Facing attacks from the establishment press, and meddling from university and student union bureaucracies, the communists are continuing their efforts to mobilise solidarity with Palestine. We say: Intifada until victory!
[Originally published at socialist.net]
This week, as Israel continues to rain hellfire on the population of Gaza, the IMT’s Marxist and Communist Societies have come under attack from the establishment press for our opposition to the crimes of Israeli imperialism.
It’s no surprise that we have attracted the attention of our class enemies. Our bold, revolutionary slogans, and our energetic efforts to organise solidarity with Palestine, have made us a point of reference for the most radical layers of students and workers.
Despite the attacks from the press, coupled with the meddling of university and student union bureaucracies, our comrades are unapologetically leading the charge.
On the ground, we have been vocal in calling out ‘our own’ imperialist government’s complicity in Israel’s crimes, and have clearly raised the need for an intifada – a mass, revolutionary struggle – from the Middle East to Britain.
This weekend, we will be intervening in rallies and demonstrations across the country, putting forward revolutionary demands to free Palestine. We call on our supporters to get in touch and join the communists.
Cardiff
On Tuesday, we held a joint demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people outside of Cardiff University.
We opened the demonstration with a speech clearly stating our position, and outlining what we had written in our open letter to the university.
This was followed by a series of speeches by other comrades, as well as members of the university’s Middle Eastern and North African Society (MENAS), who thanked us for our support.
We then marched to the Student Union, where the crowd grew to around 70 people. We led the march with our slogans including ‘Free, free Palestine!’, ‘There is only one solution: intifada, revolution!’ and ‘The UK is not innocent!’. There was a strong positive reaction from people driving past and students filming us.
As the demonstration came to an end a man came to provoke us and told the members of MENAS they shouldn’t associate with communists. In response they defended us and told him the conflict “is an issue of capitalism”.
We held a meeting in the evening where multiple people expressed an interest in joining the Cardiff Communists, as well as holding a much larger demonstration at the university. It is very clear that there is a growing radical mood among students in Cardiff that is bringing people towards communist ideas.
Downing Street vigil
On Wednesday, IMT activists joined a vigil outside Downing Street, called in response to the atrocities committed by the IDF in the Gaza Strip, which included the bombing of the Al-Ahli hospital.
This criminal targeting of civilian infrastructure was the single deadliest event in the Israeli state’s brutal campaign of indiscriminate collective punishment against the Palestinians, killing over 400 people.
The so-called ‘free press’ of the West rushed to pin the blame for this barbarity on Hamas, even though there is no evidence of that at all.
The lackeys of imperialism keep lying through their teeth to cover for the genocidal regime of the Israeli state. This is why we must build the workers’ press: to fight the lies of the mainstream media.
The mood on the ground was one of anger and disgust. Workers and youth are sick to the stomach of the crimes of Zionism, which happen with the full backing and support of the British imperialists.
The British establishment has blood on its hands. Our criminal ruling class is accountable for the slaughter being unleashed upon the Palestinians and for a 75-year-long oppression.
We must fight for revolution against British imperialism to achieve meaningful justice, freedom, and long-lasting peace for the Palestinians! That is why we raise the slogan: Intifada until victory!
UCL
On Thursday a protest was held, organised by the UCL Marxist Society along with other UCL student societies and groups, explicitly in defence of Palestine solidarity and freedom of speech.
On Thursday a protest was held explicitly in defence of Palestine solidarity / Image: Socialist Appeal
This comes after the society had been scandalously suspended by the UCL Students’ Union for organising a meeting on Palestine under the title ‘Intifada Until Victory’. This is a flagrant and shameful capitulation to Zionism and imperialism by the Students’ Union.
Outside of UCL’s main entrance, comrades raised the need to continue showing solidarity with Palestine, and put forward a revolutionary way forward for Palestinian liberation.
Speakers also exposed the role of UCL in their own complicity with British imperialism – a key ally of Israeli imperialism – through their ties to arms manufacturers.
We then marched down the road to SOAS, where, despite the university touting their ‘decolonial’ credentials, a number of Palestinian student activists have been expelled by the university following a protest last week.
Kent
On Monday, the IMT in Kent organised a rally and a march in support of Palestine with over 70 people present.
Many expressed gratitude that finally something was being done about this.
Other societies, such as the North African, Islamic, and Arabic societies also mobilised for the rally.
Our comrades were pointing towards the hypocrisy we see in the media, and advocating for a revolutionary solution to free Palestine.
Speakers from the Kent Communists and other societies came forward denouncing the role of the British state in the conflict and the ongoing horror in Gaza.
The UK is not innocent in this and neither are the universities silencing students who are sympathetic with the Palestinian people.
Many people came up to us after the rally to find out more about the IMT, having been convinced by our revolutionary ideas. We also sold 36 copies of Socialist Appeal!
Goldsmiths
On Wednesday, around 50 Goldsmiths students and staff attended a rally organised by the Goldsmiths Communists.
We wrote a letter to Goldsmiths senior management calling out their hypocrisy for not standing for a free Palestine and against Israeli aggression.
Comrades spoke about the need to fight against capitalism and western imperialism across the world with revolution.
We then handed our letter to the senior management team and planned to meet together at Goldsmiths for the London wide demo on Saturday. Intifada till victory!
Chelmsford
Last week, two comrades in a school in Chelmsford attempted to arrange a discussion on Israel’s occupation of Palestine at our school.
Before this, another student had put together a Powerpoint presentation hoping to better educate our peers on the situation.
Throughout the entire process, we received mixed responses from teachers, and were redirected multiple times to different members of staff who supposedly had the authority to facilitate this discussion.
After wading our way through the school’s disorganised bureaucracy, we were told we were not allowed to hold the discussion and that the presentation will not be shown.
The reasons they gave was that it was “too recent”, there is no way we “could be educated enough” on the topic, and that it may “upset people” – especially parents.
The pressure from the government and establishment media to clamp down on those who speak out for Palestine has found its way into schools and colleges.
Schools are supposed to be places of learning, and yet students aren’t even allowed to combat blatant misinformation and imperialist propaganda, nor form their own views on major political events.
We won’t be intimidated. We will be holding the discussion this half-term outside of school. Contact the Chelmsford Marxists Instagram account if you’re interested in coming along! Intifada until victory!
Lancaster
The Lancaster Communists have been targeted by the University of Lancaster management for showing solidarity with Palestine.
We have been kicked off campus twice by security staff on instruction of management, and have been threatened with vague notions of disciplinary action.
The cynical reason given was that “it’s a time of mutual grieving” – indeed, we are grieving the thousands of innocent Palestinians that have been slaughtered by the Israeli state, with the full support of “our own” government!
This is a shameful attack on our basic democratic right to free speech.
After a very successful rally we held in town on Friday 13 October – at which 200 people gathered – we are now building for a student walkout and rally planned for the 30 October. This campaign also involves an open letter addressed to the university and the SU.
We are demanding that the university and the SU issue a statement condemning Israel’s occupation, and supporting Palestinian liberation; that the university stops clamping down on solidarity with Palestine; and that the university cuts all ties with arms manufacturers.
Brighton
On Thursday 19 October, Brighton Communists held an open meeting at the University of Sussex on Israel-Palestine and the communist approach.
Beforehand we held a stall on university grounds. The mood on campus was inspiring, seeing so many young people interested in what the communists had to say, and how open people are to a revolutionary solution.
At some points, the stall was so busy that the comrades were outnumbered! In total we sold 28 copies of Socialist Appeal and 2 pamphlets.
The meeting itself was another question. The university staff told us hours before that we needed to do a ‘risk assessment form’ and made us jump through hoop after hoop.
Scandalously, they told us our promotional posters were ‘violent’ with the slogan “Free Palestine! Down with British Imperialism!” This was undoubtedly influenced by the pressure from the establishment, particularly the Telegraph’s attack on our organisation.
The comrades held firm, and the meeting went ahead. We had 17 attendees in total, with a great discussion, and everyone agreed to help us organise for our intervention in Saturday’s demo in London.
Queen Mary
On Wednesday, we organised a rally in support of Palestine at Queen Mary University in London.
Despite the bad weather, dozens of students came along to show solidarity with Palestine, and demand that the Students’ Union unequivocally condemns Israel, and stands for Palestinian liberation.
The speakers exposed the hypocrisy of the UK government, the bosses’ media, and universities across the country for attacking pro-Palestine activists.
With the IMT’s Marxist and Communist Societies coming under attack from the right-wing press, comrades mounted a staunch defence of our slogan “intifada until victory”, the only solution to the present conflict.
It was raining and pouring throughout the whole rally, but that didn’t dampen our mood of defiance. Be it storm, rain or shine, we will free Palestine!