Prof Lays Out How Those Who Oppose Israel Want to 'Dismantle' the US as Well, 'Lean Into Scaring Them'

Yes, the anti-Israel protests are against Israel.

These folks are not just talking about defending the people of Gaza from Israeli bombing. That's a fig leaf for the real aim here that they make plain in their chants and their signs. They advocate the elimination of Israel with "From the river to the sea" chants. They call for the abolition of the settler state which is not just the settlements in Israel, but all of Israel. They're calling for intifada, and revolution until victory. They're advocating "resistance." Some are even wearing the colors of Hamas or cheering for Hamas. You can see a couple of them chanting "Long live Hamas" here on X.

It's also important to note that the "settler state" is not just Israel. They also regard the United States as a "settler state." You can see here on X the huge hammer that they carried during the protests in NYC, that says "From the US to Palestine, abolish the settler state." Thousands of people walked behind that sign. They marched through NYC calling for an end to the United States, at least as presently constituted. Not exactly a comforting thought when we've already seen how extreme some of these folks can be.

If that wasn't clear enough, University of Minnesota Professor Melanie Yazzie spelled it out during a wild video taken at an indigenous anti-Israel event that you can see on X. "We're all indigenous people who come from nations who are under occupation by the United States government," she said.

And, of course, the U.S. bankrolls the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. They’re one and the same, really.
So it’s our responsibility as people who are within the United States to go as hard as possible to decolonize this place because that will reverberate all across the world. Because the U.S. is the greatest predator empire that has ever existed.
We want U.S. out of everywhere. We want U.S. out of Palestine. We want U.S. out of Turtle Island. Right? And that the goal is to dismantle the settler project that is the United States for the freedom and the future of all life on this planet. It very much depends on that.

In case it wasn't clear, "Turtle Island" refers to North America that they want to "decolonize" and get the U.S. out of.

The issue of "Palestine" has "changed the world" in 60 days, she declared.

“And we need to lean into that. Lean into the fact that colonizers are scared,” she said, laughing. “Lean into scaring them and making them feel uncomfortable!”

She said "enough" with "liberalism" -- that was "not resistance."

“Resistance is the only thing… the only kind of death blows to colonialism, imperialism that have happened historically because indigenous people have resisted in the various places where this violence has touched down.”
“In addition to solidarity and the things that we might do, having the moral authority as the original people of these lands, to push back against the violent settler project that is the United States,” Yazzie said.
“And to help to lead that, to be the tip of the spear here of all liberation struggles and the movements that seek a world of justice, equality, and peace, that seek to dismantle the United States,” she continued.

That language should be concerning. "Things we might do?" We just saw the Colorado Supreme Court say using the term "fight" somehow showed former President Donald Trump had incited insurrection. I wonder what they would say about this kind of language.

"Free Palestine" is the latest "thing" in the line of succession that covered Occupy and BLM before it. That's why you see the signs from the same people involved like the Answer Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). It's never truly just about whatever that current thing is. At the base of it is what Yazzie lays out — how can they move to further dismantle the U.S. as we know it? That's why it's important to understand that's the aim, whatever the "current thing" is, to understand that this isn't just about Israel.