Intersectionality of Oppression
Written by Steph, Sarah T, Dania, Raneem
“Many Western states sell arms, but what’s unique about Israel is that, wherever war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed, you find Israel is present.” - Eitay Mack, Human Rights Lawyer.
The US and “Israel” have exchanged tactics and expertise in state violence since 2002, a few months after 9/11. Since then thousands of cops have been trained during these exchanges, including agents from the FBI, CIA, and ICE.
Training in “Israel” includes live demonstrations of repressive violence, some examples include, violence against protestors in the West Bank, patrols in East Jerusalem, and visits to the Gaza border as well as learning how to suppress and infiltrate demonstrations and coordinate with media over coverage. These tactics were used during the Black Lives Matter protests and at the Columbia student protests in January where skunk water was used against protestors. Side effects of skunk water include nausea, skin rash, and vomiting.
Organizations that sponsor these trainings: Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), American Jewish Committee (AJC), and the American Israel Education Foundations (an affiliate of AIPAC).
“After every campaign of the kind that is now taking place in Gaza, we see an increase in the number of customers from abroad.” - Eli Gold, CEO of Israeli military corporation Meprolight, after Operation Protective Edge, a 51 day offensive in Gaza in 2014.
The UAE is deeply involved in the ongoing exploitation, displacement, and genocide of civilians in Sudan. It has copied the blueprint of imperialist nations like the United States to commit genocidal atrocities to gain power and resources. In 2023, the UAE was the seventh largest gold importing country. However, tens of billions of dollars in gold supply is stolen from Africa each year. The UAE has faced much criticism over this theft but is still committed to the ongoing genocide in Sudan because of its economic gain. The UAE supplies weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) contributing to the region’s human rights violations. UAE manufactured weapons have been discovered in Darfur where over 300,000 civilian deaths and 2.5 million displacement cases have been reported. The UAE has also provided military advisory to support the RSF in an effort to influence the dynamics of the region. This support has greatly contributed to the violence and instability in Sudan. Furthermore, the UAE hopes to continue to secure economic interest and influence in Africa. The UAE has invested over $10 billion in sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, and energy causing destruction and enabling imperialist forces to further commit a genocide. The UAE has violently and successfully shaped Sudan’s political and economic landscape with its military and financial support while worsening human rights conditions.
The UAE’s normalization of relations with “Israel” has been a major development that has exposed their greed and blatant ignorance of colonial violence against Sudanese and Palestinians. On August 13, 2020, after signing the Abraham Accords, the UAE became the third Arab country to normalize relations with “Israel” after Egypt and Jordan. Within a year, the UAE-”Israel” trade agreements reached approximately $1 billion including sectors such as; technology, health, and energy. This enables the Zionist state to economically prosper and continue its apartheid without accountability. Tourism to “Israel” was another key factor that aided in the normalization. Direct flights were created and are still maintained between the UAE and “Israel.” Over 200,000 tourists traveled between the UAE and “Israel” in the first year alone. In addition, defense agreements, including cybersecurity and counter-terrorism collaborations, were made despite the mounting criticism against the UAE for ignoring the struggle for Palestinian liberation. The UAE and “Israel” further launched joint ventures in artificial intelligence and agricultural innovation. These relations impact the geopolitical landscape as UAE-”Israel” ties strengthen. Normalization with the settler colony of “Israel” hinders Palestinian liberation by equipping “Israel” with the means to continue its settlement expansion, incentivizing an illegitimate occupying power, and neglecting human rights violations against an indigenous population.
The UAE is complicit in war crimes against Sudanese and Palestinian civilians. Their support and normalization garners further violence in both regions.
“Israel” is the 6th largest exporter of diamonds in the world, exporting $6.6 billion in diamonds and making up 6.6% of global diamond exports, even though there are no diamond mines in the occupied lands of Palestine. One of the major reasons for this discrepancy, is a monopoly of the Congo’s diamond industry that an “Israeli” businessman, Dan Gertler, was able to obtain. During the Second Congo War, Gertler made a deal with the then Congolese president Laurent Kabila. Gertler provided Kabila $20 million to help with his war efforts, which is estimated to have resulted in 5.4 million deaths, in exchange for the diamond monopoly. Even though Gertler lost the monopoly when Kabila was assassinated, he was able to make new arrangements to buy diamonds from Congo’s state-owned diamond mines and expanded his operations into the copper and cobalt industries, which are notorious for child labor and human rights violations. Gertler holds ownership in two Canadian construction companies that have been used as fronts for construction of illegal “Israeli” settlements in the West Bank.
Gertler is just one example of this process. “Israeli” businessmen sell arms to obtain rights to Congo minerals like diamonds and cobalt, either through monopolies or privileged purchase agreements, sanitizethe blood minerals to sell on the international market, and then use the proceeds from the sales to support illegal settlements in Palestine.
In January 2024, there were rumors that “Israeli” officials were in discussions with the Congo to resettle Palestinians in Gaza “voluntarily” in Congo. Congolese representatives have denied that these negotiations occurred.
“If countries want the best arms, then they probably go to the US and Europe. But when no one else will sell to you, then you turn to Israel.” - John Brown, Investigative Journalist.
The “silent genocide” of 200,000+ Indigenous Mayans in Guatemala was supported by the US and “Israeli” governments and militaries spanning between 1960 and 1983. It’s said that “Israel’s” systematic ethnic cleansing campaign of the Palestinian people over the last 76 years inspired and informed the far-right Guetamalan military on methods to conduct this genocide with precision.
General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, who enjoyed endorsement from US President Reagan, rose to power through a military coup which was heavily backed by “Israel” and informed by its advisors. This military coup set the stage for Montt to be able to conduct his ethnic cleansing campaign against the Indigenous Mayan people. Montt was credited by Reagan as "improving" the human rights situation in Guatemala, which led his administration to lift an arms embargo in 1983 that had been previously imposed under President Carter due to human rights violations. Montt’s coup and dictatorship enjoyed the unwavering support of American evangelical Christians, who are notably staunch supporters of the Zionist project.
Montt relied heavily on tactics he learned from his “Israeli” counterparts and employed a policy called the “beans and rifles” campaign, essentially dictating that only “well-behaved” areas would receive food and the ones engaging in resistance would receive bullets or rifles pointed at them. This counter-insurgency campaign was backed, yet again, by the US government in an attempt to suppress the Indigenous resistance forces. Other tactics later uncovered when Montt was on trial for war crimes included forced displacement, rape, torture, “disappearing” civilians suspected of participating in resistance - all key tactics of “Israel’s” ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
Since 1948, Guatemala has supported “Israel” in almost every endeavor and was one of the countries who stated it would be ready to move its embassy to Jerusalem from “Tel Aviv” in 2018.
When “Israel” was first conceived, Guatemala endorsed it by providing one of three United Nations ministers to oversee the creation of the settler colonial entity. The far-right of Guatemala referred to the “Palestinization” of the Indigenous Mayans in the 1960s and studied “Israeli” settlements in Occupied Palestine in order to redevelop the lands they had stolen.
“Guatemala is historically pro-Israeli. In 70 years of relations, Israel has been our ally. We have a Christian way of thinking that, as well as the politics of it, has us believing that Israel is our ally and we must support it.” - Guatemala’s right-wing President Jimmy Morales on moving their embassy to Jerusalem.
In early July, Bangladeshi students held protests against Sheikh Hasina and her party, calling for them to remove the unfair government job quota system that reserved more than half of sought after jobs to descendents of those who fought in the 1971 liberation war. They called for a system that was equitable and based on merit.
The protests then transformed into an uprising led mostly by Bangladeshi students. In response, again, the police fired tear gas and beat protestors with batons. There were even cases of protestors being shot by the police. The continued protests and uprising mounted until eventually Sheikh Hasina was unseated, resigned, and fled her mansion before protestors could storm it.
Now, Bangladesh is forming a new government because of the student uprising where the ruling party responded with overwhelming violence that injured and killed many people. This uprising shows the power of the people against a ruling force, and how they were so dedicated to fairness and justice to continue to pursue what they believed was right. This serves as an inspiration to all peoples who seek to break free from governmental and societal oppression. We pray that the Bangladeshi people continue to build the government system they want to see, and as Palestinians we praise them for their insistence on pursuing what's right.
