Stop the slaughter! Stop the war!

By New Worker correspondent

On Saturday over 300,000 of us marched to Whitehall to demand Keir Starmer ends all arms sales to Israel, expels Israeli diplomats and immediately imposes sanctions on the genocidal state. Meanwhile over a thousand other peaceful protesters had gathered in Parliament Square to defy the government's banning of Palestine Action under the “terrorism” laws. They occupied the square and took part in a silent ‘Defend our Juries’ vigil holding placards supporting the direct action solidarity movement. The Metropolitan Police who had warned that anyone taking part would be arrested under anti-terrorism legislation moved to break up the protest. There were 521 arrests, the largest mass arrest by the Metropolitan Police, ever. This marks a pivotal moment in British history. Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign condemned the shameful arrests of those taking part in the Defend our Juries protests, while the Starmer government continues to arm Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Palestinians need your support

by New Worker correspondent

Thousands of workers and students across the country in their workplaces, colleges, and communities, were demanding an immediate ceasefire and an end to Britain’s complicity in Israel’s crimes this week. And the week of action in solidarity with Palestine ended on Friday with an international day of solidarity that was endorsed by the TUC and Unison.
The Palestinians need the solidarity of trade union members more than ever. “We are now over 400 days since Israel launched what the International Court of Justice has ruled to be a plausible case of genocide that has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, displaced over 2 million and destroyed all of Gaza’s civil infrastructure – schools, hospitals and universities,” says Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, explains why 
“It is a genocide that is not diminishing in intensity, with Israel in the past few weeks embarking on the ethnic cleansing of all of the North of Gaza placing everyone still there, according to then UN, at risk of being killed.
“This week Save the Children released its latest report that carried the shocking fact that 130,000 children have been left without access to food and water in the North of Gaza since early October, as a result of Israel sealing the area and refusing access of aid. It also detailed that 40% of those killed in Gaza since October 2023 are children, the majority aged 5-9. 
“So right, now Palestinians need the solidarity of trade union members more than ever. What Palestinians demand of us to show meaningful solidarity is unchanged. It was expressed clearly by Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Palestinian-led BDS movement at PSC’s recent trade union conference”. 
He said simply “what we ask of you is you do us no harm. This means you must campaign to end the complicity of your government which continues to arm Israel and offer it military and political support. Your public bodies – the universities and local government pension schemes which continue to invest in companies which support Israel’s oppression – and those companies and corporations themselves, like Barclays Bank, which invests in and provides financial services to companies arming Israel. The TUC support for the workplace day of action is important. As Israel continues to massacre Palestinians including children we need not just to be demonstrating in the streets but taking into every workplace the demand for action to end all of UK complicity with these crimes".