Outrage against Israel’s actions has led to demonstrations of thousands across the world. From the USA to Venezuela, Indonesia and across the Middle East people are taking to the streets to protest against the brutal slaughter of the Palestinians.
Whilst the politicians sit in their cabinets and impotently make calls for Israel to be more moderate or for a ‘ceasefire’ which they know will be ignored, people are taking action.
The demonstrations across the Middle East are particularly important, any solution to the conflict must also involve the wider Arab masses in a struggle against Zionism and its backer, the imperialists in Washington and London. In Yemen a huge rally was organised in a Stadium in Sanaa. One banner read; “How long will the silence last? Arabs wake up!”
Across Egypt thousands of people, many of them students, have poured out onto the streets from their university campuses, burning US and Israeli flags, some people called on the Egyptian army to intervene. In Cairo a protest of over 50,000 people gathered in the centre of the city. Other demonstrations in Libya, Syria and Iraq have also been held. Further afield in Bangladesh and Pakistan demonstrations were organised in the capital cities.
In Britain thousands of people have demonstrated for two days in a row outside the Israeli embassy, having to deal with aggressive police who arrested several protesters and tried to contain the demonstration to only a section of the pavement. In the north of England in Manchester 500 people protested outside the consulate, similar protest were held in Birmingham Glasgow and Edinburgh. In New York people marched and carried signs condemning the Zionist aggression calling for an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people. Other actions were organised in cities like San Francisco and the capital Washington DC.
There were demonstrations on Monday 29 in a number of German cities and daily pickets and vigils going on through the week. The largest demo was in Berlin on Monday with 4-5,000 taking part.
Organised through the immigrant communities, mostly it was people from the Palestinian Arab and Turkish communities. The new left party Die Linke has called for a ceasefire, but it is very hesitant in making any sharp criticism of Israel.
League supporters attended the demonstration in Dublin against the bombardment of Gaza outside the Israeli and US embassies. It was a very lively and angry demonstration, at one point, an Israeli flag was torched outside the Israeli embassy to rapturous cheers and applause.
In Melbourne over 3000 people marched through the city and more protests are planned.
Perhaps one of the bravest attempts to come to the aid of Gaza was the voyage of a small vessel, the “Dignity” from Cyprus in an attempt to bring medical and other essential supplies to the hard pressed hospitals in the Gaza strip. It was organised by the courageous Free Gaza Movement, which has been highlighting the siege of Gaza for over a year now.
In international waters Israeli naval vessels surrounded the Dignity, ordered it to turn back to Cyprus, fired shots at it and then rammed it. They damage eventually forced it to put into a Lebanese port. This naked act of piracy is one more proof of the rogue character of the Israeli state and the fact that will not and cannot live in peace with its neighbours. Of course these actions are not condemned by the world policeman the USA, the US government has only condemned Hamas for causing the attacks in the first place!
On the 2nd January demonstrations are being organised across the world to protest against the slaughter in the Gaza strip. Now is the time to make your voice heard and show your solidarity and support for the Palestinian people in their time of need.