Bulletin No40 Novembre 2023 These
last few days have been the occasion for a rise in the solidarity of
peoples with Palestine: 300,000 demonstrators in London, 60,000 in
Brussels, numerous demonstrations in the United States, in America
Latin, in North Africa, and in the Arab world and even in France,
despite the screed and prohibitions.
Several
trade union and political organizations, in Europe and elsewhere in the
world, expressed their active solidarity, such as Sinn Fein, in
Ireland, welcoming the Palestinian ambassador with cries of “ We are all Palestinians!” ".
More and more, other means of struggle than just demonstrations are being put in place.
The entry of workers and their organizations into the world
Unions
and citizen groups have organized actions at strategic locations for
the arms trade since the start of the bombings on Gaza. Blockades and
demonstrations took place at the ports of Tacoma in the United States, or even in Melbourne , Australia or Toronto in Canada. In Barcelona, the majority dockers' union has decided to
refuse to load or unload any military equipment linked to the bombings
in Gaza. Let's take a quick look at where we are now.
A common slogan has emerged and grown: “ Those who wage war against the Palestinian people must not be left alone. »
In Italy
Friday November 10 unequivocally marks a “ qualitative leap ”
in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance as far as Italy is
concerned. In Genoa, from six in the morning, one of the main entrances
to the port was blocked by a gathering at a strategic crossroads of
truck traffic, diverted not without difficulty towards another entrance,
which disrupted the normal flow of trucks .
A
few hundred protesters then left mid-morning and reached the
headquarters of ZIM (an Israeli shipping company). ZIM is an
Israeli-flagged maritime giant with several offices in Italy, a major
player in the Mediterranean maritime-port system, whose activity (like
that of other similar companies) takes place in relative "opacity"
thanks to the complicity of the various national authorities which
control maritime traffic.
The
procession, after stopping in front of the ZIM headquarters – protected
by police forces in riot gear in front of the entrance – left towards
the rally, joining those who had maintained the active blockade, thus
marking their presence until noon.
A
gigantic Palestinian flag was painted on the asphalt near the dam, with
the words "Stop War" and "Free Palestine" in English and Arabic, while
in front of the headquarters of the Israeli company, we wrote in red
paint on the road surface “ Stop arms trafficking. Israel murders .”
Among
the leaders of the day, we find the new grassroots unions, which have
existed for several years in Italy, denouncing the inaction and class
collaboration of the large confederations. At the USB (Union of Basic
Trade Unions), in Genoa and elsewhere, the need for a moment of struggle
in the city is emerging which gives workers the opportunity to express
their opposition to the massacre of Palestinians through the
strike. More broadly, USB unionists reflect on a moment of national
confrontation between categories of workers on how to act, as workers,
across the entire military-industrial complex, from manufacturing to
logistics. , and not only in port areas.
In England
This same Friday, November 10, nearly 400 trade unionists blocked the BAE company arms factory in Rochester, England. The weapons factory notably manufactures “ active interception systems ” for F35 jets, “ currently used by Israel to bomb Gaza ”,
write the unions organizing this mobilization. Art, culture, education,
health, seven trade union organizations came together under the slogan
“ Workers for a Free Palestine ”, also responding to the call of the Palestinian unions of October 16.
The
British arms industry, subsidized by public money, is involved in the
massacres of Palestinians. Organizing unions want to disrupt the Israeli
war machine and take a stand against their government's
complicity. They urged workers across the UK to take similar measures in
their workplaces.
On
Saturday November 11, more than 800,000 people demonstrated in
solidarity with the Palestinian people. A month after the start of the
Israeli offensive against Gaza, it was the largest demonstration of
solidarity that took place in Europe.
In Greece
On
Sunday October 29, a large demonstration in support of Palestine took
place in Athens, at the call of the All Workers' Militant Front
(PAME). Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the US Embassy and
then marched towards the Israeli Embassy. Similar protests also took
place in many other cities in Greece.
Elsewhere in the world
In
India, all the unions have sent a clear message to the government so
that it refuses the agreement offered to it by the fascist Israeli
government, namely, sending thousands of workers to the Zionist state to
replace Palestinian workers in Gaza that the Zionist authorities herded
into camps before sending them back to the Gaza Strip.
In
Belgium, the call from all unions, at the end of October, to refuse to
take on or unload weapons at airports, weapons which are transported on
cargo planes, had a real effect. Of the two airlines that make these deliveries, one of them has stopped them. The other is an Israeli company.
The particular situation of France
In
France, we are not there yet. It can be noted that, although no union
has yet called for action in the workplace, the CGT Ports and Docks
federation could soon join the international movement. Next week, at the
port of Piraeus in Athens, 12 European dockworkers and port union
organizations, members of the EDC (European Dockworkers Council), are
due to meet for a general assembly. The CGT federation wants to push for
a day of work stoppage in all European ports to demonstrate its desire
for a ceasefire. The possibility of a union boycott on the transport of
weapons to Israel will also be debated, it could lead to a common
position between these unions, which bring together 20,000 dockworkers
across Europe.
We
can also mention the boycott activity of companies trading with Israel
of the BDS association (Boycott, Divestment, Sanction) and the
demonstrations and gatherings which take place at least every Saturday,
when they are not prohibited.
But,
it is clear that solidarity actions have difficulty moving beyond the
framework of demonstrations and that, despite a growing awareness among
workers, the workers' movement has not yet taken its part as such, with
his wrestling practices, in combat.
The
blockages do not come from workers, nor from simple unions. They are
the result of the knife fight waged by the government, the media ,
most political parties and Zionist organizations, all in the service of
Big Capital, to prevent, by all means, the expression of any voice
whatsoever. which goes beyond the dogma that they want to impose, to
which is added the absence of significant initiatives by the union
leadership and in particular by that of the CGT, while this organization
has a long history of anti-colonialist and anti- -imperialists.
The
affair of the march on Sunday 12 supposedly against anti-Semitism is
extremely revealing of what is happening. As it becomes increasingly
difficult to justify banning demonstrations, as the solidarity movement
grows in our country, the vehicles of the dominant ideology have changed
tactics. We put a layer on the use of anti-Semitism, which ends up
emptying the word of its meaning; the most appropriate definition today
would be: “ Anyone who is opposed to the State of Israel is an anti-Semite .” We
wrote it, there was no need to be a great cleric to understand that
this march, at the initiative of Gérard Larcher (LR) and Yaël
Braun-Pivet (Renaissance) “ unconditional support for Israel ” was not in reality than a march in support of the Zionist state and Netanyahu, therefore the massacre in Gaza.
The
more than relative failure of this march is good news. Let us note in
passing that in Marseille, the newspaper "La Provence" announces 4,000
demonstrators and the police headquarters 7,500. As for the question of
the rise of anti-Semitism, we only have one version, that of
Darmanin. Can we decently trust one of the ideologues in the service of
the Bourgeois State? And we clearly feel that there is the orchestration
of a campaign (see the Stars of David affair). The latest delirium is
made up of the wild cries of two Macronist deputies denouncing as
anti-Semitic a tag where it is written on three lines: “ Fuck anti-Semitism / Free Palestine / Fuck apartheid ”.
The
so-called left-wing parties have not grown in this matter. The only
reason given for expressing reluctance, but participating (EELV, PS,
PCF) or not participating (LFI) was the presence of the RN. Unlike a few
personalities, including Rony Braumann, practically no politician said
that it was an initiative to support Israel. The boos and whistles
accompanying the meager procession of the left trio indicate that,
rather than the RN, supporter of Netanyahu and his destructive work, it
was they who were out of place in this march, because not enough
pro-Zionists, probably.
Environmentalists
and PS have a long pro-Israeli tradition. But neither the PCF, with its
long anti-colonial past, nor the FI have the arguments to respond to
this climate of multiple pressures, censorship and repression. To do
this, they would have to attack capitalism, denounce the imperialists
and the apartheid state. However, we know that they only want to
marginally change the capitalist system, absolutely not to abolish
it. To escape from the false debates imposed by the dominant ideology,
we need a reading of class struggle on a national and international
scale. They don't have this culture.
The horizon can clear in France, as elsewhere
However,
the situation can change in the right direction. Many CGT activists are
protesting more and more openly against the line of shared wrongs which
is that of their confederal leadership, which objectively places the
colonized people and the colonizing state on the same level. More and
more workers are in demonstrations and are asking themselves the
question of what to do usefully. For the Communist Revolutionary Party,
the workers' movement must take head on the fundamental question of the
anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist struggle. It is therefore time for
actions on a scale other than demonstrations and rallies to see the
light of day in our country. We support everything that is being done
and will be done to help the martyred people of Gaza and the West
Bank. The movement is growing in the country, a ceasefire must be
obtained more than urgently. We have achieved the end of apartheid in
South Africa, the end of apartheid in Palestine is in line with History.
Only
even stronger international mobilization, pressure on governments
friendly to the Zionist state, the boycott of multinationals that trade
with apartheid, and the blocking of arms deliveries will allow
this. Then, we will have to demand the withdrawal of occupying troops,
the dismantling of colonies and the return of refugees.
Communistes Bulletin International
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