In a final essay, Forge contributing editors reflect on how Palestine is the issue most critical to defeating Fascism in the upcoming administration
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates has shown remarkable humility, vulnerability, and courage in recounting the evolution of his views on Palestine. In his latest book, The Message, he confesses that for much of his life he was misled into thinking the Israeli occupation of Palestine was too complex to understand. However, after traveling to Palestine in May 2023 and witnessing apartheid firsthand, he writes, “I felt lied to. I felt lied to by my craft. I felt lied to by major media organizations.” Coates acknowledges the personal and professional risks of speaking out against Israel’s occupation, admitting that telling the truth may cost him opportunities—or even his career. Yet he stands by his conviction: “If I went over there and saw what I saw and didn’t write it, I am fucking worthless.” His bold honesty sets a powerful example of the kind of truth-telling needed to confront the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Sadly, it is an example that many on the progressive left have failed to follow.
Trump hasn’t even taken office yet and we’re already seeing some progressive organizations back away from supporting Palestine, as well as a pattern of funders actively punishing organizations for their expressions of Palestinian solidarity. Just a few examples: An organization that advocates for democracy recently distanced itself from Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval aimed at blocking certain weapons transfers to Israel. The organization cited concerns about potential backlash. Additionally, a progressive funder issued a new warning to its grantees, prohibiting any collaboration with groups the U.S. designates as terrorist organizations. Specifically, the warning named Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Hezbollah, and not the other 60+ organizations on the U.S. foreign terrorist organizations list. Furthermore, a major foundation and fiscal sponsor this year imposed restrictions on its supported projects, prohibiting participation in “illegal” protests and requiring any “legal” protests to be submitted for review 60 days in advance.
These “gatekeepers,” as they can be called, are not simply passive participants in the status quo—they are its enforcers. Through actions ranging from purging Palestine-related content from protest platforms to cutting ties with coalition partners who speak out for Palestinian rights, these organizations act as internal agents of repression. The government doesn’t need to directly intervene or adopt the McCarthyite tactics outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther to criminalize Palestine solidarity in the name of “fighting antisemitism.” It doesn’t need to pass new laws or draft executive orders. The machinery of control is already in motion. In this sense the U.S. government, as a result of decades of organizing by rightwing forces, has cultivated a passive fascism in which civil society polices itself under the threat of losing funding, legitimacy, or institutional favor. The suppression of Palestine advocacy has become a litmus test for how deeply repression has infiltrated progressive spaces.
Palestine, then, serves as a key flashpoint in the broader battle against fascism. To sideline Palestine in the name of political expediency or fear of backlash is to capitulate to fascism before it even arrives in full force. Palestinian liberation is not an isolated cause, but is inextricably tied to the larger struggle against state-sponsored violence, racial oppression, and imperialism. When the Palestinian liberation movement is silenced or sidelined, the collective resistance against authoritarianism is weakened. It’s not just about the genocide in Gaza; it’s about whether we will have the courage to stand up for justice and human dignity, even when it feels politically costly.
The retreat of progressives from the Palestinian cause underscores the fragility of the current resistance. There is a boding fear among the progressive coalition standing up to oppose Trump’s authoritarianism that the mere mention of Palestinian rights will trigger a political cascade of abandonment by key coalition partners. In this dynamic, those who defend Palestinian rights are being told they are too radical, too uncompromising, and too disruptive to the fragile forces standing in opposition to Trump.
But the reality is stark: the Democratic Party has shown no meaningful commitment to challenging the structural forces that empower both domestic and international fascism. Under Biden, the U.S. remained complicit in the systemic oppression of Palestinians, and the prospects for meaningful change are bleak. The rhetoric of “free Palestine” was often met with muted responses or outright hostility, not only from the right but also from those who claim to champion human rights. The mere mention of an arms embargo—one of the clearest, most straightforward demands for Palestinian justice—was often treated as an afterthought, a fringe demand unworthy of serious political consideration.
In this context and even more so under the coming Trump administration, the struggle for Palestinian liberation is not just about Palestine, it is about the moral and political integrity of the movement against fascism. The refusal to engage in the struggle for Palestine is itself an acquiescence to fascism, both domestically and internationally. In addition to being morally compromised, this is not a winning strategy.
The withdrawal from Palestine advocacy is not merely a tactical retreat but is a sign of something much deeper: the internalization of fear. Progressives, in their bid to maintain institutional relevance and avoid backlash, are acquiescing to the very forces they purport to oppose. The desire to maintain a semblance of respectability and access to power has led many to abandon the principles of justice that should animate their politics. The lesson learned from the Democratic Party’s muted response to Trump’s rise is clear: without real organizing, without a willingness to take collective risks, fascism will advance both at home and abroad.
The US and Israel export their tactics of repression around the world. Palestinian liberation lies at the heart of the struggle against U.S. fascism. To dismiss it as a “distant issue” or “politically inconvenient” is to concede to fascism here in the U.S. before it even arrives in full force. It is time for the progressive movement to stop acting out of fear, to stop performing the work of repression for the state, and to embrace the collective risk of standing unapologetically for justice. Only then can we begin to challenge the structures of power that perpetuate both domestic and international oppression. Palestine is the key to this fight and its liberation is at the center of our own.
So what do we do now with Trump coming into office and bringing along with him a throng of rightwing Zionists, Christian nationalists, and White nationalists who will continue to weaponize the language of antisemitism to attack progressive movements? The big demand continues to be an arms embargo and what has become clear over these last almost 500 days is that we need the people to lead that effort. In November, 19 Senators voted for the first time ever to block one delivery of weapons to Israel, and that only happened because people spent weeks pressuring their elected officials.
We must continue boycott and divestment campaigns on our campuses, on the municipal and state level, and through our pension and retirement funds. What is particularly effective about BDS campaigns is that boycott-able companies and institutions tend to also be terrible on all our other issues, from climate to housing to immigration and more. BDS benefits all of our progressive movements.
Here are a few concrete ways to double-down on organizing for Palestinian freedom as an essential part of our broader organizing for collective liberation:
- Coming to DC for inauguration? Sign up for the People’s Assembly & Teach-In on January 18.
- Join the Boycott Chevron Weekend of Action January 31-February 2 as the company continues to provide energy to Israel as it commits genocide.
- Organize so that your local cultural and educational centers cut ties with the Genocide Gentry.
- Pressure Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to stop supplying the technology Israel needs to pursue its war crimes.
- Commit to a People’s Arms Embargo by demanding Maersk stop bringing military cargo to arms companies for assembly and shipping cargo to Israel from the US.
We saw last month, with the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, how quickly things can shift: after 13 years of revolution, the people of Syria were able to celebrate a major accomplishment of ousting a dictator family in power for over 50 years and release countless numbers of prisoners.
Even in the midst of some of the worst days of this genocide against the people of Gaza, across Palestine and Lebanon, we know the tides are turning and Israel cannot maintain itself. Directors, staff members, funders, and Board members of progressive organizations: You do not want to miss your opportunity to support Palestinian liberation in this critical moment. We saw how quickly the Assad regime collapsed when outside forces pulled their support. Israel won’t last even two weeks without US backing.
All progressive organizations, no matter the risks, must double down on the arms embargo demand. Our collective moral clarity and courage now will shape our chances of survival and resistance under a second Trump administration. History will remember who abandoned Palestine and Palestinians in their attempt to placate an ascendant fascism, and who kept their commitment to collective liberation. It is all of us, or none of us.
