Intersectionality, a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, promises a framework where oppressions—race, gender, class—interconnect, demanding solidarity across struggles. Yet, in practice, many activist collectives—Antifa, pro-Palestine groups, trans/abortion rights advocates, socialist organizations like the SWP, and climate activists—apply it selectively, amplifying certain causes while ignoring others. This cherry-picking creates a hierarchy of suffering, sidelining valid human rights issues that don’t fit their ideological lens. The recent Washington, D.C. shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers, one a known peace activist, by Elias Rodriguez, whose manifesto called to “Escalate for Gaza, Bring the War Home,” underscores this dangerous selectivity. His reference to “globalize the intifada” raises chilling questions: is this a call for violence against Jews or their supporters? Below, we explore the issues these groups amplify, those they ignore, and the real-world effects of this skewed prioritization.

Amplified Issues: The Chosen Causes

Certain causes dominate intersectional activism, often framed as interconnected struggles against Western oppression, capitalism, or colonialism. These issues receive protests, media campaigns, and coalition-building:

1. Israel-Hamas War and Pro-Palestine Advocacy
   The Gaza conflict, with over 53,000 reported deaths since October 2023 (per Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry), is framed as genocide or apartheid. Groups like Students for Justice in Palestine link it to Black liberation or climate justice, with slogans like “globalize the intifada” chanted at rallies.
2. Abortion Rights
   Post-Dobbs (2022), abortion access is a feminist rallying cry, tied to bodily autonomy. The Palestinian Feminist Collective connects it to Gaza, claiming war deprives women of reproductive resources.
3. Trans and LGBTQ+ Rights (Western Contexts)
   Advocacy for trans healthcare and anti-discrimination laws dominates, with 20+ U.S. states restricting trans youth care since 2022 (ACLU). Pride events often merge with pro-Palestine protests.
4. Climate Change and Environmental Justice
   Climate activism, led by figures like Greta Thunberg, frames CO2 emissions as a capitalist and colonial issue. Extinction Rebellion ties it to anti-Zionist and racial justice narratives.
5. Church Residential Schools in Canada
   The legacy of Indigenous assimilation, with unmarked graves found since 2021, fits decolonization narratives, aligning with anti-Western critiques.
6. Police Brutality and Racial Justice (Western Contexts)
   Black Lives Matter campaigns, sparked by cases like George Floyd’s 2020 killing, are linked to anti-state violence and Palestine as “shared struggles.”

Ignored Issues: The Silent Crises

Despite their severity, some human rights abuses are sidelined, often because they don’t align with anti-Western or anti-capitalist narratives:

1. China’s Uyghur Concentration Camps
   Over 1 million Uyghurs face detention, forced labor, and cultural erasure in Xinjiang (UN). These abuses are rarely mentioned, likely due to China’s anti-Western stance appealing to socialist-leaning groups.
2. Ugandan Anti-Gay Laws
   Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act imposes life imprisonment or death for same-sex acts, yet Western LGBTQ+ activism focuses domestically, avoiding non-Western critiques.
3. Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar
   Since 2017, over 700,000 Rohingya fled genocide and mass killings (Human Rights Watch). Lacking a Western antagonist, this crisis is overshadowed by Gaza.
4. Women’s Rights in Iran
   Iran’s morality police enforce violent gender oppression, as seen in Mahsa Amini’s 2022 death. Critiquing Iran risks complicating anti-imperialist narratives, so it’s deprioritized.
5. Child Labor in Cobalt Mining (DR Congo)
   Over 40,000 children work in hazardous cobalt mines for global tech (Amnesty International). This implicates non-Western supply chains, reducing its activist appeal.
6. Ocean Plastics Crisis
   Eight million metric tons of plastic enter oceans annually, killing marine life and entering food chains (Ocean Conservancy). Climate activists like Greta Thunberg prioritize CO2 emissions, sidelining this tangible environmental disaster.
7. Rising Anti-Semitism
   Anti-Semitic incidents have surged globally, with a 60% increase in the U.S. since 2022 (Anti-Defamation League) and attacks on Jewish communities in Europe, often tied to anti-Israel rhetoric. The D.C. shooting by Elias Rodriguez, targeting Israeli Embassy staffers and invoking “globalize the intifada,” highlights how anti-Zionism can blur into anti-Semitism. Yet, collectives rarely address this, possibly to avoid alienating pro-Palestine allies or because it doesn’t fit anti-Western narratives.

Effects: The Cost of Selective Solidarity

The selective focus of intersectional activism has profound consequences, distorting global human rights priorities and enabling violence:

1. Erasure of Atrocities
   Ignoring crises like the Uyghur camps or Rohingya genocide minimizes their victims’ suffering. By focusing on Gaza’s 53,000 deaths (a war some, including this author, view as justified due to Hamas’s tactics like human shields), activists drown out equally dire but less ideologically convenient issues. This creates a moral blind spot, undermining universal human rights.
2. Emboldening Extremism
   The D.C. shooting by Elias Rodriguez, who killed peace activist Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, highlights how amplified rhetoric can inspire violence. Rodriguez’s manifesto, titled “Escalate for Gaza, Bring the War Home,” echoes “globalize the intifada” chants, which some interpret as calls to attack Jews or Israel’s supporters globally. His praise for Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation outside the Israeli Embassy in 2024 suggests a radicalized mindset fueled by selective outrage.
3. Distorted Environmental Priorities
   Greta Thunberg’s shift from climate to pro-Gaza activism, influenced by her parents’ Antifa ties, exemplifies how ideology skews focus. The obsession with CO2 emissions overshadows ocean plastics, delaying solutions to a crisis that directly harms ecosystems and human health.
4. Fractured Coalitions
   Selective intersectionality strains alliances. Pro-Palestine protests at Pride events alienate LGBTQ+ Jews, while ignoring Uganda’s anti-gay laws risks hypocrisy. This fragments solidarity, weakening advocacy for all marginalized groups.
5. Moral Inconsistency
   By amplifying Gaza but ignoring Myanmar or Iran, activists imply some lives matter more. This contradicts intersectionality’s core claim of equal concern, eroding trust in their movements.

Conclusion: A Call for Consistent Solidarity

The D.C. shooting, targeting a peace activist who championed interfaith dialogue, exposes the dangers of selective intersectionality. When “globalize the intifada” becomes a rallying cry, it risks inciting violence, not dialogue. While Gaza’s civilian deaths are tragic, the war’s complexities—Hamas’s human shields, Israel’s security needs—demand nuance, not selective outrage. Meanwhile, crises like ocean plastics, Uyghur detention, and Rohingya suffering languish in silence. True intersectionality requires consistent solidarity, amplifying all injustices, not just those that fit a narrative. Let’s honor victims like Yaron and Sarah by demanding accountability for all atrocities, from Gaza to Xinjiang, without cherry-picking.