indictment threatens to undermine established constitutional protections. These include those related to statutes of limitations, the separation of powers between federal and state governments, and provisions of the Sixth Amendment.
NEW YORK CITY, March 12, 2023 — About 200 people from across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico gathered at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus here March 11-12 for the fourth International U.S.-Cuba Normalization Conference. They came to discuss and plan this year’s activities around three demands: 1) Removing Cuba from Washington’s spurious list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” (SSOT); 2) Ending Washington’s more than six decades long economic, commercial, and financial blockade of Cuba; and 3) Revoking all U.S. travel and economic sanctions against Cuba. More than 100 organizations from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico endorsed the gathering. It was the second such in-person event since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine has now entered its second year. The war has developed quite differently from what many expected. The resistance of Ukraine’s people, determined to defend their right to self-determination, has been fierce and shows no sign of ebbing. The Russian military has proven far weaker than many supposed it to be. A year later Ukraine has fought Putin’s invasion to a stalemate.
This is an appeal to encourage donations to help workers from the United States, involved in union organizing efforts at Amazon warehouses, participate in an upcoming trip to Cuba. The Los Angeles US Hands Off Cuba Committee is organizing the delegation, which will coincide with May Day celebrations on the island.
This is a story by James Mac Warren. “I would like to share a personal encounter with the Memphis police department that had a profound impact on what I would set out to accomplish in my young life. I’ve never told this story publicly. I think my reason was to avoid giving the impression that I committed my life to fight to change the world because I was brutalized by the police. My case against the Memphis police department is more than fifty years old, unlike most cases coming to light today. Brother Tyre Nichols’s horrific murder has opened up a can of worms the MPD is working frantically to shut down.”
The February 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern (NS) train carrying hazardous chemicals caused an inferno and the release of enormous plumes of toxic black smoke over East Palestine, Ohio. It has brought into sharp focus the danger the railroads’ relentless drive for profit poses to public safety. That profit drive is the same motive that led the rail barons, backed by the federal government, to compromise safety by refusing to include paid days off for railroad workers in contract negotiations last year. Workers advocated for paid days off for times when they are sick, or too exhausted from long and unpredictable hours of work, to operate trains safely. In December, President Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress backed the railroad owners, imposing the new national rail contract the owners insisted on.
On February 1, the first day of Black History Month, the College Board unveiled its curriculum for a new Advanced Placement (AP) class in African American studies. The course generated controversy prior to its release. Conservative politicians and pundits attacked its content based on a preliminary draft of the curriculum leaked last August to conservative publications, including the Florida Standard and National Review. The attacks on the course aimed to limit how the history of Black people in the United States can be taught and discussed. Subsequently, the College Board made substantial changes to the course prior to its final release. In response to the changes many academics, as well as liberal groups, journalists, and others then accused the board of succumbing to right-wing pressure. Last year, World-Outlook published a three-part series titled, “Critical Race Theory — What Are the Issues?” These articles go to the heart of the debate now under way on how to teach U.S. history. For these reasons we are providing here the links to these articles as a contribution to the current debate.
In the wake of the recent imposition of a new national rail contract, over widespread rank-and-file opposition, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) elected a new national president. Edward A. Hall, a working engineer on the Union Pacific Railroad and a local officer in Division 28 in Tucson, Arizona, won 53% of the vote. Hall ousted long-time BLET president Dennis Pierce in national balloting during November. Many rank-and-file workers want the unions to fight more effectively the next time around, a sentiment that was expressed in the open letter from Railroad Workers United (RWU) to Ed Hall, which World-Outlook is publishing here for the information of our readers. RWU is a rank-and-file group that brings together members of all rail unions.
January 15, 2023 — On January 11, nine months after the historic victory at Amazon’s JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 28 director overruled Amazon’s objections and certified the election results. The election took place March 25-30, 2022. There were 8,325 eligible voters. Of the nearly 5,000 ballots cast, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) won by a margin of 523 votes. “Amazon’s workers won fair and square,” ALU president Chris Smalls said in a statement. “It’s now time for Amazon to quit stalling, obey the law, respect their workers, and sit down at the bargaining table.”
Marty Boyers, a friend and long-time fighter for the interests of the working class, passed away unexpectedly in November. Marty joined the socialist movement while a high school student in 1970. For his entire life he remained true to the ideas that initially inspired him. He was an early reader and supporter of World-Outlook, contributing to our coverage and making a regular monthly donation. He participated in and sent us reports and photos of local demonstrations in Pittsburgh on issues that included defense of women’s right to choose abortion. Marty devoted his life to fighting with others for a better world.
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A reader has asked World-Outlook for our view on “the state of consciousness” of the U.S. working class today. This “Discussion with our readers” column includes his letter, in response to the December 15, 2022, article “What Do U.S. Midterm Elections Reveal?,” and our reply.
In two letters to the editor a reader asked World-Outlook to clarify our use of the term “Bonapartism” in the December 15, 2022, article “What Do U.S. Midterm Elections Reveal?” This “Discussion with our readers” column includes the letters and our reply.
December 15, 2022— The U.S. midterm elections unfolded last month in the not-so-faint shadow of January 6, 2021. That day, a rightist mob of thousands, instigated by then President Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. Congress. It was a bloody but unsuccessful attempt — unprecedented in more than a century — to overturn the results of the 2020 elections. Trump and his allies endorsed, financed, and campaigned for hundreds of candidates, including many outspoken ultra-rightists who beat moderate Republicans in the primaries and represented the GOP in the November general election. A majority of these “election deniers” lost their bids for office in competitive races. This was a blow — at least temporarily — to those who promote or condone a form of dictatorial rule in which a “savior” is anointed to “rescue the nation” in perilous times. Such a regime, as World-Outlook has explained, would accurately be described as Bonapartist.
World-Outlook extends its heartfelt thanks to all those who made our fall fund drive a success. Thirty-one contributors donated $1,810, exceeding expectations. Of that amount, $190 comes from ongoing monthly donations from five new sustaining contributors, boosting recurring pledges to $270 per month. We plan to use this money to improve the quality of the web site — including Spanish-language translations of all articles on Panorama-Mundial — and to expand our reach and readership.
Railroad Workers United (RWU), a national organization of rank-and-file rail workers from all rail unions, is urging rail labor and its allies to join rallies on Tuesday, December 13. RWU has expressed its support for these actions in the post we are sharing here. It includes a link from the rail union SMART-TD, offering information on the time and place of rallies in various cities. World-Outlook encourages our readers to join these actions.
At the “urgent appeal” of President Biden, the U.S. Senate voted 80 – 15 on December 1 to impose a contract settlement previously rejected by four unions representing a majority of railroad workers and by thousands who voted “No” in eight other unions. The House of Representatives approved a similar measure, which Biden swiftly signed into law on December 2. A separate bill would have added seven days paid sick leave to the new national rail contract. It was no surprise that it failed. Biden firmly opposed any changes to the contract that his administration brokered in September on the eve of a national strike deadline. Rail workers are angry and frustrated by this outcome. Rank-and-file rail workers refused to accept Biden’s deal that top union leaders claimed was the best contract possible. The ranks of the unions spoke out, explained the intolerable conditions of work and life they face every day, and won support from millions of working people. Without rank-and-file resistance, no resolution on sick pay would have been considered. Without rank-and-file resistance, those brutal conditions would have remained unknown to other working people.
This is an open letter to U.S. president Biden and Congressional leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties. The Railroad Workers United (RWU), which describes itself as “an inter-union, cross-craft solidarity ‘caucus’ of railroad workers, and their supporters, from all crafts, all carriers, and all unions across North America,” sent the letter in response to Biden’s initiative to ban a railroad workers strike. RWU is asking railroad workers and their allies to sign it.
November 29, 2022 — On Monday, November 28, President Biden called on Congress to impose a national contract on railroad workers that has been rejected by four unions that represent a majority of rail union members. He claimed there is “no path to resolve the dispute at the bargaining table.” He then sanctimoniously described himself as a “proud pro-labor president.” The facts show otherwise. Biden’s action flies in the face of the reasonable demands of union members. His action is anti-democratic, seeking to deny railroad workers the right to use their unions to fight for their interests.
After the November 3, 2022, UN vote overwhelmingly favoring the resolution introduced by Cuba on ending the U.S. blockade, U.S. representative John Kelley took the floor to defend his government’s position. Alleging Washington’s commitment to the well-being of the Cuban people, Kelley tried to justify U.S. policy by charging Cuba with human rights violations, pointing to supposed U.S. aid to the Cuban people, and claiming the U.S. Agency for International Development was poised to send “$2 million in funding for emergency relief to those in need in Cuba.” In a 10-minute rebuttal on the floor of the UN General Assembly, Yuri Gala López, Cuba’s alternate permanent representative to the United Nations, rejected Kelley’s allegations. Gala’s rebuttal follows.
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In early November, representatives to the United Nations (UN) debated U.S. policy toward Cuba, and — as they have done every time for the last 30 years — overwhelmingly condemned the decades-long U.S. embargo. Speaking before the UN General Assembly on November 3, Cuba’s foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla presented a resolution titled, “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. Rodríguez explained the toll that the U.S. economic war — in place for more than six decades — takes on the Cuban people. When the resolution came to a vote, 185 UN member states registered their agreement with Cuba. Only two — the United States and Israel — opposed the resolution; two more — Brazil and Ukraine — abstained. The entire speech by Rodríguez follows.
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World-Outlook is taking a two-week break between November 15 and November 30, 2022. We will return in December. Thank you for your understanding.
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On November 3, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly voted 185 – 2 to approve a resolution introduced by the government of Cuba. The resolution called on the U.S. government lift its six-decade-old economic, commercial, and financial embargo against the Caribbean nation — what many refer to as the “blockade.” The only UN member states voting no were the United States and Israel. Brazil and Ukraine abstained. It was the 30th year in a row the international body demanded the end of Washington’s economic war against Cuba. To mark this important occasion, we publish here the link to a YouTube video. This Breakthrough News documentary provides a brief but informative overview of how and why the U.S. government launched its economic war against Cuba, the impact the blockade has had on the Cuban people, and why the overwhelming majority of the world stands with Cuba in the battle to end this cruel and inhumane U.S. policy.
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