Radical billionaires dismantle U.S. with Palestine exception

To the editor:

The speed at which the U.S. and Palestine are being torched by radical billionaires is stunning. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attacked our Bronx neighbors, a green-card holding Columbia graduate was arrested and held in Louisiana -- without charges -- for peaceful protests. On the second day of Ramadan, President Netanyahu of Israel cut off all food, aid, water and electricity to Gaza with U.S. backing, violated the ceasefire and killed more than 100 additional Palestinians, including children.

Trump sent $12 billion in military aid for Palestinian genocide overriding Congressional approval (just like Biden.) Trump seeks to end the Russian proxy war encouraged by Victoria Neuland, necons and supported by Biden and neoliberals resulting in a firestorm of rage from the D.C. ghouls of endless war. Trump and Musk -- the world’s trillionaire-in-waiting with executive orders and DOGE -- ran roughshod over government workers, trans people, people of color, noncitizens, persons with disabilities, college students and researchers and K-12 teachers and school counselors, with little pushback, other than unions and the courts.

Meanwhile, in NYC, Mayor Eric Adams appears to have struck a deal with Trump to avoid, temporarily, being tried in the courts for bribery while so many of his senior staff have resigned, retired or were indicted. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who could have fired him, chickened out and instead created more bureaucracy to control NYC from Albany.  So, arrogant Andrew Cuomo, who resigned from office having harassed multiple women staffers, whose COVID policy sent tens of thousands of elders to early nursing home deaths here in Riverdale and elsewhere and who used public funds/staff to write his memoir, wants to be mayor now.

The Grand Ol’ Party (GOP) and Democratic National Convention (DNC) are private corporations that send our money to the rich via tax cuts and endless war enforced with more bombs, prisons and cops. Instead, support Workers Strike Back and Bronx Greens. Radical authoritarian capitalists must be challenged with job actions, strikes and national protests to end the carceral state, endless war and return money to public schools, affordable housing, free health care, food security, free college and end medical/student debt.

When will there be investigations of rampant Islamophobia and Palestine/West Asian/Arab racism across the U.S. and other western countries attacking free speech, free protest/assembly and academic freedom? It’s the Palestine exception. What are you doing to defy, disrupt, disobey, rebel, refuse and resist billionaires and radical authoritarian, unconstitutional practices? 

Stuart Chen-Hayes

The author of this letter is a professor at Lehman College