21 July 2014

The major demonstration in Belfast in defence of Gaza was followed on Sunday 20th July with a 500 strong picket to protest BBC collusion in the Israeli propaganda machine.

ICTU, the trade union body that organised the main protest, were conspicuous by their absence, having disgraced themselves by kow-towing to pro-Israeli loyalist counter-demonstrators. Members of Sinn Fein, tle Workers Party, Eirigi and the left groups were present, but the mass of the crowd stood outside the groups.

In the absence of political direction from the traditional leaderships we see the beginnings of a new force, a movement of youth, anti-imperialist rather than simply humanitarian, well aware that the Western governments are complicit in the slaughter and that the news media pour out lies in the interests of capital.

Spontaneity has its disadvantages. There were a number of people who addressed the crowd, but no proposals to bring everyone together, to develop policy and strategy for an ongoing campaign.

Ceasefire negotiations are in the hands of Israel, their Egyptian collaborators who are enforcing the siege, and the US sponsors who unreservedly back Israel.  At some stage the massacre will end, especially now that the Israelis have had to take some losses themselves, but it will immediately return to the stranglehold of the siege. The need for a broad democratic movement of solidarity has never been greater.