THE news this week has been full of Israel’s devastating assault on the civilian population of Gaza and the responses of various world leaders, from those who have condemned the war crimes to those who have flown across the world to welcome them and stand shoulder to shoulder with the oppressor.
Over the past week, Israel has bombed a hospital, killing almost 500 innocent civilians and wounding many more, targeted at least 88 education institutions, including blowing up 70 schools, and destroyed mosques and churches with targeted missile strikes.
Over 3,500 people have been killed by Israeli forces since the assault on Gaza began.
This is not the only example of state terrorism in recent years. Others include the Saudi Arabian bombing of Yemen, the Turkish war against the Kurdish people and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This paper has spoken out against all of these, and no quarter will be given to those who claim that Israel is being singled out for special treatment.
Indeed, if anything, Israel’s actions stand out purely because of the barbarity of its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and the willingness of its representatives to speak openly about the fact that they do not consider the people they are murdering to be even human.
Our response as a labour movement matters.
Today, thousands will march in solidarity with Palestine. The march will be lead by trade union leaders from the NEU, Aslef, RMT and FBU among others.
This matters.
The solidarity that the British working class shows with Palestinian workers matters. And so does the nature of our solidarity.
Our solidarity must be with working people — in Israel and Palestine — and with those campaigning for peace and justice.
Israeli Knesset member Ofer Kassif, a member of Hadash — the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality in the Israeli parliament — has placed the blame for the current situation squarely at the door of Israel’s far-right government.
A statement released by the front claims that “Netanyahu’s government bears full responsibility for the escalation” and calls for an end to the occupation and “the establishment of a just peace as a distinct and common interest of the two peoples in this country.”
Hadash has stated clearly that “there is no military solution, only a political one — the end of the occupation and Palestinian independence.”
Similarly, a joint statement released by Palestinian trade unions calls for international solidarity, arguing that “the struggle for Palestinian justice and liberation is not only a regionally and globally determined struggle.
“It is a lever for the liberation of all dispossessed and exploited people of the world.”
The statement calls on trade unions globally to refuse to build or transport weapons to Israel, to take action against companies complicit in the siege of Gaza and to pressure their governments to cease military trade with Israel.
This is a cause which must be taken up by trade unions in Britain, and one that will begin with the passing of motions at branch level, at regional level and at national level to oppose the Israeli assault on Gaza.
One of the key principles of solidarity is that it must extend beyond simple statements.
It is our duty to stand with the working class of Palestine and of Israel, and that means taking action against British companies and the British government to prevent the escalation of the violence.
