Palestinians Leading the People — Saving Gaza is a Fight to Save Democracy
As Israel continues to drop American bombs on families in Gaza, back in the ‘Free World’ U.S House of Representatives gathered together to deal another death blow to Democracy. And as usual, a Palestinian was in the line of fire. Voting 234 to 188 on Tuesday night, around 22 members of her own party joined Republicans to censure Rashida Tlaib for speaking up against Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Tlaib is a three-term Democrat representing Michigan, and is the only Palestinian American in Congress. In the vote Tuesday night, she was accused of ‘promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2003 Hamas attack on Israel and calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.” This assault on free speech, democratic values and liberty is disturbing in itself. But sadly, it is just one of many such blows being dealt to ‘we the people’ and their elected representatives in Western nations. For the record, Rashida Tlaib has repeatedly condemned Hamas’s assault, whilst fearlessly criticising Israel’s response and the United States complicity in what is undoubtedly a war crime.
When a Lawmaker is censured, they are made to stand on the floor of the House as the resolution is read to them: A ritual of shaming. But Rashida has nothing to be ashamed of. The people of America, by and large, stand with her. And history — as it always inevitably does — will have the final say. If you don’t know Congresswoman Tlaib and are unsure of what she stands for just watch this short clip where she addresses thousands of protestors assembled at the U.S Capitol in, what IfNotNow and Jewish Voice For Peace called, “the largest-ever protest of Jews in support of Palestine.” Also in the clip is (Jewish) writer and acclaimed activist Naomi Klein who said:
“Thank you all for being here. I have never seen anything like this in my history of Jewish anti-Zionist activism. It’s been decades. We used to be tiny. We are huge and growing.
We have a sacred responsibility to engage with our parents, our grandparents, our uncles, our brothers and sisters, and try to save their souls, to keep them from indulging in this quest for bloody vengeance. We are here because we will not let our fears of antisemitism be manipulated in this way, as cover for war crimes and colonial land grabs and to foreclose on the possibility of a political solution, which will only come with an end to occupation, with an end to apartheid, with true Palestinian freedom and self-determination. We will not use the fact that many of our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were refugees from genocide to justify making hundreds of thousands or even millions of new Palestinian refugees.
These are not our leaders, not in the Knesset, with its so-called unity government, and not here in Congress, which reconvenes now in part in order to approve new money and new weapons to send to Israel for its genocidal attack on Palestinians.” — Naomi Klein.
With Jewish voices around the world calling for a ceasefire and openly critical of Israel and Zionism no one can argue in good faith that criticism of Israel is somehow antisemitic. Nor can there be any doubt that Israel is an apartheid state when the lived experience of Palestinians witnessed by countless NGOs and other visitors, over decades, speaks for itself. Here is the late Sir Gerald Kaufman (21 June 1930–26 February 2017) addressing the British Parliament during an earlier episode of Israeli bombardment in Gaza:
Rashida Tlaib’s criticism of Israel, in comparison to Kauffman’s (and other Jewish voices past and present) is much more diplomatic and measured. And yet the U.S House of Representatives has sought to silence her, and the many other voices speaking out in defence of Palestinian lives, by claiming that criticism of Israel is antisemitic.
As the pogrom against the Palestinians continues in Gaza and the West Bank, there is an assault taking place on civil liberties and human rights in the USA, UK, France and Germany. The French government having already instituted the ‘abaya ban’ — a measure that dictates to young women and girls of Arab and Muslim backgrounds what they can and cannot wear to school — has attempted to ban any protests in favour of Palestinian rights or critical of Israel (see Ban on protests supporting Palestinians is disproportionate attack on the right to protest in France, Amnety International). Despite the ban thousands of protestors still came out to make sure their voices were heard and their numbers were seen. “Among the protesters were elected officials wearing tricolor scarves, including a green MP and a far-left lawmaker (source: France24). The deputy mayor of the central town of Corbeil-Essonnes, Elsa Toure, who had also come out in violation of the ban said:
“(The need for) a ceasefire is urgent, to stop killing women, children and men.”
Meanwhile British Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has been trying to intimidate people into not waving Palestinian flags at marches by encouraging the police to “take a view” as to whether that could be a sort of incitement aimed at “causing offence.” When questioned about the 500,000 peaceful protestors that marched through London calling for a ceasefire she described them as a “hate mob.” And just a few days ago, civil rights group Liberty announced that they were taking legal action against the Home Secretary for ‘unlawfully introducing new anti-protest legislation which had been democratically rejected by Parliament just a few months earlier.’ Akiko Hart, Liberty interim director, said:
“This is just the latest power grab from this Government, which has shown it is determined to erode the ways people can hold it to account, whether that’s in Parliament or on the streets. The Home Secretary’s actions give the police almost unlimited powers to stop any protest the Government doesn’t agree with — and the way she has done it is unlawful.
“We are taking legal action to make sure those in power are not allowed to put themselves above the law. Our message to the Home Secretary is clear — see you in court.” (Source: Liberty)
When Paul Bristow, British MP and ministerial aide to the secretary of state for Science, Innovation and Technology, wrote a letter to the British Prime Minister urging him to change his position on the conflict and back a permanent end to hostilities, he was sacked from his role with immediate effect.
“It is with regret I leave a job I enjoyed. But I can now talk openly about an issue so many of my constituents care deeply about. I believe I can do this better from the backbenches rather than as part of the government payroll.” (Paul Bristow MP)
When questioned over this, Downing Street confirmed that he had been sacked because his comments were deemed “not consistent with ministerial collective responsibility.” In other words the official British government position is that they do not back a ‘permanent end to the hostilities’ (which is what Bristow was calling for in his letter). I guess that means British PM Rishi Sunak and his government want Palestinians (and Israelis) to continue dying. The historical record of British involvement in the region seems to bear this out as the usual British government policy.
It is important to keep in mind that official attempts to quash any resistance to Israeli apartheid did not just start in October. There is a long standing campaign to silence all forms of dissent and resistance to Israel’s domination of Palestinians. Just earlier this year, the notoriously islamophobic Michael Gove, who was deeply implicated in a witch hunt conspiracy against Islamic schools when he was Education Minister (see The Trojan Horse Affair), introduced an anti-boycott bill designed to prevent public bodies and local councils from boycotting Israeli products. When introducing the bill he claimed it would “ensure that local government acts as it should in accordance with the interest of its citizens”. Perhaps he doesn’t think British Palestinians are citizens? Or perhaps he thinks that only pro-Zionists can be citizens? In reality the bill has just the opposite effect, as reported by Bond (the UK network for organisations working in international development):
“It will prevent concerned citizens from using the few instruments they have to call attention to global injustice and refusing to support oppressive practices.
The Bill will prevent public bodies from conducting their investments and procurement “in a way that indicates political or moral disapproval of a foreign state.” The 2019 Conservative manifesto included a pledge to “ban public bodies from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries.” The UK government has cited concern over rising antisemitism and sought to tie this concern to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and any actions against Israel and the territories it illegally occupies.
The UK government wants to stop public bodies from “pursuing their own foreign policy agenda.” In reality, the Anti-Boycott Bill will prevent local authorities, universities, and other public bodies from pursuing investment and procurement policies that align with their environmental and human rights obligations.
The Bill will have a wide effect, both in terms of the types of bodies affected and geographic scope across the UK. The government’s definition of a public body is set out in the 1998 Human Rights Act and includes universities, cultural institutions, and local authorities as well as devolved administrations and their departments and agencies.
Missing from the government’s analysis is the fact that some public bodies, such as local authorities, have a public mandate of their own and are accountable to their voters in local elections. Local councils led in the 1980s in boycotting South Africa at a time when Margaret Thatcher’s government refused to condemn the South African Apartheid regime. We now know that the local authorities who took a stand against Apartheid were on the right side of history. Had the Anti-Boycott Bill been in force during the 1980s, it is likely such campaigns would have been illegal. (Source: Why we should all be worried about the Anti-Boycott Bill, Billy Vaughan, Bond)
British MPs like Bristow, human rights defenders like Liberty, and developmental organisations, ordinary citizens, Jews and non-Jews are all raising their voices—some in the corridors of power, and some on the streets. And they are all fearlessly facing the consequences. But even for those who do not speak, or do not even have any interest in the matter, the consequences are a real and present danger. Because as the Western defenders of Israel’s indefensible oppression grow more desperate, they are taking apart our civil liberties. And that effects everyone of us, and our future generations regardless of what we think about the conflict. Benny Hunter, in an opinion piece for Open Democracy wrote:
“The conflict in the Middle East has led British political actors to try and redefine what is ‘acceptable speech.” (Benny Hunter, The UK establishment is using war to attack protest at home, Open Democracy)
Meanwhile back in the US, Josh Paul, former director of congressional and public affairs for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in the State Department which oversees arms transfers to Israel and other foreign nations, resigned last month. In an interview with Amy Goodman for Democracy Now! and in his official resignation letter he explained that “one-sided U.S. support for Israel is shortsighted.” And that despite trying to raise concerns with his superiors there was “no appetite for that discussion…unlike all other U.S. arms sales that take humanitarian concerns into account, Israel gets a blank check..the overall message inside the Biden administration is: “Don’t question the policy because it’s coming from the top.” You can see the full interview here:
In an article in the Huff Post, Josh Paul is quoted saying:
“It has become clear to me that many senior leaders not only fully understand how Israel is currently using U.S.-provided arms in Gaza, but are even, behind closed doors, willing to acknowledge that these actions include ‘war crimes.’”
- Josh Paul, former State Department official
The Huff post article also details the many voices in the State Department itself that are being silenced and sidelined if they say anything against the US’s blanket support for Israel. As Biden adds fuel to the fire with weapons and money, his unwavering support for Israel has already destroyed the United States credibility overseas and in the middle-east. And as the governments of the US, the UK, France and other western democracies disregard their own laws and trample over their own citizens rights to free speech, freedom of assembly and other civil liberties, and as they enthusiastically drape the flag of Israel over their own national instiutions we can be forgiven for asking: in whose interests are these leaders acting?
All over the US, the UK and Europe, students, academics, journalists and individuals who speak up against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, or even simply call for a ceasefire, are losing their jobs, having their contracts rescinded and their livelihoods destroyed.
As Israel carries out its genocide of Palestinians in real time, before the whole word, Western governments have no credible way to deny what is happening. Their attempts to manufacture our consent for this murder most foul have failed. Their only option now, if they wish to continue to defend a crime that they themselves are aiding and abetting, is to silence the voices that speak out. Even if those voices are within the closed doors of state apparatus.
Senior State Department officials have privately discouraged the agency from using three specific phrases in public statements, HuffPost revealed last week: “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.”
And so as Gaza is being destroyed, so are our democracies. We cannot let either of these things continue. It is not antisemitic to criticise Israel, to challenge Zionism, to call for a ceasefire, to wave a Palestinian flag, and to declare loudly and clearly that “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea.” It is simply the right thing to do. The least we can do and must do. Not only to defend the people of Palestine, but also in order to defend our own democracies.
