Will BRICS act to stop Israel: Nasrallah edition
More epic condemnations from an "Axis of Resistance" that's still sitting on its hands.
China is closely following the killing of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who died in an airstrike in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut on September 28, and is deeply concerned over the escalation of tensions in the region. - People’s Daily, China
***
This is yet another political assassination committed by Israel, and Russia condemns it with great resolve. - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia
***
Every time the Supreme Court hands down another reactionary ruling that sets this country back another 50 years liberals always console themselves with the latest epic dissent by Elena Kagan or Sonia Sotomayor — and I can’t help but think of this every time America’s anti-imperialist left thrills at the latest denunciation of Israel by leaders of our so-called Axis of Resistance.
This time, the statements are coming in the wake of Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nassrallah. Which, by the way, it did by blowing up four residential buildings, injuring 91 people and killing 6, which is just the latest episode in Israel’s unrelenting string of war crimes. Here, as you may have guessed, is what Joe Biden has to say about Israel’s campaign in Lebanon:
Q Sir, how concerned are you about escalation right now in Lebanon?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m always concerned about that. I’m always concerned about that. - White House press gaggle
Everyone understands by now that this is just Biden waving his finger with one hand while arming Israel with the other. But what can we say about China and Russia, who both still refuse to take meaningful action against Israel after nearly a year of genocide? Who, aside from some mostly symbolic UN votes, have clearly resigned themselves to shaking their fists?
It remains conventional wisdom on the US left that we do not have any influence over foreign policy in other countries, but that we do have control over our own. How the last year hasn’t completely obliterated that second conviction is beyond me. A 61% supermajority of Americans oppose our arms trade with Israel, including more than 3/4 of Democrats, and yet only 3% of our elected officials1 currently stand with them. The notion that Joe Biden cares what you think about this an ounce more than Xi or Putin does shows some charming faith in American democracy, but it bears no semblance to reality whatsoever.
Consider the position of the Russian Federation. It has already proven, in Ukraine, that it is willing to take large-scale unilateral military action in violation of international law and in open defiance of the West. Now it is “calling on Israel to stop the hostilities immediately” and insisting that “responsible members of the international community must do everything in their power to prevent the region from plunging into a full-scale armed confrontation.” What excuse can Putin possibly have for not intervening to stop the bloodshed, a move that would have much more support from the international community than his attack on Ukraine does?
The answer of course is that despite its rhetoric, the RF — like the US — doesn’t actually care enough about Israel’s belligerence to do something about it. And while the Kremlin may be more amenable to intervention than Western governments, if the Russian left is going to fight for this, it is in dire need of support from its international counterparts.
Putin has proven persuadable by pressure from the international left in the past. In The Long Retreat, Russian Marxist Boris Kagarlitsky recounts efforts in 2023 to free him from political imprisonment:
While I was behind bars, a solidarity campaign was unfolding outside, in which many people took part in Russia and around the world. Moreover, it seems that the Kremlin leadership was especially impressed by the fact that a significant part of the voices in my defense were coming from the Global South…
For the same reasons of geopolitical positioning that deter Russia’s government from simply ignoring pleas from countries like South Africa and Brazil, neither can it afford to be outflanked on Israel by activists in the West. A socialist internationale, by demanding with one voice intervention against Israel’s atrocities, could set expectations that any country angling for anti-imperialist credibility would have a strong incentive to meet.
As it stands, the bar for anti-imperialist expectations currently seems to be set at wherever BRICS government officials find most convenient. This is a bad sign of an international left that has lost its grounding in independent political principles, but it’s an even worse sign for the people of Palestine, Lebanon, and whatever other country Israel decides to target next.
Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, Peter Welch, Brian Schatz, and Tim Kaine in the Senate; Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, Greg Cesar, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Summer Lee, Delia Ramirez, AOC, Pramila Jayapal, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, and Andre Carson in the House.