The largest anti-war demonstration in Britain since 2003, when more than a million people protested against the illegal invasion of Iraq, saw 300,000 people march and demonstrate in London against Israel’s war on Gaza on Saturday.
The march gathered on Park Lane and moved through central London, ending with a rally in Whitehall, where the prime minister’s residence, 10 Downing Street, is located.
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The march was so large that in the middle of the rally it was announced from the stage that the left and right sides of the demonstration in Whitehall would have to go to nearby Parliament Square to avoid possible overcrowding, as many protesters were still arriving from Trafalgar Square .
The large turnout came despite London being hit by Storm Babet during the afternoon and transport restrictions in the capital. At times, protesters were walking through streets with several inches of rain. The march would have been even larger if trains and other transport from the north of England had not been stopped due to flooding and landslides.
Crowds of people on the platform at Marble Arch tube station had to wait there before being able to leave the crowded station before joining the march.
The police ridiculously tried to claim that the demonstration had fewer participants than the previous week’s, which had 150,000 people, saying that around 100,000 attended. This drastic underestimation of its size was faithfully repeated by the media, including The Guardian.
Young people, students and workers carried Palestinian flags and chanted: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, defying the conservative government’s attempts to criminalize these actions. The number of homemade banners was notable, with slogans such as ‘Stop killing children’, ‘Free Palestine, free’ and ‘End the occupation’. A large number of Jewish protesters participated.
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Large numbers of police were mobilized again, including anti-terrorism officers and specialized public order units among the 1,000 on the streets.
A London Underground train driver led a chant of ‘Free, Free Palestine’ over his public address system, adding, “I hope you all have a lucky day today and take care of yourselves.” A video of the incident on X/Twitter was viewed millions of times. London Underground Limited immediately announced that it had asked the British Transport Police to investigate the ‘incident’.
At the rally, Kate Hudson of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament raised in her speech the call made by the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions for unions around the world to mobilize their members, noting that: “This urgent and “Genocide can only be avoided by a massive increase in global solidarity with the people of Palestine that can contain the Israeli war machine.”
Hudson said to great applause: ‘Let us hear their call… and to the labor and business movement of Great Britain, let us not allow our solidarity to fail.’
In fact, the leaders of the main railway unions in Britain, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and the drivers’ union ASLEF, who spoke from the platform, avoided mentioning the call of the Palestinian unions and instead offered empty promises of ‘solidarity’. ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan was announced at the rally as the leader of a union ‘that is proudly affiliated with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’.
Aslef union leader Mick Whelan at the London protest
Rather than mobilizing the RMT’s tens of thousands of members to stop Israel getting its hands on UK military equipment, the union is actually involved in ensuring its members crew Royal Navy ships as part of strengthening military of the Sunak government in the Middle East. Therefore, Deputy Deputy Secretary-General Eddie Dempsey did not call on his own members or the working class to intervene independently and disarm Israel, but instead demanded: ‘End the blockade, end the occupation . We demand peace… We must put pressure on politicians’
RMT deputy general secretary Eddie Dempsey speaking at the London protest
Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has declared his support for Israel’s decision to cut food, water and electricity supplies to Gaza, sparking strong opposition. Starmer’s belated ‘clarification’ on Friday that he did not actually mean that Israel had a ‘right’ to withdraw water and electricity supplies, but only a ‘right to defend itself’, fooled no one. His name was booed loudly when it was mentioned on the stand.
But attendees did not find any way to fight against Starmer in the lukewarm comments made by the ‘leftists’ of the Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.
Jeremy Corbyn speaking at London rally, 21 October 2023 Hashim
Former Labor Party leader Corbyn, now sitting as an independent member of Parliament after being expelled from the parliamentary party by Starmer, was introduced as the ‘People’s Prime Minister’. However, like he did at last week’s rally, Corbyn refused to even mention Starmer’s name when speaking of our ‘political leaders’ who ‘need to reflect and reflect deeply
Members and supporters of the Socialist Equality Party distributed thousands of copies of the WSWS editorial board statement, Outrage erupts around the world over Israeli bombing of Gaza hospital,’ and sold dozens of copies of the new World Socialist pamphlet Web Site, Stop Israeli Genocide! The brochure can be purchased here .
Hashim, originally from Sudan, spoke at the Socialist Equality Party booth. ‘What we are seeing in Gaza is a neoliberal colonization of the Middle East. It has its own economic and historical background. They are pushing their agenda by getting rid of any resistance in Palestine, to establish their new order.
Hashim
‘Look at all the war zones within this area and you will understand how fake this ‘international community’ is. They don’t care about humanity.
‘Sudan is still under colonization, despite its independence in 1956. When you look at the US position towards Sudan, they don’t care about the Sudanese. “They only care about their own interests.”
Hashim cited Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, backed by Britain and the United States: ‘They want to take over the world and they don’t care about the people. We have to fight, otherwise the whole world will see some kind of catastrophe. Gaza is a warning to the world.’
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Laura said: “Like many people, I feel sick to my stomach that the opposition leader is complicit in the genocide and refuses to denounce it as genocide, or even to do the simplest thing which is to call for a ceasefire.
Laura with a banner denouncing Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer’s support for Israeli war crimes.
“I have voted for the Labor Party in the past, but I am not going to do so in the next election because I cannot do so in good conscience. Then there is also what has emerged from the leadership about councilors or prominent members of the Labor Party being seen at protests. They are not allowed to show their support for people who are being ethnically cleansed.
“This refers to basic human rights. You’re supposed to be a political leader and you can’t defend people’s freedom, their freedom from being bombed!
“I am not surprised by the attempts to demonize protesters. That’s why it’s important that so many people come, because it goes against the narrative. “Try arguing with 500,000 people in the streets.”
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Saskia He said: ‘It is another example of a marginalized group being completely ignored, and Britain is complicit in this through its history with the British Mandate of Palestine, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
Saskia with a sign saying Sunak, Starmer, Lammy and Thornberry: complicit in genocide. David Lammy and Emily Thornberry are members of Starmer’s shadow cabinet
“It feels like a responsibility to act and speak. Palestinians live in an open-air prison; They are cutting off their internet access, electricity, food, water. They are being blocked by the Israeli government.
“I am not with the current Labor leaders nor do I support them in any way. Starmer, and all of them, cannot take back the words they said. They say they speak for the people, but that is not the case. “They are the same as the conservatives.”
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Scarlet, a retail worker, said, “I was afraid of being labeled a terrorist sympathizer, but something needs to be done about it. This is genocide. There are millions of people in Gaza, half of whom are children. Our media and our government support Israel, the Palestinians are fighting for their existence and we must support them.
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“Workers are the majority in this world. They have the real power. “The unity of people of conscience in Israel and Palestine is the only way things will change.”
Steve, a caregiver for older adults, ‘The media is presenting a one-sided narrative, most of which are lies. What we are seeing on the Internet, on social networks, doesn’t let me sleep. Killing children without stopping, interruption of the supply of food, water, electricity. I don’t know where to start with the hospital bombings, it was disgusting. Most of us grow up idealizing America, but it’s not what you think. “The Biden administration is very gloomy.”
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Fawziyyah, a student, brought a homemade banner to the demonstration that read: ‘End the occupation.’ She said: ‘I am supporting all those who have been victims of colonialism and all those who have lost their homes, their families, their lives and their lineages, their culture. It’s not something new. It’s a global thing, but the British have a legacy… So I’m taking a stand as a Brit against British politicians.
Fawziyyah
“For example, the Labor Party’s position is usually with Israel. I think we have to separate anti-Zionism from anti-Semitism. There are many Jews who are against apartheid in Palestine and have been very outspoken in support of the Palestinians. But the British media and major political parties hide behind claims of antisemitism, which is a lie to justify mass murder.’
(Originally published in English on October 22, 2023)
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2023-10-24 05:08:09
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