November 13, 2023 editorial of the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) in France, translated from French
Unable to continue banning demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people, (French President) Macron attempted a counter-fire by having his underlings launch a call to demonstrate “against anti-Semitism.” For days, all the media relayed the call. As did almost all the institutional political parties, from the PCF (French Communist Party) to… (the extreme right) Le Pen and Zemmour; Fabien Roussel, Olivier Faure, the Macronists and other “republicans” were not embarrassed to march with the far right! They claim to have created a “barricade” to isolate the extreme right… We’ve gone from a “bulwark” against the extreme right to a simple “barricade.” And tomorrow, they will dismantle this barricade with great fanfare to inaugurate the “grand national union”?
Popular mobilization in support of the Palestinian people continues to grow
Anti-Semitism, like all forms of racism, is a scourge that must be fought. But their national unity is above all a way of silencing any divergences. The imperialist leaders, such as Biden and Macron, have decided to support Netanyahu, whatever he does, and they want to drag us along with them.
But they do it without succeeding. Tens of thousands of people marched across the country – 20,000 in Paris according to the police, as many as the previous week – to express their support for the Palestinian people.
The demand to stop the massacres and support Palestine is mobilizing more and more people everywhere. 300,000 demonstrators marched through London on Saturday. International mobilization is turning a corner, and governments can no longer contain it.
Massacres continue in Gaza
Because, while the authorities are making shameful maneuvers, the bombardments continue in Gaza. The army, under the pretext of destroying Hamas hideouts, has razed towns to the ground, pounding hospitals, causing fire and destruction.
The leaders of the imperialist powers pretend to be moved. Macron declared: “Today, civilians are being bombed. These babies, these women, these old people are being bombed and killed. [There is] no justification,… no legitimacy for that.” But why, then, does he continue to support Netanyahu? Why is he so relentlessly opposed to demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people, that are denouncing these crimes?
Israel, the armed wing of imperialism
The imperialist rulers allow Netanyahu to act because his actions serve their purposes: to let all peoples know that they have the means to crush any dissent with bombs; to sow terror in advance, to nip in the bud any idea of rising up against them. State terrorism, from an Israeli state over-armed by the great powers, whose spearhead it is in the Middle East powder keg.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has just threatened Hezbollah, in fact the entire Lebanese population and even the working classes of Arab countries: “What we can do in Gaza, we can also do in Beirut… The first to pay the price will be the citizens” of Lebanon, thus acknowledging that the Israeli army’s first target is indeed the civilian population.
Mobilization in support of the Palestinian people must be stepped up!
There are many of us who want to see a different future for the Palestinian people than the one mapped out by Netanyahu’s bombs. Fighting against Israel’s policies does not mean being anti-Semitic: thousands of Jews – probably not enough, but thousands – are marching around the world against the war, chanting “Not in our name!” Because the State of Israel in no way represents the millions of Jews who live in the world: it’s a capitalist state that represents the interests of the ruling classes, the bourgeoisie.
Let’s get organized and take to the streets in even greater numbers in solidarity with the Palestinian people, especially for the demonstrations next weekend!
