Palestine Solidarity Movement: the need for a new strategy
We have now reached a date that many considered impossible and unthinkable: one year of genocide in Gaza. The solidarity movement in Ireland has responded with multiple recurrent large demonstrations in Dublin and lots of smaller demonstrations and actions around the country. Looking back over the year of solidarity actions, what have we seen? And where do we go now?
Many demands have been made, for the most earnestly. From the beginning one of the first demands was to expel the Israeli ambassador. That never happened and with time the demand was quietly dropped. The other was for Ireland to support the ICJ case taken by South Africa. That never happened either and was quietly dropped. Other more specific demands arose such as boycotting the White House for St. Patrick’s Day. Sinn Féin arrogantly dismissed the demand and went, saying they would raise the issue with Genocide Joe and Holocaust Harris. They didn’t. But before the event they were allowed address a Palestinian rally in Belfast despite breaking the boycott.
Demands were also made for a boycott of Israeli goods, sports teams etc. The sports teams were left on their own and within the teams the individual players, putting them in an impossible situation, it has also been dropped in practice. The consumer boycott advocated is individual and hard to measure. A solidarity movement can’t keep shifting its demands for no publicly acknowledged reasons.
The Irish government proclaims support for Palestine but in practice puts its links with imperialism first. Our movement does exactly the same in accepting Sinn Féin and PbP’s right to define solidarity in terms of their own political needs and alliances. Trade unionists appear on demonstrations but again the union leaderships put their alliances with government first and stay well in the background.
We need an independent and democratic solidarity movement that will demand Ceasefire Now and focuses on that rather than moving on to the next easy to market soundbite. Some of the demands raised need to go beyond individuals. Closing down Shannon Airport can only be achieved through collective action, likewise a real boycott of Israeli goods has to be collective. It is all well and good not to buy something in a shop, but most of Israel’s major economic connections to Ireland never see a supermarket such as software, chemicals, machinery, electronic equipment. Boycotting these goods means workers refusing to off load them or load them in the ports. The solidarity movement has not failed to do this, it never tried. Trade union leaders were allowed speak at rallies and never asked why their members were still handling Israeli goods or goods bound for Israel.
What is required is a solidarity movement that tries to make links with Palestinians, that tries to put pressure on the Irish government, political parties and trade unionists to put their money where their mouths are. This can only be done by challenging them, not by politely petitioning them as has been the case to date. We need to break with the niceties of polite discourse and deal with the harsh realities of a state that is in open collaboration with the genocide, whilst trade unions stand idly by, making noises, but nothing more.