After almost a year, the genocide in Gaza has no end in sight. The Netanyahu regime has indicated that its one-sided war against the Palestinians will continue at least into 2025. Many thousands more will die should nothing change.
But Netanyahu does not act alone. Behind him stand the forces of Western imperialism and its institutions—without which this terror could not continue. The Canadian government is complicit. Canadian big business is complicit. Canadian universities are complicit. In short, the whole damn system is complicit.
Millions have demonstrated in support of the Palestinians. However, the genocide presses on, unabated. The encampment movement of the last period represented a heroic new stage in the struggle. But it too failed to have any impact.
The Israeli regime and its backers have no interest in considering our pleas to end the massacre. They must be forced. To succeed, we must escalate the scope and form of our actions.
This coming fall presents the Palestine solidarity movement with an opportunity. The encampment movement brought attention to the investments of Canadian universities in the Israeli war machine. In September, hundreds of thousands of students will be returning to class—many of whom are filled with anger at Israel’s actions.
The next step is clear. It’s time to shut down the campuses. It’s time for a student strike for Palestine. This time we can’t let them ignore us.
The RCP is prepared to lend its full support to help make this a reality. However, despite having a presence on over 20 campuses, the truth is we are too small to organize a strike on our own.
The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and other pro-Palestine groups have played an impressive role in bringing out thousands of students in support of Palestine over the past year. In addition, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the union representing over 500,000 students, has called for divestment from weapons and arms manufacturers that supply Israel.
Therefore, we are calling on the PYM, CFS, and all other pro-Palestine groups and student associations to combine forces and lay the groundwork for a student strike at the earliest possible date.
In the interest of unity, we are also proposing to organize the strike on the basis of demands with which the entire movement agrees. These are:
1) End the support for the Zionist war machine,
2) End the repression of the Palestine movement, and
3) End the genocide.
If you agree with the need for a student strike and want to help mobilize for it, please reach out to us as soon as possible.
Together we can bring this movement to a new and more powerful stage.
We can end the genocide. We can free Palestine.
