Socialism 2018
On the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, popular resistance has once again swept across Palestine. The last year has seen popular resistance sweep across Palestine. Millions spoke up in solidarity with 17-year-old political prisoner Ahed Tamimi, jailed for slapping a soldier; hundreds of thousands demonstrated to defend Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem; and mass protest shook Gaza for weeks despite repeated Israeli massacres during the Great March of Return. At the same time, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) has exploded internationally with dozens of victories in the first half of 2018 alone. These developments are the latest chapter in more than a century of Palestinian organizing against colonization and apartheid. This talk will unpack the recent history of resistance in Palestine beginning with the mobilizations of the First Intifada (1987-1993) and following the trajectory of events to the present day, with the aim of clarifying the political questions facing the Palestinian struggle for liberation.