10/8/23 - Calling Gov. Hochul’s denouncement of a Palestinian solidarity rally an act of political hypocrisy and cowardice, the Green Party of New York reaffirmed its commitment to the end of the occupation of Palestine. Green officers stated that oppressed peoples like the Palestinians living under occupation regimes had a right to resistance, and that the conditions of the occupation in Gaza border on genocidal. Greens also noted Hochul’s willingness in the last year and a half to support Ukrainian resistance to Russian occupation alongside her sanctimonious denouncement of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli apartheid state. 

“Oppressed peoples have a right to resist their occupation, and the Palestinian people have faced near-genocidal levels of repression from the Israeli government. Even the United Nations, long reflected Western foreign policy, noted this in GA Resolution 45/130: [reaffirming] the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle. The Green Party of New York reaffirms its solidarity with the Palestinian people. We strongly condemn Gov. Hochul’s statement, her decision to stand with the oppressive Israeli state, and her clear opposition to the liberation of Palestine,” said party co-chair Peter LaVenia.

“Gaza is an open-air prison, with 2.1 million Palestinians locked into a small strip of land by the Israeli state. Gazans face 50% unemployment, 62% of Gazans require food assistance, 78% of water there is unfit for human consumption, and food insecurity is rife - the Israeli state restricts Gazan fishing rights. Since 2008, Israel has waged four wars on the Palestinians, killing nearly 4000 people, a quarter of them children. The Gazan blockade is a collective punishment meted out on Palestinians for daring to resist. To see Gov. Hochul support Ukraine when it is easy, when it aligns with US foreign policy and Democratic Party interests, and to then denounce the Palestinian struggle for self-liberation - is an act of moral cowardice and political expedience. The Green Party stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine and continues to support their liberation struggles,” said party co-chair Gloria Mattera.