Palestine and Marxism, the latest book by Swiss-Syrian scholar and activist Joseph Daher, is an important intervention into debates around Palestine. With its sharp theorizing of Palestinian liberation and resistance — armed and otherwise — it is a valuable read for Marxists and for anyone who supports the movement for Palestine. Daher is a long-time Trotskyist who has written extensively and incisively on the Middle East. His other books, Hezbollah: The Political Economy of the Party of God and Syria After the Uprisings: The Political Economy of State Resilience, are enlightening as well.
Daher’s contributions to the Marxist literature on Palestine are even more poignant in light of the repression he’s faced personally. In January 2025, he was effectively fired from his professorship at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland for his pro-Palestinian advocacy. This is part of a larger wave of repression of academics and activists worldwide. Ruling classes, especially in the dominant imperialist countries, are doing all they can to suppress the Palestinian solidarity movement. We stand in solidarity with Daher and all who face repression for taking a principled stand against the genocide in Gaza.
As Daher puts it, “The state of Israel has played the role of guard dog for Western imperialist interests in the region for decades.”
Daher’s latest delves deeply into the issue of Palestine and answers key questions from a Marxist perspective. It recounts the history of the Nakba (Catastrophe) in which Zionist militias expelled the Palestinians from their land in 1948 and after. It addresses the relationship between Zionism and Judaism, as well as the fight against antisemitism. It analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the Palestinian nationalist movement — especially in light of other revolutions in the Middle East. It outlines the impact and aftermath of the Oslo accords, as well as the rise to power and the politics of Hamas. It explains why Marxists defend the slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The answers to these questions are vital to the success of the Palestinian liberation movement.
What drives US policy: the “Zionist lobby” or imperial interests?
The “Zionist lobby” has been an important question among pro-Palestine activists, especially during the Gaza genocide. What causes the United States government to continuously support Israel? Does this support arise from the inordinate influence of Zionists? Daher disposes of the “Zionist lobby” fallacy briefly but in detail. He explains that US imperialism aids Israel for its own political, military and economic interests, not because of the influence of Zionists.
As Daher puts it, “The state of Israel has therefore played the role of guard dog for Western imperialist interests in the region for decades.”
The relationship between Israel and the US ruling class is mutually beneficial:
To survive as a state based on the evacuation of its natural inhabitants, which arouses the anger and hostility of the masses of the region, Israel is forced — also because it is economically unviable — to rely on imperialism and make itself the instrument against revolution in the region.
Daher quotes Marxist geographer David Harvey on imperialism in the region: “Whoever controls the Middle East controls the world’s oil spigot and whoever controls the world’s oil spigot can control the world’s economy, at least for the foreseeable future.”
“To survive as a state based on the evacuation of its natural inhabitants, which arouses the anger and hostility of the masses of the region, Israel is forced — also because it is economically unviable — to rely on imperialism and make itself the instrument against revolution in the region.”
Why is clarity on this question so vital for the Palestinian liberation movement? A focus on the “Zionist lobby” quickly morphs into an assertion of Jewish domination of the US government. It reinforces right-wing tropes and antisemitic conspiracy theories. It reinforces the wrong idea that opponents of Israel hate Jews or the Jewish religion, and therefore it gives Zionists a weapon with which to attack the movement.
Besides all that, it is simply factually wrong. Though of course organizations like AIPAC do lobby and fund US politicians — just as others do too, including the fossil-fuel industry — ultimately the US acts in its own interests in Palestine and the Middle East, not at the behest of some shadowy all-powerful foreign influence. If AIPAC did not give one dollar to US politicians, the US would still support the Zionist state for material reasons. The clearer the Palestinian liberation movement is in targeting US imperialism, not the “Zionist lobby,” the stronger it will be.
The right to resist
Within the pro-Palestine movement, there has been a debate on whether to support Al-Aqsa Flood, the Palestinian military attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Daher takes a firm stand on this:
Like any other population under colonial occupation and apartheid, the Palestinians have the right to resist, including by military means […] The violence used by the oppressor to maintain its structures of domination and subjugation should never be compared to or placed on the same level as the violence of the oppressed who try to restore their own dignity and who seek to have their existence recognized.
This is an important intervention, echoing other Marxists’ support for armed resistance, including our own.
To the extent that people believe they have to support Hamas’s reactionary political program in order to support armed resistance, they will be less likely to support armed resistance. If they don’t support armed resistance, they will pull back from supporting Palestinian liberation.
This position is critical for the movement to understand. To the extent that people have moralistic opposition to October 7, they will be less supportive of the Palestinian movement. Zionists use Al-Aqsa Flood as an excuse for opposing Palestinian liberation. The movement needs to have a sharp, clear answer in support of the right of armed resistance.
The bourgeois politics of Hamas
After making this point, Daher is clear that support for armed resistance does not necessarily mean support for the political programs of resistance organizations:
This [military support] should not be confused with support for the political perspectives and orientations of the various Palestinian political parties including Hamas. […] None of these parties — Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine — offers a political strategy capable of winning the liberation of Palestine. The mainstream political parties do not view the Palestinian masses, regional working classes and oppressed peoples as the forces capable of winning the liberation of Palestine. Instead, they seek political alliances with the region’s ruling classes…
The attitude that support for armed resistance does not have to mean political support for Hamas or other groups is vital to the success of the movement. To the extent that people believe they have to support Hamas’ reactionary political program in order to support armed resistance, they will be less likely to support armed resistance. If they don’t support armed resistance, they will pull back from supporting Palestinian liberation.
Regional revolution
Daher says that,
The main task for the left remains developing a strategy based on regional solidarity from below. This means opposing the Western states and Israel on one side while also opposing regional authoritarian states — Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, UAE etc. and the political forces linked to them. This strategy, based on class struggle from below, is the only way to win liberation for the popular classes of the Middle East from regimes held up by the imperial power of the United States, Russia and China.
Daher examines the exploitative class structures of these Middle East states. He shows how their ruling classes have accommodated imperialism. As part of this, Daher explains the role of Islamic fundamentalism and how Marxists should relate to it: “Islamic fundamentalist forces constitute the second wing of the counter-revolution, the first being the existing authoritarian and despotic regimes.”
Because of the weak economic position of Palestinian workers within Palestine, “the Palestinian working class and other social movements need the solidarity of other workers, peasants and oppressed peoples.”
Daher is also concise on the question of the Israeli working class. In calling for a regional working-class strategy, Daher rightly points out that, “A strategy focused on building working-class unity against Zionism among Israeli and Palestinian workers is therefore unrealistic.”
This is because the Israeli working class… has always placed loyalty to Israel above class solidarity with the Palestinian masses. This is not only the result of ideological devotion but also of material interest in the Israeli state which provides Israeli workers with houses stolen from the Palestinians as well as subsidized living standards.
Daher also rejects the two-state solution rhetorically favored by the US government and other ruling classes. He calls for “dismantling the state of Israel,” for the establishment of a “democratic secular and social state in historic Palestine for all,” and for the right of return for Palestinians.
Support for a regional working-class revolution is vital for the success of the movement for several reasons. Those who instead look to the Israeli Jewish working class as an ally to the Palestinians are less radically opposed to Zionism. They aim at an accommodation with Zionist society and hence with the Zionist state. Even on the left, those who orient toward the Jewish working class in Israel often oppose the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. They fear BDS will alienate Jewish workers. In fact, BDS is a powerful weapon against Israel that should not be abandoned. BDS will not alienate anyone who actually opposes Zionism. The vast majority of Israeli Jewish workers are Zionists, since they benefit from Zionism and imperialism.
“Class struggle from below is the only way to win liberation for the popular classes of the Middle East from regimes held up by the imperial power of the United States, Russia and China.”
The demand for a two-state solution is also an acceptance of Zionism. It envisions a smaller but still Zionist state in Palestine. As such, it is not the basis for a strong movement for complete Palestinian liberation. To the extent that the movement supports a two-state solution it will be less forthrightly anti-Zionist and less effective in demanding an end to US aid to Israel. This is precisely why we call for liberation “from the river to the sea.”
Finally, Daher includes the “Draft Thesis on the Jewish Question” by Trotskyist theorist Ernest Mandel, written in 1947. This is an interesting contribution but the analysis is necessarily limited since it was written before the Nakba and the establishment of the Zionist state. It is based on the idea that workers from the Zionist colony could find unity with Palestinian workers. This strategy of focusing on class unity between the colonizing and colonized workers is no longer applicable, as Daher explains so well elsewhere.
Conclusions
Overall, Palestine and Marxism is an excellent contribution to clarity on Palestinian liberation. It takes a strong stand on issues that still divide the movement.
Clarity on the questions addressed by the book is vital in order to build the strongest possible international solidarity movement. The key goal of this movement needs to be the cutting off of all military, economic, and political support to Israel. Taking the wrong positions weakens the movement. Interventions such as Daher’s are important in steering pro-Palestine activists clear of these errors and pointing them toward the most effective solidarity with the Palestinian people.
