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27 December is the first anniversary of the launch by Israel of the 22-day massacre of over 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza. More than half of them were civilians and 430 were children. The massacre was an intensification of the killing of Palestinians during the long siege and blockade of Gaza which had preceded it and is still going on to this day.
Israel has been committing war crimes in Palestine for 60 years. Ethnic cleansing, massacres, evictions, illegal occupation and colonisation of land, denial of human rights and basic facilities to occupied people, illegal seizure and destruction of houses, crops and property, collective punishment of the entire population … the list goes on and on, and has been well documented ever since 1948.
Israel has clamped down still further on supplies of medicine, food, water and fuel into the Gaza Strip, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis there, turning Gaza into a huge prison, a massive concentration camp.
Notwithstanding the horrific loss of life and the extraordinary level of damage to public and private property caused by the Israeli attack, it must be said that Israel well and truly failed in its war aims, while the population of Gaza demonstrated an unbreakable resolve. This resolve has continued during a further year of unspeakable hardship due to the blockade.
Israel hoped to wipe out Hamas and to detach it from its support base. In this it has completely failed. Neither the 22-days of open warfare nor the unrelenting grind of the blockade has achieved this objective. Hamas’s popularity is greater than ever, and it enjoys a far greater legitimacy in the eyes of the masses of the world than it ever did before.
However, what claims to be the ‘international community’ (i.e. the handful of monopoly capitalists in the heartlands of imperialism) continue to support Israel. Indeed, Israel is the representative, the gendarme, of imperialism in the Middle East.
The pro-western Arab regimes kow-tow to imperialism and are unwilling to do anything to support their Palestinian brothers and happy to go along with every Israeli atrocity. This has served to further open the eyes of the Arab masses as to the truly reactionary nature of these regimes.
Indeed, while no Arab army hitherto has successfully withstood Israeli military assaults for more than a couple of weeks, Hizbollah and Hamas have faced the Israeli army for 34 and 22 days respectively – and emerged stronger from the contest. By contrast, the Egyptian government in particular suffered a huge fall-out as a result of its active support for Israel’s reckless campaign (note coincidentally, Egypt is the number two recipient of US aid, after Israel).
In this context it is perhaps not surprising that Egypt is behaving abominably by, to date, blocking the third Viva Palestina Convoy from even entering Egypt from Jordan. We demand that this convoy of ambulances and other vehicles with medical aid and resources for children is not prevented from completing its journey across Europe, through Syria and Jordan, on through Egypt and into Gaza.
One of our party comrades, Joti, is on this convoy – one of four “Aunties” driving a converted mini-bus with medical supplies. Her reports can be read at http://joti2gaza.org/ (as well as on the ‘joti 2 gaza’ facebook group and twitter). Joti’s site says “so now, on Christmas day, nearly 500 volunteers are waiting in Aqaba [on the border of Jordan and Egypt] while negotiations with Egypt continue. At this time of year, it is especially poignant to know that 150–odd vehicles, carrying medicines, paper and pencils, toys, maternity and baby supplies should be sitting less than a day’s journey away from their destinations, while Gaza’s children continue to suffer under the criminal blockade.”
Joti also says “by now the convoy has become a major news story (in some cases the lead story) across the Middle East”. It would, however, be a very diligent search that can find even a passing reference in the British bourgeois media, which has effectively put a blockade on any news of this convoy. If two British cyclists were travelling across Europe for charity there would be all kinds of programmes about them, particularly if they faced difficulties!
We urge everyone to contact the media to protest at this lack of coverage (national media and newspaper details can be found at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign website http://www.palestinecampaign.org/ – by linking to Reading PSC).
George Galloway, who is travelling with the convoy, said “We feel very sad that Egypt has turned us away on Christmas Day, but we hope they will reconsider. This is a very determined convoy and we’re not going anywhere except to Gaza”, we urge everyone to support this determination, the above PSC link also gives information about how to contact the Egyptian Embassy and protest at its action in blocking the convoy.
What is being perpetrated on the people of Palestine is not in the interests of ordinary working people. We demand the end to the siege of Gaza, an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, to the continuing encroachment by illegal Israeli settlements, to the apartheid wall and to the fragmenting of the West Bank into ‘bantustans’.
We call for the victory of the Palestinians. The intransigence and brutality of the Zionist regime is itself making sure that that victory will in the end result in a secular state of Palestine. Even the CIA, in a recent study, has predicted “an inexorable movement away from a two-state to a one-state solution, as the most viable model based on democratic principles of full equality that sheds the looming spectre of colonial apartheid while allowing for the return of the 1947/1948 and 1967 refugees. The latter being the precondition for sustainable peace in the region”. The study casts doubt over Israel’s survival beyond the next 20 years!
That is a calculated view from within the heart of the imperialist beast. Working and oppressed people of the world have no difficulty in calling for the hastening of that day and for the victory of the Palestinians.
Let the Viva Palestina Convoy through!
End the Siege of Gaza!
No cooperation with Israeli war crimes!
Victory to the Palestinians!
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Viva Palestina campaign sees 86 aid vehicles destined for Gaza
By Richard Hall
Via the Daily Star
BEIRUT: It was a typically cold London day in January earlier this year when, in front of thousands of people demonstrating against the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, British MP George Galloway announced a convoy of aid would be travelling from London to Gaza under the banner “Viva Palestina.”
Almost a year later and after two successful convoys, 86 vehicles of all shapes and sizes are currently making their way through Turkey, hoping to deliver humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip.
The first Viva Palestina convoy made the journey in March this year, travelling by land to Italy where it crossed the Mediterranean by ferry to Greece. From there it made its way through Turkey, Syria, Jordan, finally entering Gaza at the Rafah border crossing in Egypt. The current convoy, dubbed “Return to Gaza,” will take the same route. The second convoy from the United States departed on July 4 this year, flying into Cairo before also crossing in Rafah.
Viva Palestina organizers aim to highlight the blockade’s damaging effect, while delivering much-needed aid to Gazans.
“The people of Gaza are dying because of a siege imposed for no other reason than that, in a free and fair election, they voted for a party that the big powers and the Israelis didn’t like. We think that’s immoral, so if our government will not do something about it, we will,” Galloway told The Daily Star.
Following the election of Hamas in 2006, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza. Only basic humanitarian supplies were allowed to enter the territory, causing a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the words of commissioner general of UNRWA, Karen Abu Zayd.
This blockade was tightened following the Israeli invasion in December last year.
The convoy aims to cross into Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on December 27, the one year anniversary of “Operation Cast Lead.” The Israeli military operation, which began with air strikes, caused the death of over 1,400 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians, and 13 Israelis, including three civilians.
Approximately 260 members of the British public departed with the convoy on December 3, among the volunteers are hairdressers, mechanics, chefs, unemployed and retired, with many more joining along the way.
“We stayed in our cars and tents in car parks, we had a night on a boat and we slept in a sports stadium, who knows where we will stay next,” said Joti Brar, a web producer from the United Kingdom taking part in the convoy.
Joti, who decided to take part in the convoy at the last minute, says she was surprised at the generosity of the general public when fundraising for her trip.
“It wasn’t only the amount people were giving, what amazed me was the kind of people who were willing to give – non-political people, people who you would never expect. I think a lot of people in Britain have been touched by what happened to the Palestinians, and are very pleased to know they can do something,” she said.
Joti’s own reason for getting involved was that the Palestinians “are victims of an unjust situation that isn’t of their making,” a sentiment she says is shared among other volunteers on the convoy.
Organizers say the name “Viva Palestina” was inspired by the British “Aid to Spain” movement of the 1930s, where labor organizations sent medical supplies and personnel to Republicans fighting in the Spanish Civil War.
All those taking part have spent the past few weeks fundraising for the voyage, relying on donations from well-wishers to pay for the supplies they have taken with them.
“We brought all sorts of things, mostly medicine and medical supplies. Then there’s blankets, clothes, toys for children, pens and pencils. We have brought as much as we can fit into the vehicles. Hopefully what we’ve brought is things that are useful,” said Joti.
Organizers have emphasized that, more than just delivering supplies, the convoy aims to show solidarity with the people of Gaza. On the day of its departure, Galloway spoke of the convoy’s “symbolic” and “totemic” value, designed to “inspire public opinion to demand an end to the siege.”
However, it is not only public opinion the convoy aims to inspire, says Galloway, but those taking part.
“The chances are that the people taking part have a life changing experience. They go to the Gaza Strip, they see the situation, and they are determined to come back. That is what happened to me. In 1977 I visited Lebanon for the first time, I went to the Palestinian camps there and 35 years later I’m still involved.”
There are worries among volunteers as to whether the Egyptian government will allow the convoy to pass into Gaza.
Both previous convoys faced problems entering the territory, with the US contingent having to wait 10 days before being allowed to enter.
Organizers and participants alike say they will not return home until they are given permission to deliver the aid.
“We will stay at the border until we are allowed in. The fact that we have come this far shows we are committed,” insisted Brar.
Galloway echoed that sentiment, urging the Egyptian government to allow them entry.
“I hope they have no problems. I think it would be a big mistake for the Egyptian government to divert attention from where it should be: on Israel, on the anniversary of its infamous attacks on the Gaza Strip. Who knows, but one lives in hope.”
As the third Viva Palestina convoy nears its destination, plans are already afoot for several more.
“Next year we will bring a Viva Palestina Hugo Chavez convoy from Venezuela, maybe one from Iran which we are currently discussing. And people from other countries such as Australia and South Africa are also asking if they can get involved,” said Galloway, adding that the convoy may also travel to Lebanon.
“If we can save a day in Turkey and a day in Syria, then we may try and send the convoy for one day into Lebanon and then back out again into Syria.”
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CPGB-ML member Joti Brar has joined the Viva Palestina aid convoy to Gaza. You can read details on her site: http://joti2gaza.org/.
Joti is also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joti2gaza
If you would like to make a donation, please do so here: http://joti2gaza.org/donate/
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Fifty years ago, in the aftermath of World War Two, a group of pacifists opened Housmans radical bookshop at its current address at 5 Caledonian Road, in London’s Kings’ Cross. Ever since, Housmans has worked hard to continue its mission of promoting ideas of peace, human rights and a more equitable economy by which future wars, and all their inherent suffering, might be avoided. At a time when independent bookshops are closing down left, right and centre, it is reassuring that Housmans is still holding its corner.
The biggest threat to independent bookshops has been the rise to dominance of the online bookseller Amazon.com. Amazon has achieved an unrivalled supremacy over the marketplace, but this near-monopoly wasn’t achieved without the usual unethical practices that are so common to the world’s biggest corporations.
What is wrong with using Amazon?
In 2001 the Guardian first reported on the poor working conditions in Amazon’s warehouses, and nothing much has changed since. In December 2008, a Sunday Times reporter went undercover to their Marston Gate warehouse near Milton Keynes and discovered that staff were required to work seven days a week and were punished for taking sick leave, even if they had a note from their doctor. According to Unite the Union, Amazon continues not to see trade union representation as illegitimate.
But it’s not just Amazon workers who suffer at the hands of the multi-national corporation. Publishers are also squeezed for every penny, as Amazon forces them to supply them at rates so low that it leaves authors and publishers out of pocket – particularly damaging smaller publishing houses. Amazon’s dominance of the market means that publishers have little choice but to comply with their demands. Aside from the ethical considerations, this effects readers in reduced output from small presses, and diminished availability of radical titles.
Providing an ethical alternative
And so into this arena steps Housmans Bookshop. Housmans, in conjunction with Gardners Books, has just launched its own online bookshop to rival Amazon. Although still prioritising their stock of radical interest and progressive politics, the site is also able to provide around half a million general titles.
“Many of our most politically conscious colleagues use Amazon, and when asked why, it’s because they know of no alternative. But now, wherever they live, people will be able to support independent and progressive bookselling from the comfort of their own home. I think it’s essential that we are able to provide an alternative to help dent Amazon’s monopoly,” explains co-manager Nik Gorecki. “It’s up to sympathetic book buyers to do the right thing, and buy their books elsewhere.”
“This year Housmans celebrates fifty years of trading from our Caledonian Road address, but in order for us to be here another fifty years we have to stand up for ourselves, and trust in ethically-minded book-buyers to support independents. The staff at Housmans has fought many battles over the years for causes we believe in, and this is one battle we can’t afford to lose. Please support the shop that supports your campaigns!”
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For more information regarding this please contact Nik Gorecki on 07950 269 286 or alternatively by email: nik@housmans.com
Housmans Bookshop
5 Caledonian Road
King’s Cross
London N1 9DX
Tel: 020 7837 4473
www.housmans.com
