Palestine Special

Around the world, Zionist organizations have been leading a charge against free speech based on cynical, false charges of antisemitism.

Longtime industrial union leader and political activist faces 2 years' sentence for speech in defense of Palestinian liberation. His life story is the story of the Brazilian working class and pro-democracy movements.

Zé Maria's conviction anticipates the contents of Bill 1.424/2026, authored by Congresswoman Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP), which conflates anti-Zionism (opposition to Zionism, a colonial project) with antisemitism.

First published by the IWL in 2022 A confusion, always lurking but gaining traction in recent days, is that anti-Zionism is somehow a form of antisemitism. Nothing could be further from the truth. We understand that there are three types of confusion regarding this: the first is deliberate and therefore criminal, as done by the […]

Below, we publish an English translation of an attack against Zé Maria authored by Demétrio Magnoli in the major Brazilian newspaper, Folha do S. Paulo, followed by a response from Zé Maria published in the same paper. Original links to the Portuguese articles in the Folha are included. Freedom for antisemitic opinion By Demétrio Magnoli […]

Statement published on April 30, 2026Link (Portuguese) – https://www.cut.org.br/noticias/solidariedade-a-ze-maria-contra-arbitrariedade-censura-e-repressao-7a04 Brazilian trade union centers repudiate the conviction imposed by the 4th Federal Criminal Court of São Paulo on the national president of the PSTU, José Maria de Almeida. He was sentenced to two years in prison, in an open regime, for a speech in which he denounced […]

The Brazil-Palestine Institute (IBRASPAL) expresses its vehement repudiation of the conviction of political leader José Maria de Almeida (Zé Maria), president of the PSTU, by the 4th Federal Criminal Court, which sentenced him to two years in prison under the accusation of “racism.”This is a serious and alarming decision that criminalizes a legitimate political position: […]

Introduction José Maria de Almeida, Zé Maria, national president of the Unified Socialist Workers’ Party (PSTU), was sentenced to two years house arrest by the Federal Court in a case brought by the Israeli Confederation of Brazil together with the Israeli Federation of the State of São Paulo (case no. 5004694-46.2024.4.03.6181), under accusation of racism […]

On Tuesday, the 28th, the 4th Federal Criminal Court sentenced PSTU President Zé María to two years in prison for the crime of “racism.” What is most surprising is that the decision stems from a speech by Zé María in defense of the Palestinian people, denouncing the genocide and the colonialist regime imposed by the State of Israel on occupied Palestine. In the face of a decision with no legal basis, the PSTU will appeal to the Federal Court of São Paulo (TRF3). Beyond that, the party will not back down one inch from its condemnation of the State of Israel and the successive crimes against humanity it has been perpetrating under the gaze of the world.

—Fabio Bosco, Unified Socialist Workers’ Party (PSTU) Brazil March 1, 2025. According to Israel’s Channel 13, the government had decided to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza to force the Palestinian resistance to surrender. The State of Israel had decided to use starvation as a weapon of war on a large scale. On the 18th, […]

By Fabio Bosco [Originally printed May 23, 2025] Between May 13 and 16, Donald Trump, President of the United States, visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The visit followed the failure of Trump’s tariff hike, which was reversed in the face of repudiation by all countries, the majority of the US population […]

As Israel takes its rightful place as a pariah state, the Palestinian people face excruciating suffering, but remain steadfast and confident. These are the reports coming out of occupied Palestine. One portrait of this is the rise in support for armed resistance. By Soraya Misleh To the bloodshed imposed on the Palestinian people from Gaza […]

This week, mobilizations took place in several Arab countries in support of the struggle of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, who are heroically resisting Israel’s brutal aggression. The most important ones took place in Amman, the capital of Jordan. By Alejandro Iturbe Western media hardly reported these mobilizations, which were filmed by participants […]

On January 26, the International Court of Justice rejected the Israeli request to dismiss the genocide charge and confirmed its jurisdiction to try the case. Furthermore, it decided on six provisional measures, part of which appeared in South Africa’s petition.[1] By Fabio Bosco The Court could not avoid the brutal reality of an ongoing genocide […]

The last weeks have seen a series of imperialist attacks against Arab peoples and the SWANA region [1]. Israel has continued to carry out a series of attacks against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, causing several casualties. On January 8, it arrived in the southern suburbs of Beirut to kill Wissam Tawil, the senior commander of […]

In the face of Israel’s genocidal attack on the Gaza Strip, the international media have focused their attention on the situation in this territory. In this article we will try to analyze the situation in the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory under Israeli occupation, which also suffers from the constant aggression of the Zionist […]