Masses Rise Up Against Gaza Genocide
September 16— Tens of thousands in Auckland (New Zealand) marched against the genocide in Gaza. Possibly one hundred thousand in Spain protested an Israeli team’s participation in the Vuelta a España, a major bicycle race. Hundreds blocked the finish line, forcing its cancellation.
An international fifty-boat flotilla has left Tunisia heading for Gaza. It intends to break Israel’s blockade with food and medicines. Dockworkers in Genoa (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain) have threatened to shut down those key Mediterranean ports if Israeli forces again attack the flotilla.
Mass outrage is growing globally. A quarter of Gaza’s population faces Zionist-engineered starvation. Over 680,000 are already dead. The complete destruction and ethnic cleansing of Gaza was a far-right fever dream last year. Now it is official policy, egged on by US president Trump. Fascist Zionism has never seemed stronger or bolder.
Last week Israel bombed the Hamas negotiation team in Doha, Qatar. Qatar has been a key US ally. It hosts the largest US airbase in the region. US imperialism, in turn, supplied arms. It helped shield the repressive Qatari rulers from international criticism and internal unrest. But Trump didn’t stop the Israeli attack or even warn Qatar before the attack.
As we go to press, reports are emerging from Monday’s Arab-Islamic summit in solidarity with Qatar. The Gulf state rulers are convinced that the US chose not to stop the bombing. The US-Qatar alliance seems to be over. The Gulf states are activating their collective defense mechanisms. The greater part of US imperialist influence in the Middle East now rests on shifting sands.
Meanwhile, the US did not veto a UN Security Council resolution – as it usually does — condemning the airstrike on Doha. Its “no” vote failed to stop a UN General Assembly resolution supporting a “two-state solution” for Israel/Palestine.
But there is no chance now – if there ever was – of a Palestinian state existing side by side with a Zionist state (Israel). Israel never intended to allow one. The Zionist aim, all along, was a “Greater Israel” from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River and beyond.
Fascist Zionism has never seemed stronger, but appearances are deceiving. Its contradictions are sharpening. The tensions with the US over the Doha bombing are one example.
Within the US, the Zionist Hasbara (propaganda campaign) is losing its hold on workers and youth. That includes many Jews. Even as its bought-and-paid-for politicians, especially Christian Zionists, become more outrageous. Florida Representative Brian Mast, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has introduced a bill to allow the government to revoke the passports of US citizens if they criticize Israel!
Too many Jewish Israelis support the present assault on Gaza City. But ICWP comrades in Tel Aviv have reported on the many Israeli reservists who are refusing to be called up for it. And on the masses in the streets who are calling for an end to the genocide and welcoming Red Flag. Young people are leaving Israel in droves. Zionist policies fundamentally conflict with their Jewish values.
Underneath the appearance of strength, therefore, is increasing weakness. That is our opportunity. Revolution would still be possible in a Zionist state “from the river to the sea.” Communist revolution is necessary.
As ICWP comrades in South Africa remind us, every small step we take to build the party anywhere will advance that communist revolution in occupied Palestine and worldwide.
Below: Thousands in Spain protest Israeli team in 21-stage Vuelta a Madrid bicycle race; hundreds block finish line and shut race down.
Pamphlet: Genocide in Palestine Demands Workers’ Revolution: here