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Palestine solidarity: Masses mobilise in defiance of Tory lies and repression

Palestine solidarity: Masses mobilise in defiance of Tory lies and repression

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The escalating aggression of Israeli imperialism, with the imminent threat of invasion in Gaza, has provoked a massive outburst of anger in Britain. IMT comrades have been connecting with this mood, putting forward clear revolutionary slogans.

Tensions are heightening in the Middle East by the day. The imperialist war drums are beating ever louder, with the Israeli military preparing for a full-scale invasion of Gaza.

Across the world, meanwhile, workers and youth are mobilising en masse to show solidarity with the Palestinian people.

In Britain, huge protests have broken out up and down the country over the past week, in response to the latest aggression of the Israeli state and its imperialist backers.

Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands spilled out on the streets of central London. Similar rallies and demonstrations have taken place in towns and cities all over Britain. And students and staff are raising their voices on UK campuses.

These mass actions have taken place in defiance of the establishment’s torrent of propaganda and repressive threats. The authorities are clearly worried of sparking an even-mightier movement, if they were to seriously clamp down on demonstrators.

This proves what the Marxists have always said: that there is no force on Earth that can stop the working class, when it is mobilised and organised.

Comrades of the International Marxist Tendency have energetically participated in these protests (see reports below). Throughout, we have highlighted the complicity of the British ruling class in the continued occupation and oppression of Palestine and its people. And we have put forward a clear revolutionary perspective.

In many instances, Socialist Appeal activists have been leading local campaigns. In other cases, our bold slogans – calling for ‘intifada until victory’ and for a Socialist Federation in the Middle East – have made us a point of reference for the most radical layers.

If you want to join the fight against oppression, war, and imperialism, then join the communists today.

London

Saturday’s Palestine demonstration in London saw over 100 Socialist Appeal activists and supporters attend and intervene in one of the largest protests to hit the capital in years.

Demo organisers suggested that 150,000 people attended the event. In fact, aerial footage and comrades’ eyewitness reports indicate that the real size of the march was even bigger than this estimate.

As the crowd swelled, comrades gave agitational speeches.

This is all the more incredible considering the barrage of media lies attacking the Palestinian’s cause, not to mention the Tories’ recent attempts to repress protest over this issue.

Comrades arrived well ahead of the official start time to set up our stall opposite BBC HQ. This included a hand-made banner for the protest, emblazoned with our revolutionary slogan: ‘Intifada until victory – for a Socialist Federation of the Middle East’.

As the crowd swelled, comrades gave agitational speeches. With our megaphone, our energy, and our bold demands, we attracted plenty of demo participants to join our bloc of over a hundred workers and youth. In fact, we ended up spilling onto the road due to our numbers.

In our speeches, we covered a variety of important topics: from the hypocrisy of the western imperialists; to the degenerate capitalist media in the West; to the silencing of pro-Palestinian voices on university campuses. All our contributions were met with applause and chanting.

Numerous organisations attended the march, although the absence of official trade union blocs was noticeable.

Even more numerous, however, were the unorganised workers and youth who spontaneously came of their own accord – particularly from the city’s Arab, Asian, and Muslim communities.

These downtrodden layers of society – often politically alienated and correctly distrustful of mainstream politics – have been shaken up by the horrors inflicted on Gaza and the Palestinian people.

Despite Suella Braverman and the police’s best attempts to intimidate protesters about the legality of their slogans and the waving of Palestinian flags, there was no sign of fear on the march.

Amidst a sea of red-white-green-and-black flags, protesters young and old spontaneously burst out into chants of ‘Free, free Palestine!” At one point, a boy of just 12 or 13 was leading the chant in the middle section of the march.

The communists stand in full solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle against the Israeli state’s imperialist occupation and aggression.

Similarly, our chants of ‘Intifada until victory!’ connected with protestors.

At its height, the demo spanned over a mile between Oxford Circus and Downing Street. At Piccadilly Circus and at Trafalgar Square, young people scaled fountains and the statues to fly the Palestinian flag.

Only days before the demo, newspaper front-covers regurgitated imperialist propaganda about Israeli babies being beheaded by Hamas. But Saturday’s huge protest showed that workers and youth have no trust in the billionaire-owned press.

It is therefore no surprise that copies of Socialist Appeal were flying out of our hands. People were handing us fivers and tenners to get their hands on a copy. In total, we sold 400 copies of our latest issue, with its frontpage headline calling for the exploited and the oppressed to ‘rise up against occupation’.

Strikingly, attendees were thanking us for putting forward clear, revolutionary slogans for Palestinian liberation in our paper. We spotted a number of people using our bold front cover as a makeshift placard.

While others on the left have resorted to reformist pleas to the international community (read: imperialists) to solve the crisis, our revolutionary position meant that over 50 people left their details in order to join the IMT. Two people even agreed to join immediately after we debriefed at the end of the demo.

This demonstration has shown that the Palestinians have no shortage of solidarity in Britain – even when we are subjected to the lies of the bourgeois media, or the veiled threats of the police.

Comrades in London are now preparing to make an even larger impact on the next Palestine demo, scheduled to start at Marble Arch at midday this Saturday.

The communists stand in full solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle against the Israeli state’s imperialist occupation and aggression.

As children are slaughtered in Gaza, nothing less than a bold programme of revolutionary demands can lead the oppressed masses to victory.

Cardiff

Since the events in Gaza erupted on 7 October, the Cardiff district of the IMT has had a constant hum of activity.

Taking the initiative, all four branches locally prepared for an emergency meeting to discuss the unfolding situation, and our plans to intervene at a rally in town.

We also agreed to hold a joint campus rally with a guest from the Middle Eastern & North African Society at Cardiff University.

The following day, over 20 comrades met in the park ahead of the rally called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Comrades briefed together and rehearsed chants, before heading to the rally.

The atmosphere at the rally was electric. Rally leaders’ calls for ‘peace and an end to violence’ were continually drowned out by chants of ‘free, free Palestine!’ The militant youth in the crowd were clearly surging ahead of the self-appointed spokespeople of the movement.

One of our comrades took to the speaker’s podium and gave a bold speech. They took aim at the hypocritical actions of the British ruling class, who fund and abet the reactionary Israeli state.

Our comrade called for a new intifada, for revolution across the region, and for a Socialist Federation of the Middle East. Their demand to “end capitalism, end imperialism, and free Palestine” was met with massive cheers and applause from the audience.

Comrades then formed a communist bloc on the march, shouting slogans in the pouring rain. We brought three new people along with us, and met another person at the rally who openly identified as a communist and wanted to join.

This week, on Tuesday 17 October, we will be holding our first rally that we have called, alongside other activist groups on campus. We are also preparing an open letter to present to the university, with plans to collect signatures.

Norwich

In Norwich, we set about organising a meeting on campus on Friday 13 October to put forward a revolutionary solution to the crisis in Palestine.

We also urged the PSC and District Trades Council to call a rally for Saturday, which they did; and then we led the effort to build for it.

We also aimed to pass a motion through the UEA SU in support of Palestine, making the bold call for ‘intifada until victory’ and for a Socialist Federation of the Middle East.

At the student council meeting to discuss the motion, the Jewish Society put forward an amendment to our motion, which equally denounced the actions of Hamas as well as those of the Israeli state.

We came under pressure from the SU to accept this amendment into our motion before it even went to council. Comrades instead held firm and rejected this amendment, which was clearly being made in bad faith to distract from the real causes of this bloodshed: decades of oppression and violence by the Israeli state, backed by the western imperialists.

We used this opposition as an opportunity to put forward our position: that there can be no equivalence made between the actions of Hamas, and the brutal oppression of the imperialist Israeli state. We affirmed that we will not cower, but will stand solidly in defence of the Palestinian people.

Although the opposition amendment did unfortunately pass, our defence was met with huge applause from the room – especially from members of the Arab society.

Despite meddling from the right wing, the revolutionary content of the motion remained. And the amended motion was passed by the meeting.

SU bureaucrats and right-wingers have already implied that they aim to carve up our motion with amendments in the next union council. We welcome another opportunity to defend our position!

Our meeting on ‘Israel-Palestine: A revolutionary way forward’ last Friday was well attended. We were also visited by guests from the security team, sent by the university! Earlier that day, the university called us to tell us what we can and can’t say at this meeting.

The meeting also attracted a handful of oppositionists. Again, we refused to back down or condemn both sides, pointing out the rottenness of their questions. The main detractors left the meeting, to applause and jeers from the room.

The rally on Saturday gave us the opportunity to speak on the platform. Our ideas were well received. We got the details of several people interested in joining the IMT.

We are now in the process of recruiting people we have met through the previous weeks’ work. We are planning what steps to take next in Norwich, in order to meet the mood of anger and disgust at the actions of the Israeli state and ‘our own’ imperialist ruling class here in Britain.

Lancaster

Last Friday, Socialist Appeal comrades held a rally in Lancaster in support of the Palestinian masses, and to oppose Israel’s occupation and the role of British imperialism.

This is the first time we’ve ever organised a rally ourselves. The turnout was immense, with around 150 to 200 people present. Considering the quick turnaround – and the typical wet Lancashire weather! – this was an amazing feat.

To advertise the event, we plastered the town and the campus in posters, did lecture shout-outs, and held stalls. We reached out to Palestinian and Middle Eastern groups on campus too.

Scandalously, on the day of the rally, we were kicked off campus and threatened with disciplinary action for handing out flyers about the event, on grounds of ‘it’s a time of mutual grieving’.

We stood firm, but were escorted off campus nevertheless. We are appealing to students to protest this egregious attack by university management.

Despite this, we still managed to have an amazing turnout from both the student population and the local Arab and Asian community. The first lesson to draw from this is that something can be built where previously there was nothing, provided the enthusiasm is there.

Multiple comrades gave speeches, highlighting the hypocrisy of western imperialism and the establishment media, and explaining the inadequacy of abstract calls for peace. Our bold revolutionary demands got a positive reception.

Many other attendees also spoke, including several children who described feeling isolated since the conflict broke out.

One woman thanked the IMT explicitly, for “boldly organising the rally in spite of the resistance of the university, the local police, and Zionist thugs, and for offering a way forward”.

We ended the rally by proposing concrete steps, with comrades emphasising that the demo was a jumping-off point for further action.

To begin with, we are organising to push a motion through the Lancaster SU, demanding that they stand in solidarity with Palestine, and putting pressure on the university to cut all financial ties with BAE systems, who supply the Israeli regime with military hardware.

We gathered details of those attending the rally, and we’re planning to put on an educational event on the history of Israel-Palestine since the Nakba, as well as an open meeting on campus to get more students behind our campaign.

Leeds

Following the events in Gaza, comrades in Leeds decided that we had to act quickly to organise solidarity with the Palestinian people.

At our open solidarity meeting, we agreed that communists in Britain have a responsibility to fight ‘our own’ imperialist ruling class, which directly supports the imperialist violence meted out by the Israeli state.

On Saturday morning, we gathered 150 students and workers from the university into a ‘student march for Palestine’, to meet the main demonstration in town.

The main demo was impressive, gathering about 2000 people and marching through the city centre. Some comrades remarked that this was one of the largest demonstrations that they had ever seen in the city.

Our chants and speeches to the crowd were well received. And our banner was placed on the front of the march calling for ‘intifada until victory!’

Several new people joined us on the back of this march, and more expressed an interest in getting involved.

It has been a tiring but extremely rewarding week for the communists in Leeds. Our efforts to emancipate all workers from the violent exploitation and oppression of capitalism will only intensify over the coming weeks and months.

Edinburgh

Comrades in Edinburgh set to work quickly in solidarity with Palestine.

On both Wednesday and Saturday last week, comrades in Edinburgh intervened successfully in two solidarity rallies for Palestine. The second of these gathered thousands of workers and students.

The first rally was held in Bristo Square on the University of Edinburgh campus, attended by 300 students and workers. The protest opened with a chorus of ‘free Palestine’, followed by speakers from different groups.

One comrade gave a rousing speech on what communists can do at home to show solidarity with the Palestinian masses. We were the only group to offer clear solutions, and to provide a call to action that students can get behind.

This includes a motion that we are submitting to the Edinburgh University Student Association, calling on them to support Palestine, oppose Israeli occupation, and condemn the UK government’s involvement, alongside supporting and calling demonstrations.

Comrades handed out flyers of the IMT statement on Palestine and collected signatures for our motion. A couple came up to our speakers asking how they could help. And a freelance journalist commended our comrade for her clear answers on our positions.

On Saturday, the mood was far more radical, with thousands of Edinburgh residents gathering at the foot of the mound to show solidarity with Palestine.

Equipped with the newest edition of Revolution, paper of the IMT in Scotland, comrades began attracting attendees and making plenty of sales. Our slogan, which stood out from the crowd, was: ‘Scotland to Gaza! Revolution! Intifada!’

One student, on hearing this chant said: “Great to see communists here!” He gave us his contact details, without us having to ask for them. He was quickly joined by another person, who asked if he could wave our IMT flag! These comrades have already been invited to help organise the meeting set to happen on Wednesday.

On the march to the Scottish Parliament, many of the students and workers around us began shouting our chants. Another person approached us and asked: “how do I get organised with you guys?”

This shows that if comrades put forward radical slogans, the most revolutionary, class-conscious workers and youth will approach us.

On the other side of the city, the new IMT student branch at Heriot-Watt University is taking the lead and filling the vacuum on campus. We are building for a demo in solidarity of Palestine on Wednesday 25 October – a call which has already led to a new comrade joining our ranks.

Glasgow

The winter sun broke through the clouds over Glasgow as thousands took a stand for the Palestinian people.

From the top of Buchanan Street, speakers condemned the ruthless onslaught of Israeli occupation forces against Gaza, and the looming threat to spare no-one in that oppressed enclave.

Several noted the sense of a historic dividing line being drawn by these events. The crowd stood for those millions of defenceless Gazans, brutalised and exiled for generations. The imperialist governments of Britain, the USA, and Europe stood with the oppressors.

IMT comrades joined the spontaneous march to the BBC building across the river. Chants in support of a free Palestine echoed off the walls of the Buchanan Street shops and the underside of the M8 overpass, while we led those around us in shouts of ‘Glasgow to Gaza, global intifada!’

Though much of the mood was fearful for the potential fate of the Palestinians trapped in Gaza, the raw anger of the crowd was sharply directed at the capitalist media, including the BBC. The lies and disinformation circulated by the bourgeois press are absolutely repugnant to any thinking person.

Outside the Glasgow studios, there were chants of ‘BBC, shame on you!’ and ‘no more lies!’ The police attempted to arrest a pair of protesters for playing Palestinian music, but the angry response of the crowd forced them to think again.

Under the banner of ‘intifada until victory’ we explained our communist position on the Palestinian struggle: for an uprising of the whole Palestinian people, led by the working class; of no trust in the reactionary ‘friends’ of Palestine in the region, nor in the imperialist so-called ‘international community’; for proletarian revolution to shake off colonial oppression and class exploitation; and for the formation of a Socialist Federation of the Middle East, as the only way to guarantee the rights of all peoples.

Manchester

11 comrades from the Manchester district of the IMT formed a communist bloc at the demonstration in solidarity with Palestine, held in Manchester on Saturday 14 October.

The rally was attended by around two thousand people. Our comrades were one of the loudest in the whole march. Our revolutionary slogans were being chanted not only by our own comrades but also by other attendees in the crowd.

The mood in the demonstration was buoyant, energetic, cheerful, youthful, and enthusiastic. So much so that despite the constant drizzle throughout the day, the spirits were not dampened at all.

At one point, we witnessed a bus driver stopping his bus beside the rally and sticking his fist up to show solidarity.

Braving the rain and treacherous weather, our comrades set up a stall beside the rally and carried out the difficult task of selling papers, handing out leaflets, and signing people up to join.

Overall, we got a very good response, with 38 papers sold, 5 people signed up, and some generous donations as well.

Newcastle

IMT comrades from Newcastle and Ashington attended a demo outside the Israeli state-owned Rafael arms factory in the area on Friday 13 October.

One comrade spoke at the protest, putting forward a clear class position, outlining what we can do to oppose the Israeli state here in Britain. This was well received, and similar positions were subsequently put forward by others present.

The mood was militant, and public support was clear from the many passing cars honking and cheering upon seeing Palestinian flags. People are seeing through the barrage of pro-Israel propaganda peddled by establishment politicians and the bosses’ media.

This was followed by a demo in Newcastle the next day, which saw a turnout of several hundred. Speakers included local Palestinians, representatives from trade unions, and other activists.

It was clear in all the speeches that there is a recognition of western imperialism’s hand in this crisis, and an understanding that capitalism is to blame.

The facts are becoming harder to distort. The hypocrisy of the government is being sharply exposed. As a result, people are beginning to understand this issue as a class question. The field is open for a revolutionary communist perspective.

Comrades are now organising a student campaign for Palestine on campus at Newcastle University.

Liverpool

On Saturday 15 October, eight comrades and two people looking to get involved with the IMT attended a Palestine solidarity demo in Liverpool, called by the Friends of Palestine.

Comrades met before the rally, discussing what communists can do to help Palestine. This was a great discussion, which left comrades inspired and prepared to take part in the rally.

The whole width of the high street was taken up by a crowd of around 250 people waving Palestinian flags and solidarity placards. The mood was electric from start to finish.

This was especially the case when a young woman got up to speak. She couldn’t hold back the tears when describing the atrocious oppression of the Palestinian people, and the countless lives that have been lost over the decades to the violence of the Israeli terror state. When her speech drew to a close, she buried her face into the shoulder of her friend, and a passionate chorus of ‘free, free Palestine!’ broke out.

We then began our march, in the rain, from Church Street to the BBC Merseyside headquarters. The reason for this final destination was because the BBC, as a mouthpiece of the British establishment, has unashamedly spread slander and lies about Palestine, while drumming up support for the Israeli state.

The whole of Liverpool’s high street shook with pro-Palestine chants. Comrades took some of the lead with chants such as ‘1,2,3,4 – occupation no more! 5,6,7,8 – Israel is a terrorist state!’

Demonstrators lit flares of green and red. Young children began to lead chants too. One man mounted a public bench and began to chant in Arabic, with a group of Arab youth joining in.

When we arrived at the local BBC headquarters, the demonstration was effectively split into two. Half was outside the BBC building, whilst the other half was around the corner. We were in the section around the corner, where we had the opportunity to speak on an open mic.

Comrades spoke on the hypocrisy of imperialism and its mouthpieces. They highlighted that the power to liberate Palestine lies with the workers of the world, and that we must fight to overthrow our own imperialist state here in Britain.

These speeches were well-received. On the basis of this strong intervention, we had people coming up to us asking if they could attend upcoming IMT activity.

We are also planning on organising a rally in solidarity with Palestine on the University of Liverpool campus for Friday 20 October at midday, calling on all students and staff to walk out of their lectures.

Preston

On Sunday afternoon, the brand-new Preston branch of the IMT formed a communist bloc at the local Palestine solidarity demonstration, joined by comrades from Lancaster.

We boldly shouted our slogans ‘Intifada ‘til victory’ and ‘There is only one solution: Intifada! Revolution!’

The comrades politically prepared beforehand discussing the articles from the paper, and why we were intervening: not just to lament how bad things are, but to offer a revolutionary way forward.

Unfortunately, we were unable to speak from the platform. However, we are now in contact with the organisers, so we will have a chance to put forward our perspective and demands at these events in the future.

We sold 18 copies of Socialist Appeal and raised £30 for our fighting fund by moving around as a bloc, waving our flags, and asking boldly if people wanted to hear a Marxist analysis on the situation in Palestine. Many people were smiling and cheering at our boldness, asking to take pictures of our flag and the paper.

York

Our comrades attended the Palestine demonstration in York on Sunday 15 October. The larger turnout than usual for demonstrations in York shows that events in Palestine have had a significant effect on people.

In contrast to the handful of pro-Israel hecklers, many more passers-by stopped and joined the demonstration.

There was a mood of outrage amongst the speakers, not just at the horrors faced by the Palestinians, but the actions of our government here at home.

Speakers also mentioned the complicity of the University of York, who invited Israeli weapons manufacturers to their careers fair, and spoke out in favour of Israel. Others correctly denounced Kier Starmer, with his pro-Israel, pro-imperialism stance revealing where his allegiances lie.

Only our comrades raised the need to fight the enemy at home, by passing solidarity motions in the labour and youth movements, and by organising to overthrow our own ruling class at home.

One comrade who spoke raised the suggestion of workers’ boycotts of the arms industry, pointing to the example of the South African dock workers who refused to unload Israeli goods back in 2021.

This, combined with our bold slogan of ‘intifada until victory!’, resulted in many people coming up to us through the course of our mobilisation to express support and interest in getting involved.

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