British state clamps down on Palestine solidarity – Support the communist fightback!

Comrades of Socialist Appeal, the British section of the International Marxist Tendency, have been targeted by the police and the rest of the establishment for waging a determined campaign to build solidarity with the Palestinian people. We call on you to help us in this fight. Intifada until victory!

[Originally published at socialist.net]

As the movement in support of Palestine grows, the ruling class in Britain is becoming increasingly anxious and desperate.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has publicly denounced mass protests against the Israeli war on Gaza – including last weekend’s half-a-million-strong demo in London – as “hate marches”.

Consequently, the Tory minister has called on the Metropolitan Police to take a hardline approach against pro-Palestine protestors.

Unsatisfied with the Met’s response following her initial letter to senior police chiefs, asking them to “use the full force of the law” against activists for the ‘crime’ of flag-waving and chanting, Braverman has demanded a greater crackdown from the police.

Heeding his master’s voice, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has affirmed that he and his boys in blue will do “everything we possibly can to take dangerous people off the streets who break the law”.

“We will keep doing that; we will chase people down; we will look at new tactics,” Rowley added. “That’s our job.”

In other words, as Marxists have consistently highlighted, the role of the police is to repress those fighting against injustice and oppression, and to protect the interests of the rich and powerful.

Manhunt

This police search is being conducted in the context of a barrage of attacks against our comrades / Image: Socialist Appeal

As part of the Met’s “new tactics”, the police are targeting specific activists, using social media to pursue a manhunt against prominent protestors.

On Wednesday this week (1 November), the official Met Police Twitter account released pictures of 11 people from recent Palestine demos, all accused of “racially aggravated alarm, harassment, and distress”. This post was accompanied by an appeal for the public to help the police identify these individuals.

Of course, reactionary news outlets such as the Daily Mail and GB News played their part, republishing these grainy photos as part of their ongoing campaign against Palestine supporters.

And notably, amongst those wanted for questioning under ‘Operation Brock’ were three Socialist Appeal comrades.

Intimidation

This police search is being conducted in the context of a barrage of attacks against our comrades, with university authorities, right-wing rags, and Zionist organisations all attempting to browbeat Socialist Appeal activists for raising the revolutionary slogan: ‘Intifada until victory!’

Our opponents have attempted to vilify and demonise us; to bully and intimidate us; and to smear and slander us.

They have accused us of ‘inciting violence’, and of being ‘antisemites’ and ‘terrorist sympathisers’.

And above all, they have tried to silence us – the communists – for daring to speak the truth about the Israeli state’s oppression of the Palestinian people, and the complicity of ‘our own’ imperialist ruling class in these crimes.

Our Marxist societies have been shut down. Our comrades have been threatened with disciplinary action by their employers. And our organisation has been subject to hysterical hit pieces in establishment papers such as the Telegraph, the Jewish Chronicle, and others.

In all these cases, our comrades have stood firm: boldly fighting for our programme, demands, and slogans; defending the right to protest and freedom of speech; and mobilising workers and students in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

We have organised local rallies. We have moved and passed our model motion in the trade unions. And under questioning at an east London police station yesterday, our comrades answered their interrogators politically.

Furthermore, they turned the tables on the police, accusing them of launching a political witch-hunt with no legal basis. By the end of their questioning, the officers had reluctantly apologised, removing the comrades’ photos from their ‘wanted’ list. And we have also had legal advice to pursue formal complaints against the Met for this spurious attack.

Defiance

With even greater horror awaiting innocent civilians in Gaza, and an even greater mass movement likely to erupt onto the streets of Britain in response, we can expect the ruling class to ramp up their repression against Palestine supporters.

It is clear that the British state is attempting to cow the movement, and subdue anyone who stands in solidarity with Palestine and against imperialism. The left and the labour movement must resist these pressures, and organise to defend democratic rights.

No matter what, the communists of the International Marxist Tendency will remain defiant. We will not be silenced.

We will continue to be the most determined class fighters. We will continue to struggle against imperialism and oppression. And we will continue to shout for ‘intifada until victory!’

Revolution

Only by building a strong revolutionary organisation can we fight back against the right wing’s attacks / Image: Socialist Appeal

But to do this, we need your help.

Firstly, we need you to support the workers’ press – the paper and publications of Socialist Appeal – and help us spread the ideas that the establishment doesn’t want you to hear. So subscribe today.

Secondly, we need finances. The capitalist class have enormous resources at their fingertips when it comes to attacking workers. We need our own war chest, to fight any legal battles that come our way; to continue producing our political material, including posters, placards, pamphlets, and podcasts; and to build up our apparatus so that we expand and strengthen our campaigns. So donate today.

And above all, we need more members: revolutionary cadres who want to bring about a Socialist Federation in the Middle East; get organised in the fight to overthrow capitalism; and build the forces of communism in Britain and beyond. So join us today.

Only by building a strong revolutionary organisation can we fight back against the right wing’s attacks and the repression of the British state; bring down the Tories, bring down imperialism, and bring down all the warmongers; and win genuine freedom for workers and youth in Palestine, Britain, and across the world.