Donald Trump’s declaration at this week’s NATO summit that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is over, swiftly followed by airstrikes near Iranian nuclear power plants, yet again endangering life and stability in the Middle East, makes building for Saturday’s national march for Palestine crucial.
It is a demonstration that must send a clear message to the new prime minister, ahead of Andy Burnham’s expected coronation on 20 July, to make a clean break with Keir Starmer’s government and not back or enable Trump’s wars.
The US president’s renewed attacks on his NATO allies for refusing to provide military support during his and Israel’s previous illegal attacks on Iran (though of course Starmer allowed the US military to use UK airbases to launch so-called defensive missions), cried out for Burnham to respond with a new approach to foreign policy. But while it was unlikely that he would make a decisive break with Starmer on issues of militarism, his Times article today [9 July] appears to have dashed remaining hopes.
It is continuity Starmerism, talking up the implausible Russian threat to the UK, committing to ever-increasing military spending, and in its commitment to NATO and keeping the unwinnable war in Ukraine going rather than seeking a peaceful resolution.
It’s disgraceful that it makes no mention of Gaza. Starmer was brought down in no small part by his shameful support for Israel’s war crimes and by the enormous pressure the Palestine movement put on him for his collusion in genocide. While the last dark days of his government are something to celebrate, unless his successor breaks with his moral bankruptcy he will face a similar fate.
We demand a wholesale shift on Palestine, taking all possible action to end the genocide, including sanctions and stopping arming Israel.
This will be the call on 18 July, but it will also be a protest that starts to build for the 10 October International Day of Demonstrations for Palestine – the third anniversary of the start of the genocide – one of the key actions agreed at last month’s International Conference Against War.
Despite the silence from the media and from 99% of our political classes, the horrific and brutal repression of the Palestinian people continues unabated. But their courage and resistance should inspire us as we continue to build an international anti-war movement, with Palestine at its heart.
Of course there was no mention in Ankara of the catastrophe the world leaders there have helped create in Palestine over the past few years – laying waste to the Gaza Strip and the intensification of the occupation of the West Bank – or indeed of Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.
Instead they continue to arm and support Israel militarily, politically and diplomatically while talking up the threat from Russia to justify obscene new levels of military spending, attacking social care and the NHS and ditching much-needed infrastructure projects, which themselves would create far more good jobs and therefore real security at home than the defence sector ever will.
Burnham claims to understand that people want real and radical change, but there can be little chance of achieving that while maintaining continuity imperialist policy abroad. So the Palestine and anti-war movements will continue to build a powerful international campaign across the continent for cuts to warfare not welfare and for wages not weapons.
Which is why we need everyone on the streets of London on 18 July to make it another massive expression of pro-Palestinian support and anti-war sentiment.
Source: Labour Outlook