For the past 20 months, people in Los Angeles have shut down freeways, walked out of schools, marched peacefully, interrupted politicians, closed major streets, and organized educational events to try to stop the genocide in Gaza.
For the past 77 years, since the ‘Nakba’ on May 15th, 1948, the powerful Western countries have helped to empower Israel to occupy Palestine. This 77-year colonial occupation is now aiming for its “Final Solution,” which is to “level all of Gaza” as they did with Rafah, according to Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, back in May.
Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, using religion as a land deed, resembles the early days of U.S. expansion using Manifest Destiny to remove the indigenous population of North America and replace it with European white settlers to build a “new world.” This is the blueprint of the colonial project of Zionism outlined at their founding conference in 1897, as the New York Times has reported multiple times.
In 1948, hundreds of Arab Villages were depopulated by the barrel of a gun across historic Palestine during the Nakba. Eighty percent of Palestinians were ethnically cleansed out of their homeland and into refugee camps, many of them into the Gaza Strip. British forces killed those who didn’t leave.
For decades, the Palestinian people have fought a relentless struggle for their existence and for the world to hear their calls for justice and sovereignty, only to be met with silence from most world leaders. Still, they have received solidarity from working-class people around the world.
In many parts of the world today, genocide and hunger are not just remnants of the past; they are real, ongoing crises. But perhaps more troubling than the violence or deprivation itself is the widespread inaction of local politicians who possess both the moral and institutional authority to intervene.
Whether through indifference, incompetence, or political calculation, these leaders have allowed atrocities to unfold slowly, often being paid by the Israeli lobby to provide political cover for Israel’s war crimes.
A Global Crisis In Local Hands
While Angelenos witness a livestreamed genocide reported by courageous Palestinian journalists, local politicians remain silent. Heard across the world are the cries of starving children as their villages and refugee camps are bombed by U.S.-made weapons at the hands of the Israeli government.
Calls for an arms embargo keep being ignored by our elected officials. On July 30th, California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff were two of 16 Democrats who voted against halting arms sales to Israel. Since Trump took office, he’s approved about $12 billion in military aid to the country.
Senator Padilla, who protested loudly against Trump’s immigration policies, aligns with Trump in his support for Israel’s bombing campaign and the starvation of children in the Gaza Strip.
Turning to history for lessons, the people of L.A. actively participated in the anti-apartheid movement and all its forms aimed at South Africa’s government. This included divestment campaigns, marches, and educational forums. Later, the L.A. City Council, under pressure from activists, passed an ordinance to divest from South Africa.
Grassroots groups like the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Shut It Down 4 Palestine, and Within Our Lifetime keep raising alarm bells, documenting systemic starvation and targeted violence by the Israeli armed forces. PYM organized a protest outside Senator Padilla’s office on Temple Street to highlight his role in the forced starvation of 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza by Israel.
Since October 2023, 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 18,500 children. Thousands more are trapped under the rubble. In July, at least 48 people died from causes related to malnutrition, including 20 children and 28 adults, as reported by the Washington Post. Hunger is worsening in Gaza, where 2 million people have passed the tipping point into accelerated death due to the Israeli blockade.
However, in many cases, this suffering isn’t caused by a lack of resources; it’s due to the absence of political will by those in power to put an end to this man-made humanitarian crisis.
Local governments are often the first and most direct line of defense for those in need. They control food distribution networks, law enforcement, public health infrastructure, and emergency services. They also serve as the closest democratic representatives for those who suffer most. But instead of using these tools, political power, and resources to protect and provide relief for Gaza, too many local politicians have turned a blind eye or, worse, have actively participated in systems of neglect that allow Israel to get away with their war crimes.
Turning to history for lessons, the people of L.A. actively participated in the anti-apartheid movement and all its forms aimed at South Africa’s government. This included divestment campaigns, marches, and educational forums. Later, the L.A. City Council, under pressure from activists, passed an ordinance to divest from South Africa.
In 1986, L.A. became one of the first and most significant cities to divest from companies operating in South Africa when it passed an ordinance, helping to dismantle South Africa's apartheid system in 1990.
“We are not going to support anyone who supports a racist government,” said Gloria Molina in a 1989 L.A. Times article.
Today, college students across the UC and CSU systems are calling on their universities to divest from Israel. In March, organizers at UCLA published a report, “Unmasking UCLA: White Paper,” that details how the UC system is financially benefiting from Israel's occupation of Palestine.
“In this moment of crisis, institutions of higher learning across the U.S. and the world have begun to re-evaluate their complicity in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people through financial, political, and academic support of Israel and military corporations that profit from war and genocide,” reads the White Paper statement.
With each day becoming harder to survive in Gaza, L.A. activists and organizers are urging their elected officials to listen to their demands and stand up for Palestinians.
The Role of Complicity and Silence
While some local leaders may directly contribute to these crises, many more are guilty of complicity through silence and accepting money from the Israeli lobby. They may claim that their hands are tied, that the issues are “too complex,” or that solutions lie with the federal government. But these excuses ring hollow with the mounting evidence online of genocide flashing through our timeline.
Political office carries both power and responsibility. Leaders who fail to speak out against injustices or who prioritize political gain over human dignity are not neutral; they are enablers.
The late Dr. Martin Luthin King Jr. said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Their silence and inaction send a message that the suffering of Palestinians is acceptable.
This is true in democracies, where local politicians are elected by their constituents. If they do not act, they must be held accountable by voters, society, and the media. Unfortunately, corporate and legacy media have played a major role in normalizing Israel’s war crimes, making our support of alternative grassroots press all the more crucial for revealing the truth.
Politics in the U.S. is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and that sector turns politicians into mouthpieces for U.S. imperialism. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and J-Street are pro-Israel lobbying groups in the U.S. that pay our elected officials to provide political cover for Israel’s war crimes. Both organizations support Israel's occupation of Palestine.
California has 42 elected officials who received money from AIPAC, and 28 from J Street.
Of those 42 from AIPAC, a few of them are local to L.A.
Senator Padilla $30,850
Adam Schiff $6,234,034
Luz Rivas (CA-29) $55,450
Laura Friedman (CA-30) $16,250
Gil Cisneros (CA-31) $93,038
Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) $2,697,740
Ted Lieu (C-36) $322,555
Brad Sherman (CA-32) $777,883
Nanette Barragan (CA-44) $105,032
Linda Sanchez (CA-38) $171,542
Derek Tran (CA-35) $79,747
Norma Torres (CA-135) $102,523
Out of the 28 from J Street, there are also local L.A. representatives endorsed by the American liberal zionist group: Adam Schiff and Derek Tran (CA-45).
It is unclear how much these elected officials have received from J Street, but Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass received $10,700 during her 2021-2022 Mayoral campaign.
Mayor Karen Bass has been silent on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, only releasing statements that defend Israel.
Los Angeles is littered with elected officials who support Israel's war machine, which is causing thousands of children to die and families to be displaced. One of them is Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
For these sellouts, professional politicians, all that matters is money, power, and fame. They have sold their souls, turning their backs on humanity. When they say “Never again,” they are not talking about us, the colonized and occupied. If we can't prevent the U.S. from starving Palestinians to death, then what makes us think we can stop them from doing the same elsewhere in the world?
Palestine is our moral compass.
Hunger is Made, Not An Inevitable Tragedy
Hunger, in most cases, isn't caused by a lack of food. Globally, there’s enough food to feed everyone. The real issues are distribution, affordability, and access, all of which are directly organized by capitalism and weaponized against the oppressed.
Before October 2023, the United Nations regarded the Gaza Strip as an open-air prison due to its status as one of Earth’s most densely populated areas, with Israel already controlling the flow of food and aid entering the strip.
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip aren’t hungry because there’s no food available, but because the Israeli government is blocking aid trucks from entering the enclave, and the U.S. government is providing political, media, and economic cover to do their genocide.
Palestinians are being starved.
Before October 2023, the United Nations regarded the Gaza Strip as an open-air prison due to its status as one of Earth’s most densely populated areas, with Israel already controlling the flow of food and aid entering the strip.
Today, Israel continues to block humanitarian aid and supplies from entering the Gaza Strip. It is reported that thousands of tons of aid are being prevented from reaching the enclave. In addition, Israel is stopping American citizens, among others, who join the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to deliver aid, by kidnapping them in international waters, which constitutes a war crime.
Recently, Israel illegally intercepted the Handala Freedom Flotilla carrying baby formula for starving children from arriving, and arrested and brutalized Christian Smalls, a labor organizer and founder of the Amazon Labor Union.
One in ten children screened by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is malnourished, and as the crisis worsens, everyone is impacted by Israel’s blockade, including UNRWA workers.
On top of children not having access to food, the UN Human Rights Palestine reported: “10 children per day lose one or both of their legs.”
What Must Be Done
Accountability begins with recognition. Those afraid to speak out due to repercussions need to understand they are not alone. Together, we can push local representatives to acknowledge the scale and urgency of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Whether it’s protesting by taking to the streets, disrupting our elected officials’ daily routines, organizing walkouts, or holding educational forums, we are much more powerful collectively.
The inaction of local officials is not just a passive failure, but an active betrayal of the people they claim to serve.
The media plays a crucial role in uncovering war crimes and amplifying the voices of the silenced. Naming and shaming officials who fail in their duties, or who profit from genocide, is not only justified, it is necessary.
In the lead-up to the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, The New York Times (and other outlets) played a crucial role in selling the claim that Saddam Hussein’s government possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). Later, once it was clear that the U.S. government was lying, and thousands of Iraqis died, the NYT published an apology and admitted they were wrong.
But the damage was done. The U.S. continued to occupy the country and destroyed its infrastructure, and over one million Iraqis died.
The hunger or death of a Palestinian is not a political issue; it is a moral failure by our elected officials to act. When our city mayor and politicians choose to look away and ignore the cries of hungry Palestinians, they allow injustice to take root and spread in our city.
The inaction of local officials is not just a passive failure, but an active betrayal of the people they claim to serve.
In a world where U.S. imperialism funds and orchestrates this livestreamed genocide on social media for everyone to see, the greatest tragedy might not be the violence itself but the collective silence of LA’s elected officials and world leaders.
Correction on August 1st, 2025: Clarified that J Street is a liberal Zionist advocacy and lobby group based in the United States, not Israel.
