On Saturday 11 October, half a million people poured out onto the streets of London for the 32nd national demonstration in solidarity with Palestine.
Outside Embankment tube station, the streets were awash in a sea of red, black, and green flags. Chants of “free free, Palestine!”, to the march of drums, bells, and whistles could be heard from streets away.
Buoyed after mass mobilisations across Europe the weekend before – in Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands – British workers and youth have joined the call. This was the biggest mobilisation in many months.
Ed, a student from UCL, told The Communist that:
“It was inspiring seeing so many people gather together, willing to sacrifice their time and effort to work towards something better for us all. I felt a strong sense of unity and solidarity. Many people watching us on the street were chanting with us.”
Although it was the 32nd national demonstration, the Palestine movement has continued to draw new layers who previously were apolitical.
Suraj, a worker in the advertising industry, told us that it was his first-ever protest. After joining the RCP’s 400-strong Communist bloc, he told us that: “your bloc is definitely the most lively”. The other blocs that he checked out were quiet in comparison.
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This enormous show of force was a rebuke to ‘Sir’ Keir Starmer who in the lead up to the protest labelled pro-Palestine protests as “un-British”, and has backed plans by the home secretary to clamp down upon ‘disruptive’ protests.
It was also a rebuke to the idea that Britain has ‘turned to the right’ – as some left groups lament – with this protest’s turnout standing at two and a half times the size of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march hosted by far-right Tommy Robinson a month before.
In this regard, Shelby from West London remarked that “seeing all the people at the demo and all the people in our [Communist] bloc, was really inspiring, and made me think there are many good people out there, they just aren’t organised.”
The protest was so large that even the BBC was forced to report upon it – albeit with smears and lies, claiming only “tens of thousands” marched.
No trust in imperialist ‘peace’
The protest took place after the announcement of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Donald Trump and the surrounding Arab regimes. The British establishment was surely hoping this would lower the turnout, but that was not the case.
One of the attendees was Bella, 22, from Brighton, who came to London by herself because she was so disgusted by the genocide. She had zero illusions in the ‘peace’ deal. In fact, barely anyone in this sea of red, black, and green had illusions in this sham ‘peace plan’.
As one woman told us: “If they think their peace will stop us fighting, they’re wrong. I’ll be fighting for this my whole life”.
There was particular anger vocalised against the war-criminal ex-prime minister Tony Blair, who had been named as viceroy of the future Gaza colony.
This general anger was summed up in a placard from the Communist bloc which read, “This is not a peace plan, it is a business plan.”
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Interestingly, there were a number of placards expressing anger and frustration towards the treacherous, pro-western Arab regimes in countries like Egypt and Jordan, who have stabbed the Palestinians in the back time and time again. “Muslim rulers [are] the real IDF” was a slogan held up by a number of Muslim protesters.
The failures of these ‘leaders’ to do anything at all for their ‘Muslim brothers and sisters’ in Palestine, whilst lining up behind Israeli and US imperialism, has exposed the real class interests behind these regimes.
Meanwhile, the masses across the region are burning with anger at the genocide in Gaza, as well as the lack of jobs, infrastructure, and access to healthcare for ordinary people.
The conditions for a revolutionary explosion from Morocco to Jordan are maturing by the day. The Communists’ slogan, “for a Socialist Federation of the Middle East”, has never been more relevant.
“Strike like an Italian!”
A particular highlight from the demonstration was the RCP bloc, which was the biggest Communist bloc on a British Palestine demonstration since the movement erupted two years ago.
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The bloc was spearheaded with enormous banners in bold text reading “Block everything for Palestine! Fight for revolution!”, “Intifada until victory”, and “Lock up the real terrorists”.
The demand ‘block everything’ originated from the French workers’ fight against austerity. This slogan spread to Italy, and culminated in a political general strike for Palestine on Friday 3 October – a truly unprecedented event.
Our slogan of “strike like an Italian” – which was repeated in The Communist, in our speeches, and on our placards – therefore received enthusiastic responses, and many nods of approval.
The idea of mass workers’ action to stop the genocide is no longer seen as distant and utopian. On the continent, real results have been realised in practice. The working class has achieved more in 24 hours of mass action than two years of begging the so-called ‘international community’.
It must be said that the RCP’s slogan of ‘block everything’ – highlighting the eruption of the working class into the Palestine movement – was something which stood out from all the other blocs.
In fact, none of the demo’s main organisers drew attention to the seismic events in Europe. Faced with the prospect of real action by the working class to stop the genocide, they have retreated even further into the moralism, liberalism, and pacifism that characterises their political outlook.
As we commented last week:
“[The] outlook amongst those at the top of the Palestine movement is a world apart from the mood and militancy that has developed amongst ordinary workers and youth in Britain…
“[These] large attendances are in spite of the liberal politics and tactics of PSC. Instead, what these massive demonstrations indicate is the huge radicalisation in society, searching for some form of expression.”
Britain needs a revolution
A small amount of this radicalisation found an expression in the large Communist bloc, which was filled with revolutionary energy, spirit, and chants, and punctuated by fiery speeches throughout.
This energy was infectious, and drew in a number of people who didn’t know much about communism, but agreed with our slogans and explanations. As one woman remarked to us: “I don’t know if I’m a communist. But whatever this is – *points towards the bloc* – that’s what I stand for!”.
Fiona Lali rallied the bloc with chants of “Britain needs a revolution”, whilst explaining that the ruling class are terrified because “Palestine is a lightning rod for all of the accumulated anger in society.”
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She was joined by Khaled Malachi, RCP London organiser, who also electrified the bloc with the chants of “Keir Starmer shame, shame! Genocide in your name!” and “Down, down, with the occupation. Up, up, with liberation!”
As the protest came to an end, Fiona rallied hundreds around her with a rallying call:
“Keir Starmer is terrified of this movement because of the revolutionary potential that lies within it. But we need to do more than march, we need more than words, we need action. That means coordination, and that means the trade unions must do something!”
The Italian workers have shown the way forward. Half a million on the streets for the second time this year shows that British workers and youth are willing to sacrifice their time, effort, and energy to fight capitalism and imperialism.
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But in order for this enthusiasm not to dwindle once again, it must be matched by a concrete call to action from the leaders of the Palestine and trade union movements.
The anger around Palestine must be articulated, deepened, and connected to the issues facing the working class here in Britain. This is the message the Communists are spreading within the movement. And we are gaining an echo.
The final notable part of the Communist bloc was its youthful energy, which is not at all a secondary point. It is always the youth – students and young workers – who are at the forefront of revolutionary change, as we are seeing with the ‘Gen Z revolutions’ sweeping the world.
Young people are trembling with indignation at the barbarism around them. Regardless of whether it holds in the short term, this rotten ‘peace’ deal will do nothing to quell that rage.
At its root, anger over Palestine is anger over austerity, racism, attacks on democratic rights, and the robbing of our futures. Once that anger is clearly articulated and organised, no force on earth can stop it.
