THE struggle for a free Palestine is both central and essential to building for socialism and defeating the rising tide of barbarism.

Some years ago, I posited that Palestine would be a litmus test issue for a new Labour government’s foreign policy. And so it has proved, a test that it has lamentably failed to pass, reinforcing and enhancing Britain’s culpability and role as a partner in the axis of war with the US and Israel against the Palestinian people. Joining forces with the far-right racist ambitions of the Israeli zionist parties seeking to eliminate Palestine from world maps and history.

But let’s imagine that Jeremy Corbyn had won the general election in 2017 or any other scenario you can imagine for a progressive social democratic or even a socialist government. Even though the 1945 government supported the establishment of Israel and walked away from the Nakba — after what has gone on in the intervening years, it is inconceivable that a left-wing socialist government could ignore the issue of Palestine.

Israel has lost public, legal and moral support globally — in Britain in particular. It could not claim to be socialist and adopt progressive policies while turning a blind eye to Britain’s historic and current role. Palestine is Britain’s last major colonial war — we started it by Arthur Balfour giving it away as part of a racist endeavour to stop Jews from emigrating to this country.

We have continued it by our actions as the occupier of Palestine from 1918-48, in the creation of Israel on Palestinian land and enabling and supporting the forcible expansion of Israel illegally through its occupation and settlement of Palestine. We remain up to our necks in this settler colonial project — selling and buying arms, supplying and co-operating on signals and covert intelligence, directly providing air and naval logistics support, and through trade, finance and aid.

A socialist future could not come about without the support of the millions who have been and are supporting Palestine, nor would they tolerate a pretence of “socialism in one country,” that ignored the legacy of Palestine. Like slavery, this is not a part of our history that will gently fade away — Israel is ensuring that it will haunt any future government until Palestine achieves its self-determination.

Unfortunately, on Palestine, the record of the left and many self-proclaimed socialist parties and groupings — with a few honourable exceptions — is just as bad as many mainstream parties. Until recently, it has never achieved the kudos or role in left politics as South Africa, Cuba or Chile.

Although national and local demonstrations are now adorned by swarms of paper-sellers and placard wavers, there is little or no track record of left organisations being involved in building the solidarity movement in this country from the 1970s and ’80s onwards. While intersectionality is all the rage now, left organisations blocked, and still do, Palestine being embraced as part of the anti-racist struggle. Something which must change.

The defeat of barbarism — in its Trumpian manifestation or through the global dominance of neoliberalism in its many forms — will not be brought about by the white left in the West. For Palestinians and many others, barbarism is nothing new; they have been suffering its consequences for many years.

The main resistance and fightback will be led by those who have been suffering the most — those in the global South. The Western left retains an “orientalist” view of world politics — namely of its own centrality and superiority. We lecture them about the solution and resistance. They politely ask what are we doing in our own countries — please tell our story, give space to Palestinian voices.

For the global South, Palestine is not a controversial issue — it is obvious whose side one is on, not that of the settler, the coloniser, the oppressor. They have all been there. As Donald Trump, his disciples and zealots peruse the globe to see where to wreak havoc next — Panama, Greenland, Iran, Mexico or Venezuela, the list is long — the indigenous peoples of the world recognise they will have to resist and fight back. There is no Western white knight in shining armour that is going to come to their rescue.

Palestine increasingly sees itself and is seen as a critical part of that global indigenous struggle. As Nelson Mandela said, many countries in the global South see that they will never be free if Palestine is not released from the choke of US military might.

Too often international issues are seen by the British left as the icing on the cake, badges of honour to be worn when on parade, but not thought of as integral to the strategy of bringing socialism closer. But, once again, just imagine — what if the hundreds of thousands and millions of people supporting Palestine on the streets and in their thoughts and deeds had been instead protesting about welfare cuts, the NHS privatisation, jobs, pay and conditions?

We would have thought the revolution was imminent — it is the sort of mobilisation the left has never achieved domestically. Rather than piggybacking on the issue of Palestine and trying to occupy and take it over, it is necessary to realise that winning the hearts and minds of this generation that achieving progress towards socialism is not a precursor to but an essential part of achieving justice for Palestine. Barbarism is a many-headed hydra. Israel’s war on Palestine is not the only head, but it is one of those that has to be decapitated if barbarism is to be defeated.

For the left therefore, Palestine — both domestically and internationally — needs to be seen as an essential, core component of its strategy; not a useful, adjunct to take tactical advantage of when it suits.

If this is true, what does it mean as to how one builds the solidarity movement and support for Palestine to become an irresistible force? An obvious starting point is the trade union movement. Again, with honourable exceptions — for example, the NEU, PCS and Aslef — the trade unions, despite having excellent policies on paper have been noticeable in their absence from the demonstrations.

Where have the national banners, general secretaries and mobilisations from the largest unions been? Rightly keen to win back some of the rights trade unions have lost, keeping your heads down has rarely been a winning strategy. There is a need to regenerate the debate on Palestine within the trade union movement from the grassroots up once again — from branch to region to the top.

This is not to replace or sideline the many workplace issues, but to recognise that a Labour government rampant on a military crusade, sending young people to be troops on the ground, being a part of the war on Palestine — is not going to change its spots and suddenly be a radical reforming government at home. As we are seeing with the Budget cuts — it is one and the same ideology. Trump might be a more extreme version, but it is essentially the same worldview. The only disagreement with Trump is if his policies happen to damage our perceived, nationalist self-interest.

Whichever way you look at it, paying our historical debt, building a progressive future — Palestine is a central part of the solution. It is easy to understand why many people have left the Labour Party, disillusioned and depressed. It is easy to understand why the right wing has been keen to expel those who won’t go voluntarily. But the future lies in building progressive alliances between those within and outside the Labour Party. In this context, Palestine is both a vital core and bridge issue.

We are not going to make progress on Palestine in this country unless we break the silence on the issue within the party — we will not do it solely by lobbing stones and insults from outside. The vote at the recent Scottish Labour Party shows that the default view of ordinary Labour Party members is to support Palestine’s fight for justice.

Remaining silent within or shouting from outside is not going to break the stranglehold Israel has on this government’s thinking. With and through the trade union movement, the solidarity movement needs to reach out of the echo chamber of those who agree and seek to engage with those more liberal-minded MPs, churches, organisations and cultural figures who, while not accepting or agreeing with a left or progressive agenda, will not tolerate the war and its associated atrocities that this government is condoning and participating in “in our name.”

The marches have been an amazing tactical response to the war, galvanising hundreds of thousands to march and become active. The strategy must be to organise and convert that into a mass solidarity movement that is pursuing a broad-based campaign to boycott, divest from and sanction every wrongdoing, collaborative company, to end the British state’s participation in that war through its arms trade and military support. It is hard work, but it is doable — the demonstrations have shown the potential exists, our challenge is to build on it not let it become disillusioned. The right wing will be petrified that we are successful.

The deaths and genocide in Palestine make action essential, we cannot stand by and allow the war to continue. However, our responsibility is not just to bring about a ceasefire — temporary however long it is meant to last — it is to enable self-determination and justice for Palestine. To do so will bring both socialism and the defeat of barbarism closer.

Hugh Lanning is co-founder of Labour and Palestine. He will be speaking at the Socialism or Barbarism in-person day school in London on Saturday March 29. The event features MPs including Richard Burgon and Ian Byrne, campaigner Jess Barnard, Calvin Tucker of the Morning Star, Sinn Fein’s Pat Cullen, socialist economist Michael Roberts and campaigns such as PSC, CND, War On Want, We Own It, the Mexico Solidarity Forum, and Stand up to Racism. The day features over 15 sessions of socialist political education. Register and info at bit.ly/socialismorbarbarism.