It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, October 15, 2023
UK
MORNINGSTAR
Editorial:Palestine: anti-imperialism and solidarity belong to the working class
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2023
Protestors during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, in Paris, October 14, 2023
THE size and breadth of demonstrations in support of Palestine and in opposition to the cruel onslaught by Israel against Gaza this weekend are an encouraging demonstration of the strength of solidarity among working people in Britain — even in the face of a co-ordinated campaign by the state and monopoly media.
The demonstrations organised over the weekend by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others stretched from London to Aberdeen and took in many towns and cities in between, big and small, and saw strong turnouts with a determination to send a clear message.
It cannot be ignored that this weekend’s manifestation came despite a shameful pro-Israel propaganda offensive by the British state and ruling-class politicians of every party, as well as wall-to-wall coverage in the monopoly media and the BBC.
The intention is clear: to justify and whitewash the occupation, Israeli apartheid and war crimes, and to legitimise Britain’s clear role in supporting it and the actions of imperialism across the wider Middle East.
Ignoring the root causes and responsibility for the current situation — the far-right Netanyahu government, the increasingly cruel strangling of Gaza and all occupied territories, and all the historic injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people — the attempt was and is being made to blame Palestinians for their own collective punishment.
This completely ignores and obscures the fact that escalation was the entirely predictable response of a people to military occupation, apartheid and constant attack and humiliation.
This is entirely consistent with the manufactured media consensus on Palestine. Any Palestinian response to their relentless oppression, however small, justifies the harshest and most disproportionate retribution by Israel, using the most advanced weaponry available provided by the United States, including against civilians.
The ruling class works hard to maintain this consensus here in Britain.
As well as hypocritical moralising and attempting to decry and defame any vocal opponents of Israel, we have seen the cynical attempts to portray all and any opposition to Israel’s policies as anti-semitic. These efforts are disingenuous and trivialise real anti-semitism.
There should be no conflation of Jewish people with the Israeli state by opponents of these crimes — nor should we allow the Israeli state to opportunistically do the same.
The threats by Rishi Sunak’s Tory government to criminalise expressions of support for Palestine, as well as being another stab at drumming up support among a right-wing base, are just another manifestation of this ideological campaign. It is consistent with the broader Tory offensive against our democratic rights and civil liberties.
The idea that opposition to Israel is anti-semitic is readily debunked by the many Jewish people in Israel, Britain, and around the world who are actively opposed to Israeli apartheid and participated in the weekend’s demonstrations.
More fundamentally, this is an inspiring example of working people being able to overcome ruling-class propaganda, regardless of their race or religion.
What is key to building this solidarity that can unite people across ethnic divides and, indeed, across continents, is an understanding of the nature of imperialism and its crucial role in maintaining capitalist society.
It is only with this class understanding that we can oppose ruling-class attempts to lead people down false paths and narratives that ignore the reality of oppressor and oppressed.
The ruling-class media offensive has involved a clear attempt, in this case and in recent years, to bastardise concepts of imperialism and solidarity, and in doing so, render them useless.
We must defend our anti-imperialism and our working-class internationalism and solidarity as we build the movement to oppose Israeli aggression and war crimes, end the occupation and free Palestine.
Labour urges MPs not to attend Palestine-related protests
ELIZABETH SHORT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2023 People take part in a demonstration in support of Palestine in Birmingham, October 15, 2023
LABOUR MPs and members have been urged not to attend Palestine-related protests, emails leaked on Saturday revealed, as Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza.
Ahead of protests in support of Palestine and Gaza, right-leaning Labour general secretary David Evans gave MPs “strong advice” not to take part in the demonstrations. He went on to urge members to “exercise similar caution.”
However, another email leaked to ITV News revealed that the wording was much harsher than “strong advice.”
According to the email seen by ITV, council representatives were told “they must not, under any circumstance” attend any protest or demonstration.
Determined to prevent any affiliation between the party and the protests, the email to all members requested that no Labour Party banners be taken to any of the rallies.
Mr Evans’s reasoning for this was thus: “Individuals will not have the ability to control who they will be photographed alongside, and this risks threatening the Labour Party’s ability to campaign against any form of racism and discrimination.”
The Labour general secretary went on to say that the party leadership “fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself,” yet claimed that Labour has called for humanitarian access to Gaza for food, water, electricity and medicine.
The statement contradicts what party leader Sir Keir Starmer had expressed earlier in the week at the Labour conference, where he stated Israel had “the right” to restrict water and food supplies to nearly two million people in Gaza.
Speaking to the BBC this morning, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has said it was “right” that Labour MPs do not attend Palestine-related protests. He went on to add that Labour should be “careful and cautious” about who they appear alongside.
He said: “It’s important that as we want to be the next government, that people do not share platforms with people who do not share Labour values, that they’re careful and cautious.”
Momentum wrote on X: “It is utterly shameful that the Labour leadership have failed to speak out against the war crimes perpetrated by Israel in Gaza.
“But it is worse still that they are trying to silence public solidarity with Palestinians facing a humanitarian catastrophe.”
So far more than 2,300 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, a quarter of them children, making it the deadliest of the five Gaza wars.
Amplifying socialist voices, supporting frontline struggles, building international solidarity.
“We demand an immediate ceasefire and a lifting of the siege on Gaza so that humanitarian aid can reach the population”.Palestine Solidarity Campaign
The Labour Outlook team report from yesterday’s Palestine solidarity demonstration.
Yesterday, after an escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine that has killed thousands and injured thousands more, over 100,000 people marched in London, with other demonstrations across the UK, to ‘demand an immediate ceasefire and for Israel to lift the siege on Gaza so that humanitarian aid – including food, fuel, and medical supplies can reach the population’.
In a statement in the runup to the demonstration, the organisers of the march, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said ‘every humanitarian will be appalled and horrified, as we are, at the scenes we are witnessing of a severe escalation of violence since October 7th. International law must be the framework within which all actions should be judged. International law makes it clear that the deliberate killing of civilians, hostage-taking and collective punishment are war crimes. Such crimes must be condemned no matter who perpetrates them.’
The demonstration was also co-organised with Friends of Al-Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Speaking at the demonstration, Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador and head of the Palestinian mission to the UK said, ‘the horror in Gaza is indescribable. The official casualty count is already in the thousands. The real casualty count will be much higher. Israel is indiscriminately bombing civilian infrastructure – homes, hospitals, schools, entire neighbourhoods.’
‘Israel has cut food, water, electricity, fuel supplies for 2.3 million Palestinian residents in Gaza. This is a war crime. Israel is leaving 1.1 million Palestinian children without power, without water, without food, without medicine, without shelter, without anywhere to go. This is a crime against humanity’.
Responding to calls from the Israeli military that 1.1 million Palestinians should move from the north to the south of Gaza to avoid the bombardment and imminent ground invasion, Ben Jamal, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Director, said ‘this is not a humanitarian gesture. Israel is signalling its intention to commit war crimes on in immense scale. It is seeking to pre-emptively justify the mass slaughter of many thousands of civilians, on the basis that they were warned to leave and should do so if they care for their lives.’
Commenting on the displacement order, the CEO for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said ‘the international community must immediately demand that Israel rescind its warning and ensure Palestinian civilians are protected from attack. They should remember their responsibility to protect against atrocity crimes, including ethnic cleansing’.
You can see the demonstration in pictures, below.You can support the work of the Palestine Solidarity campaign here, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Demonstrators waved Palestine flags to show their solidarity.
The streets were filled with flags, banners and placards.
Demonstrators made connections between what is happening in Gaza and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Those on the protest made the point that the people in Gaza had nowhere to flee.
Many trade unionists joined the demonstration
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Protestors highlighted the number of children in Gaza
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The demonstrators filled Whitehall with the final rally taking place outside Downing Street.
Thousands join pro-Palestinian march in Birmingham
PublishedShare
Image caption,
Crowds in Victoria Square chanted in response to a speaker
By Susie Rack
BBC News, West Midlands
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have taken to the streets across Birmingham.
Crowds met on the city's High Street at 14:00 BST before marching towards Centenary Square.
It followed several pro-Palestinian demonstrations held in cities across the UK, including London and Coventry on Saturday.
Crowds held Palestinian flags and chanted in response to speakers outside Birmingham's Town Hall.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, with its fighters entering communities near the Gaza Strip, killing at least 1,300 people, and taking scores of hostages.More than 2,300 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes.
Israel has warned 1.1m people in northern Gaza to evacuate before an expected ground invasion.
Image caption,
Thousands of people joined the Birmingham protest, the latest in a series of rallies across the UK
West Midlands Police said it would respond to any demonstrations appropriately and "balance the right to protest against any disruption to communities".
Assistant Chief Constable Claire Bell added: "Behaviour that crosses the line into criminality will not be tolerated and equally we will take the strongest action against perpetrators of hate crime."
The force said it extended its support to all communities in the West Midlands affected by the conflict.
Thousands take part in pro-Palestinian rally in Belfast
Thousands have taken part in a rally in support of Palestinians in Belfast
(Jonathan McCambridge/PA) By Jonathan McCambridge, PAToday
Thousands of people have marched through the centre of Belfast as part of a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
Insults were exchanged as a small group carrying Israeli flags confronted the rally as it arrived at the City Hall.
The protest took place against the backdrop of the deepening conflict in the Middle East as civilians continue to suffer under a total siege imposed by Israel in the wake of an unprecedented incursion by Hamas militants.
A small group carrying Israeli flags met the rally as it neared Belfast City Hall (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)
The United Nations, senior EU figures and aid agencies have all expressed alarm as many Palestinians struggle to flee ahead of a “co-ordinated” offensive in the Gaza Strip involving air, ground and naval forces.
The rally gathered at Writer’s Square in Belfast on Sunday and numbers swelled as it marched along Royal Avenue, with participants carrying flags and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.
The PSNI mounted a significant security operation which included closing many of the main arterial roads in the city centre.
As the rally neared City Hall, a small number of people stood in front of the gates carrying Israel flags.
There were angry scenes as the two sets of demonstrators exchanged insults and police moved in to keep them apart.
Dr Raied Al-Wazzan, from the Northern Ireland Council for Racial Equality, took part in the rally in Belfast (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)
Taking part in the pro-Palestinian rally was Dr Raied Al-Wazzan from the Northern Ireland Council for Racial Equality.
He said: “We need to send a message to the Palestinian people that we support you, we are with you, we are against the bombardment of civilian people.
“We are against the blockade of Gaza.
“We want people to live an equal life, we want them to have the same rights as everyone else.”
Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan was among the marchers (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)
Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan was among the marchers at the front of the rally.
Earlier, he had unveiled a mural in west Belfast in support of Palestinians.
Speaking at this event he said: “One would be forgiven for thinking it is the Israelis who are living under occupation, rather than the Palestinians.”
Israel has been given a carte blanche to act outside international law and the basic rules of warfarePat Sheehan, Sinn Fein
He added: “It is clear to all of us here that those governments that demand the implementation of international law in other conflicts are totally silent when Palestinians are being slaughtered in their thousands.
“Israel has been given a carte blanche to act outside international law and the basic rules of warfare.
“The response of the international community in the west has been shameful.
“What is happening in Palestine today is the outworking of 75 years of brutal occupation.
“The Israelis cannot and will not inflict a military defeat on the desire of Palestinians to be free and to have their own independent Palestinian state.”
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