On Friday October 13th, a 6 year old outside of Chicago was stabbed to death and his mother was nearly killed by their landlord. The Al-Fayoumes were attacked by their landlord because of his Islamophobia and anti-Arab bigotry; these two forces are being stoked all over the world as Israeli officials call Palestinians “human animals” and indiscriminately bomb civilians fleeing the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF’s) 24-hour evacuation order. As Israeli politicians and their military carry out this genocide and dehumanization, US politicians and media have been hard at work backing their colonialist actions and rhetoric (an unsurprising position given the genocidal foundation of the US and its historical backing of apartheid laws like Jim Crow at home to its support of apartheid in South Africa abroad). The same day the Al-Fayoumes were attacked, the Chicago City Council passed a pro-Israel resolution after the Mayor kicked pro-Palestine protestors out of the room. This is a perfect example of the way many United States politicians calling for “peace” or to “protect innocents” in their support for Israel reinforces the rhetoric that kills Palestinians abroad and at home.
The Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union stands in full solidarity with Palestine and condemns the massacres and removal of Palestinians from their homes, from the original Nakba in 1948 to now. We organize around people’s right to safe, clean, stable housing through tenant power because we recognize that this is key to people having real control over their lives. Displacement from one’s home, the creation of unsafe living conditions, and the demonization of those who organize to stay in their homes are all features of the unjust American housing system. Similarly, they are features of the attacks on Palestinians.
We see that Palestinians have been forced out of their homes and into Gaza en masse since 1948. We see that Palestinians were given an impossible order to flee to South Gaza just days ago. We see that the IDF trains to carry out this violence with the same type of force as US police who carry out evictions and sweep unhoused encampments. We see that all who claim to care about tenant struggle and housing justice must stand with Gaza. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.