A year of genocide. A year of bloodshed and barbarism. And a year of protest against these continuing horrors inflicted upon the Palestinian people.
Now Netanyahu is widening his brutal war to Lebanon: bombing Beirut; killing and wounding thousands; and displacing over a million more from their homes.
In the face of such chaos and carnage, workers and youth across the world are asking: what can be done to bring an end to this catastrophe, this new ‘nakba’?
The nightmare in Palestine has brought millions out onto the streets of Britain. On 5 October, marking the anniversary of the beginning of the Israel state’s latest murderous campaign in Gaza, an estimated 300,000 marched through London.
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Anger has not only been directly against the Zionist regime, but also against the western governments that have aided this massacre – militarily, financially, and politically.
Demonstrations have taken place outside of the offices of Labour MPs who have refused to back a ceasefire. And whilst they won the election overall, Keir Starmer and his party were dealt a blow in a number of constituencies, with pro-Palestine independents taking five seats, and Labour losing a mass of votes across the country from British Muslims, Asians, and youth over Gaza.
Amongst ordinary people, disgust against Israeli aggression grows by the day. At the same time, Starmer and his cabinet of gangsters are doubling down, hypocritically redeclaring their unconditional backing for Israel and “her right to self-defence” – a right that seemingly is not afforded to those in Lebanon, Gaza, or Yemen.
Like Biden, Kamala, and the Democrats in Washington, these merchants of death and destruction in Westminster are covered in the blood of the Palestinian and Lebanese people.
They are all complicit in genocide – providing the arms, money, and diplomatic cover that allows Netanyahu to continue his slaughter without hesitation or restraint.
These ladies and gentlemen never have any trouble funding warfare, yet always say that they cannot afford to fund healthcare or welfare.
They bend over backwards to assist in the bombing of schools and hospitals abroad, whilst leaving schools and hospitals to crumble back home.
And they happily hand over billions to pay for missiles and bullets, whilst telling us that billions in austerity cuts are needed – including attacks on vulnerable pensioners and children – to ‘balance the books’.
This is why the question of Palestine and the crisis in the Middle East is a class question.
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The capitalist politicians who are pummelling the working class at home are the same people who are responsible for fuelling conflicts and conflagrations across the globe.
We cannot trust any of these criminals to put an end to war. You cannot expect the arsonist to put out the blazing inferno that they have started – especially when they continue to pour petrol on the flames.
Instead of appealing to them and their institutions, whether it be their parliaments, courts, or international bodies like the UN, we must mobilise to overthrow this whole rotten system.
The best and most effective solidarity that we can show the people of Palestine is to organise to fight the enemy at home – to topple ‘our own’ imperialist ruling class.
Removing these warmongers – and replacing them with a workers’ government based on a clear socialist and internationalist programme – would quickly grind the Israeli war machine to a halt.
This would eliminate the most reactionary force on the planet; those who have truly terrorised the Middle East and the rest of the world for decades, through their machinations and ruthless competition for markets: western imperialism.
Nothing short of this can provide a genuine solution or a lasting peace. Capitalism is a sick system. Endless wars and escalating tensions worldwide are a symptom of this disease. And you cannot cure cancer with an aspirin.
A revolutionary transformation of society is required. And to bring this about, we need to forge a revolutionary leadership that can show the way forward.
This is what the RCP – the Revolutionary Communist Party – represents in embryo: the beginnings of a force that can channel the energy and potential of the mass movements taking place, towards the aim of bringing down capitalism and imperialism.
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So if you want to free Palestine and fight imperialist war, you need to get organised as a communist, join us, and help build the RCP. There is no time to waste.
This fortnight with Fiona: Meeting ‘Generation Revolution’ and fighting imperialism
Fiona Lali
Three weeks into the ‘books not bombs’ tour, Netanyahu has escalated his barbaric war even further, carrying out terrorist attacks and airstrikes in Lebanon.
As a new wave of students begins the academic year, war in the Middle East is further radicalising what is already one of the most radical generations yet. And I’m lucky enough to be travelling up and down the country meeting them!
We launched the ‘books not bombs’ campaign to connect with these anti-imperialist youth.
It’s clearer than ever that the harrowing scenes in Gaza have lit a fire in hundreds of thousands of people in the West. The ruling classes have revealed exactly how far they are willing to go to protect their imperialist interests in the region.
During our freshers intervention, we have met hundreds – if not thousands – of students enraged by the role of our government, and interested to hear our arguments on what to do next.
Before embarking on a recent round of talks, I had an interview on Talk TV with the absolute ghoul that is Julia Hartley Brewer. She chastised me for supporting ‘terrorists’. In response, I explained that the biggest terrorists on the planet are sat in the White House and Tel Aviv.
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She didn’t agree. And incidentally, they muted my mic for much of the ‘discussion’.
Last week I spoke at Queen Mary University, Sheffield, and Leeds. (Although Leeds didn’t allow me on campus, as I was deemed a ‘controversial figure’!)
On the minds of most students was Israel’s escalation and invasion into Lebanon. But as we mark a year since the start of Israel’s latest brutal military campaign, these meetings zoomed out to look at the broader context of why we are living in an epoch of war.
The short answer is that capitalism is in a deep crisis. This crisis reflects itself in rising tensions between the big powers.
But it also finds its reflection in the political representatives of the ruling class, who are motivated by their own narrow, personal interests, with no concern for the stability of the whole system.
No man encapsulates this more than Netanyahu today.
The crisis within these rotten regimes can also provoke mass movements. The arrogance of certain leaders can in turn become their downfall, as with the recent revolution in Bangladesh.
In Queen Mary, this was a key part of the discussion. This isn’t surprising – the university is a short walk from Altab Ali park, where huge rallies with thousands in attendance took place in support of the Bangladeshi students.
This is a key feature of life today: politics is all around us. As one of the students attending remarked: “My mum didn’t want me to get into politics, but how can I not? What will my future look like?”
In other meetings, other local issues also came out in the discussions.
In Sheffield, we concentrated on discussing the rise of the far right. Rotherham, just next door, saw one of the most violent fascist riots this summer.
I spoke about how the far right preys on the artificial scarcity of capitalism. As society polarises, the question of building a revolutionary movement becomes starker.
In Leeds, we held a rally just outside the campus the next day. It began small, which can be nerve wracking. The confidence to speak – or shout – with just your voice can only come from having absolute conviction in your ideas, and knowing that we can win over more people, if only they can hear us!
In the end, our speeches attracted a whole layer of people towards us, who will now be coming along to RCP branch meetings and getting organised.
Finally, I attended the national demonstration for Palestine in London on 5 October.
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Hundreds of thousands were there. I spoke at the RCP bloc, calling out Keir Starmer and David Lammy specifically. They flounced around the UN condemning Russia for its war in Ukraine, but they have said nothing to condemn the actions of Israel.
In fact, as we know, they continue to support Netanyahu, providing weapons and political cover.
These liars and hypocrites are stirring up a cauldron of anger in Britain. If the RCP continues to do its work effectively, we will transform that anger into a party that can overthrow them!
Next up – Birmingham and Manchester! See you there!
‘Books not bombs’ campaign hits Yorkshire
Fiona Lali has been touring British universities. Recently, she visited Yorkshire, speaking at meetings in Sheffield and Leeds.
In Sheffield, our comrades report that Fiona’s inspiring speech was followed by a lively discussion. Several new faces attended, asked questions, and showed great interest in getting involved with the RCP.
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While Fiona was undoubtedly a big draw, most attendees came to hear a communist perspective for fighting imperialism.
Next up was Leeds. Scandalously, the university administration denied Fiona permission to speak, offering no explanation.
It’s no surprise that a university that has allowed a former IDF soldier to serve as a chaplain would prevent students from hearing a communist discuss the bloodshed caused by western imperialism.
However, after securing an alternative venue – a local church! – more than fifty people attended to hear Fiona. Many newcomers attended, with several expressing a desire to join the RCP.
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The following day, comrades held a rally near the university, where they gave fiery speeches, denouncing the university’s complicity in the events in Palestine.
Around 30 comrades were present, handing out dozens of leaflets and selling copies of The Communist to passersby.
Next up on Fiona’s tour: Birmingham on 9 Oct, Manchester on 10 Oct, London on 13 Oct, and Cambridge on 16 Oct.
7 October – the communists cut through imperialist hypocrisy
A year on from the start of Israel’s bloody war, the western ruling classes have raised a hypocritical cacophony.
The RCP won’t back down. We reiterate our solidarity with the oppressed – the Palestinian and Lebanese masses – against their oppressors.
And we are redoubling our efforts to fight ‘our’ imperialist warmongers here in Britain.
Edinburgh
At the University of Edinburgh we co-organised a rally and held a meeting to discuss the significance of the date, the escalations of the conflict in the Middle East, and the task of communists to fight the enemy at home for the liberation of Palestine.
We were informed by the university that our meeting did not “meet the terms of our speakers and events policy”. This is clearly an unjustified attempt to silence the revolutionary pro-Palestine voice on campus.
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However, this totally backfired. By boldly exposing this censorship as a political attack, more students ended up attending!
The meeting was a great success, with more than 20 attendees and many fresh faces.
Five attendees expressed interest in getting organised with the RCP, and helping grow the movement that the university so desperately wants to silence.
Preston
On Sunday 6 October, three comrades attended the Palestine protest in Preston, along with three others interested in joining the Party.
We had a political briefing beforehand to go over our tasks and slogans. For many of us, it was our first ever protest, so we were all quite excited.
When we arrived, it was smaller than we had expected. We also expected more energy due to recent events.
So as the march began, we started chanting “There is only one solution: Intifada, revolution!”. Instantly a woman handed me a megaphone which I used throughout the march.
Pretty much everyone around us joined in with our chants, which had revolutionary content, targeting Starmer, Labour, and British imperialism.
Despite not being able to speak to everyone, we had a loud, visible, presence which went down well. One group of young people approached us to ask what the RCP is about.
The real highlight was afterwards, when those interested in joining stuck around for four hours to discuss everything from current events to Marxist theory.
On the back of this discussion, they all bought their ticket for the Revolution Festival, which we are all excited for!
Queen Mary
We commemorated this anniversary by co-hosting a 300-strong rally at Queen Mary University followed by a Communist Society meeting.
Imperialist propaganda would lead you to believe that this war started a year ago. So we covered the history of Palestinian oppression starting 76 years ago; their resistance; as well as the events of the past year.
We opened up the discussion by asking all in attendance their thoughts on the Palestine movement. Much of the discussion centred on what we can do to fight for Palestinian liberation in Britain.
The overwhelming feeling in the room was that this can only be done by fighting to overthrow British imperialism.
Enlivened by the discussion, many attendees expressed an interest in joining the Party. One person agreed to sign up there and then!
Cheltenham
The looming threat of regional war and further genocide, spurred us on in Cheltenham to host a public meeting and cut across the propaganda.
The discussion started by introducing the role of British and American imperialism, concluding that only the working class can halt the war machine by taking the running of the whole economy into their own hands!
Inspired by our discussion, one attendee, a farm worker, immediately agreed to join, and bought a copy of What is Marxism? before leaving.
Reading
To launch the ‘Books Not Bombs’ campaign on campus, we held a meeting on 7 October.
The room was packed, with many attendees joining the discussion, especially on the pernicious role of bourgeois media.
The quality of the political discussion was aided by our own comrades’ political preparation through reading groups and branch discussions.
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At the end of the meeting we asked, “raise your hand if you think we need a revolution” (all hands raised); “keep them raised if you think you’re a communist” (hands stay raised); “keep them raised if you want to join the RCP” (all hands stay raised).
We have made three recruits in the past week, and now even more want to join the branch!
