Good morning.
The words of the second witch in Macbeth speak of an intuitive sense of danger. Many on the left have been experiencing similar intimations in recent weeks. One such was generated by the ‘peace plan’ engineered by Trump, backed by the craven Arab states, which will take any minimal power from the people of Gaza to have any say over their lives. The western imperialists will directly control Gaza, in the grotesque embodiment of the war criminal Tony Blair as a kind of imperial viceroy. There is massive pressure for Hamas to accept, as it already has in part, but it will do nothing for the liberation of the Palestinian people, nor will it stop the genocidal behaviour of the Israeli government.
At the same time the genocide in Gaza and the complicity of the western powers has generated an ever-wider solidarity movement. As the movement grows around the world, with demonstrations, flotillas and strikes in opposition to Israel, the western ruling classes – having stood by as the genocide takes place and having continued to provide arms to Israel – are cracking down on protest with ever greater intensity.
Here in Britain the situation is particularly dangerous. The far right is growing and one of its targets is the Palestine movement – witness the ripping up of a Palestine flag on the Tommy Robinson demo last month and local attacks on Palestine activities. No one should be in any doubt that the far right’s animosity to the movement is connected to its central ideology of Islamophobia. Its close alliance with sections of right-wing Zionism is driven by that same ideology.
Every action of the Starmer government is playing into the hands of the far right.
The latest of these actions is a renewed attempt to criminalise and silence the movement. The rationale for this by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmoud, is in response to the terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue where two people were killed (one by police). This awful attack is being weaponised by those, like Lord Walney, who have always wanted to ban our marches and who support what Israel is doing. They have constantly branded the mass marches as ‘hate marches’ full of ‘extremists’, while they are nothing of the sort.
The response to the synagogue attack is in marked contrast to the muted voices against the growing abuse and violence by the fascists, who intimidate and bully anyone who disagrees with them. We have seen some horrific racist attacks in recent weeks, many around the demonstrations outside asylum seeker hotels. An arson attack on a Sussex mosque at the weekend, which could easily have resulted in loss of life, has been called a ‘hate crime’ but the epithet ‘terrorist’ still seems to be reserved for Muslims.
There was huge pressure from Keir Starmer and many others for the Defend our Juries protest over the banning of Palestine Action to be called off. The organisers quite rightly refused in a dignified and principled statement, and went ahead with their protest, where again hundreds of people were arrested for holding up a piece of paper. But the government is determined to put further restrictions on the kind of protest it doesn’t like – and Palestine is high on that list.
Over the weekend the narrative put out through the media centred on the question of whether the marches and protests can be banned legally or whether new legislation is needed to ban them! The reality is that the present legislation is extremely restrictive, allowing the police to determine where and when people march. The government is now talking about the ‘cumulative effect’ of demonstrations, as though one march is acceptable, but several marches are not. It makes a mockery of the right to protest and freedom of speech when ongoing injustices are supposedly remedied by one-off responses – and is of course highly convenient for those who support the injustices.
The assumption of those putting these arguments is that the marches themselves are antisemitic and therefore harmful to Jewish people. This has been a lie from the very beginning, but it is relentlessly used by those who want to defend and justify the actions of the state of Israel. We had an example of a real hate march when Tommy Robinson and his followers rampaged on the streets last month – yet there were fewer arrests on that than on a London protest in support of the flotilla last Thursday.
The police claim they are ‘exhausted’ by the protests in which case there is an easy solution. Don’t arrest those peacefully protesting, don’t put ever greater restrictions on demonstrations, don’t pressure governments for even more police powers. The Metropolitan police is in no position to lecture anyone following the latest revelations by the BBC Panorama of racism, anti-Muslim prejudice and support for the fascist Tommy Robinson from officers in the station closest to Scotland Yard, Charing Cross – a station where incidentally several of those from our 18 January protest were questioned and where many arrestees are taken.
Coming on top of charges of institutional misogyny, racism and homophobia against the Met in recent years, this only reinforces the view of the deep prejudice against the left which also runs through the force. The Palestine movement must not be silenced and we will do everything possible to defend and extend our right to protest.
There is every sign that this movement is growing internationally. The general strike for Palestine in Italy last week is one sign, as are the huge protests across Europe and elsewhere. The arrest by Israel of those on the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza should have been yet another sign of the contempt in which its government holds both the Palestinians and those supporting them. Yet our government and others remained silent about the treatment of their own nationals. In particular the vile behaviour towards the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg – including making her kiss the Israeli flag while imprisoned – demonstrates how sick this society is and how its dehumanisation of the Palestinians is reflected in its actions.
Both the general strike and the flotilla have seen huge demonstrations in their support. The Italian general strike should be an inspiration to us all. We need a day in Britain where we call people out of school, college, work, in solidarity with Palestine. We know the usual arguments about the trade union laws, which make this illegal, but the events in Italy were driven from below, and this is what we need to do here.
I was at an inspiring conference in Paris at the weekend where people from across Europe and the US met to discuss campaigning against war and for Palestine. Thousands gathered for a concluding rally in the Dome de Paris. Next year we hope to have a similar one in London. There was a real sense that we urgently need an alternative not just to war but to capitalism which breeds it. Time is short.
This week: Big week of organising leading up to the next Palestine demo on 11 October. Please do everything you can to be there.
Lindsey German
The need for a well-organised, non-sectarian, fighting left could hardly be more obvious. Counterfire is central to the Palestine movement and to mobilising against Starmer’s continuing austerity. Please join us today and get involved.
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