There is one and only one issue – Labour’s Silence on Genocide in Gaza and the Attack on Rafah
Whatever
else you can say about George Galloway he is not without controversy. Politically
he has a long record of forming alliances and then falling out with his
partners – whether it is the SWP
in Respect or the Stalinist Communists Party of Great Britain - Marxist
Leninist in his Workers Party.
I say ‘his’
because the Workers Party revolves around George. It is very much his baby and
it is highly unlikely that the membership would overrule him on any major issue
or indeed have the means to do so.
🚨Twitter deleted the post, so reposting to expose Israeli army crimes!
— Nour Naim| نور نعيم (@NourNaim88) February 13, 2024
Last video of kids martyrs of Husouna family massacre
They fled from Gaza to Rafah in search of safety, escaping shelling
Israeli army killed them inside their tent along with all family members last night ! pic.twitter.com/hlW7qWqFJx
This is what war criminals Keir Starmer & Peter Kyle Support
George is
politically eclectic. He is a brilliant speaker, an old-fashioned orator in an
age when the leader of the Labour Party freezes like a rabbit
caught in a car’s headlights whenever anyone gets to challenge him as Audrey
White did when Starmer ventured into Liverpool.
George is not
someone that socialists find easy to support. He is anti-abortion for a start and
dismissive of issues of sexual orientation and sexual oppression - all of which he puts into a basket called ‘wokery’. There is
a distinct impression that he panders to some very basic prejudices such as
homophobia and transphobia in the belief th at if you ignore these issues then
you will get basic workers’ unity.
Likewise George’s
attitude to race which is most evidenced in his failure to oppose the Tories
scapegoating of asylum seekers. George disgracefully
attacked the SNP for having supported demonstrators in Glasgow who
freed two refugees who were seized by the Home Office’s Border Unit.
He was also
vehemently pro-Brexit and was quite prepared to support a racist like Nigel
Farage. Indeed he tried to
become a candidate in the European elections for the Brexit Party.
He even formed
an alliance in Scotland with Tories and that he even shared a platform with David
Clews, a member of the Patriotic Alternative.
Deserted!
So what are
his pluses?
George has
been a consistent anti-imperialist and was expelled from the Labour Party as an
MP for opposing the Iraq War. When summoned to Congress to address allegations
regarding oil sanctions he turned in a fine and memorable
performance.
On the
issue of Palestine George also has a good record. There was a time when he supported
the two-state solution. I know because I debated the issue with him at my old
college St Mary’s in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. But as he later admitted I
was right and he was wrong on this.
So I
understand why it is that many people refuse to support Galloway because of his
de facto alliance with racists and
reactionaries.
Letter in the Scottish National from anti-racist campaigner Mark Brown
However the
by-election in Rochdale is not about Galloway but what he stands for on the one
key issue in Britain and indeed the world.
US and British imperialism’s support for the genocide in Gaza. All other
issues pale by comparison. The lives of thousands of Palestinians hang in the
balance at this moment and Galloway’s disgraceful opportunism over refugees,
Brexit and Farage are minor by comparison.
Galloway
and only Galloway is able to win this election. If Galloway wins the election
it won’t be his previous positions that are highlighted in Britain against the
racist imperialists Sunak and Starmer but his position on an immediate
ceasefire in Gaza.
This is the
key dividing line in British politics. It is the most crucial issue that we
face today. It would be utter sectarianism for anyone on the left to ignore
this. We cannot choose who our representatives are sometimes. Galloway’s
victory will be a victory for the Palestinians. What he thinks about Brexit or
refugees is frankly irrelevant at this time.
A defeat
for Starmer’s candidate, Azhar Ali is now certain now that the Labour Party has
withdrawn its
support for him, allegedly over his ‘anti-Semitic’ comments about Israel having
been forewarned of the October attacks but in reality because of the
realisation that he was going to lose.
We need Galloway’s
victory to make it crystal clear to that apology for a human being, the robotic
Keir Starmer that support for genocide is unacceptable.
GENOCIDE IN
GAZA IS THE ONLY ISSUE IN THE ROCHDALE BY-ELECTION
If there is only one issue; Is it to get George elected or to further publicise what you regard to be his failings?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your ability to steer away from division when strategic concerns demand unity, unlike the many self proclaimed progressive bleeding hearts who would immediately call to cancel anyone who was even accused of having ‘misgendered’ anyone. However, while I normally cannot fault you on any issue, there are two points you make here which i would criticise. One is that there were always many good, as well as bad, reasons for being pro-Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn was himself pro-Brexit until he was advised against taking that position by many within his own party, which resulted in him losing favour with people on both sides of that mess. The other is that, right or wrong, Galloway’s take on many issues is based more on his sense of what will win him the most votes than on points of principle. As you point out here, he has a long history of support for the Palestinians, but he is also well aware that right now he shares that support with the vast majority of humanity. His decision to place ‘trans’ issues decisively into the ‘woke bin’ is no doubt taken on the same basis. The same goes for illegal immigration. Although that counts for only about 0.1% of net immigration, if that, it has been made an extremely emotive issue for electioneering purposes and to oppose the populist consensus on that issue would also be a guaranteed vote loser.
ReplyDeleteShould progressives queue up behind George Galloway and his party?
Deletehttps://theleftlane2024.substack.com/p/the-workers-party-of-britain-as-the
It's unfair and inaccurate to suggest that George Galloway panders to homophobia. He has always been consistent in supporting equality and has said that the basic rights of gays and lesbians are more important than the feelings and sensibilities of religious straight people.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Shared.
ReplyDeleteDon’t mince your words, Tony! But yes, vital, as the powers of all creeds and none sit on their hands!
ReplyDeleteYes, despite George's 'idiosyncrasies' it would be wonderful to see him back in Parliament to oppose Starmer and his anti-democratic, anti-Socialist, opportunistic views. At the moment in the LP McCarthyism is running wild. Never mind the IHRA nonsense, no justification is required now, any criticism of the terrorist State of Israel gets the critic suspended and/or expelled. Starmer supports the Zionist psychopaths up to the hilt. Likewise the BBC who allow the vile Israeli spokespeople to spout their lies in justification of their genocide without any significant challenge.
ReplyDeleteI certainly have no desire to bat for Azhar Ali but not once has the BBC or any of the other Israel shills examined what he said to see if any of it was anti-Semitic. If they had done they should have concluded that it was definitely anti-Israeli, and who wouldn't be? but by repeating what even some Israelis were saying, it was not anti-Semitic, even including his reference to the 'Jewish press', do they not want to be referred to as such?
Nigel Farage is not a racist. Calling him one is (at best) lazy.
ReplyDeleteyou are joking of course. He demonises anyone not from these shores. He was an admirer of Enoch Powell. He said that people would be concerned if a Romanian moved next door. He's buddies with Trump. Nothing lazy about my comments. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVWxecdUCm4
DeleteWhat did he fall out with the CPGB-ML over, and can we get an elaboration on the debate yourself and him had regarding 2-state solution ?
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, the Marx Engels Institute/Class Consciousness Project, which is affiliated to the CPGB-ML, has some decent stances analysis, I would encourage people to read or listen to themselves , rather than taking it as a given that they're bad because their Stanlinist.
This quote is from Times of Isael 8 October "Most of the time, Israeli policy was to treat the Palestinian Authority as a burden and Hamas as an asset. Far-right MK Bezalel Smotrich, now the finance minister in the hardline government and leader of the Religious Zionism party, said so himself in 2015.
ReplyDeleteAccording to various reports, Netanyahu made a similar point at a Likud faction meeting in early 2019, when he was quoted as saying that those who oppose a Palestinian state should support the transfer of funds to Gaza, because maintaining the separation between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state."
It's not a genocide, and Jews aren't settlers in their own land. Archaeologists have found lots of artifacts that prove a Jewish presence, so we're not colonisers.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's not genocide. Merely a Zionist picnic. And yes Zionists have the right to claim a land that's not theirs because apparently their ancestors lived their 2,000 years. Using the same logic the British should hand over much of Britain to the Italians since they too were once here. Oh and Israeli archeaology proves a Jewish presence. Yes but does that entitle today's European Jews to colonise the land, murder and ethnically cleanse. Sounds a bit like the thousand year Reich to me but who cares when Israelis are doing their best to emulate the Nazis with their talk of annihilation, human animals etc.
DeleteAren't the Palestinians as much descended from the ancient Judeans as the Israelis though? The Israelis have cultural but not geographic continuity with the ancient Judeans, while the reverse is true of the Palestinians.
DeleteAside from your denialism, what does it matter that there are some ancient remains in Palestine that show a Jewish presence - does there being Roman remains in Britain give modern day Italians the right to invade ?
DeleteFurthermore, Jewish, or 'Israelites', weren't the only people to inhabit the southern Levant, so why should people claiming to be their descendants, especially ones of European and Russian origin, get to make exclusive claims ?
What's voting for Galloway actually going to achieve ? If he wins, he'll be speaking to an empty parliament, he's not likely to be allowed on mainstream media, and because he's relying a single issue, although important, it ignores the wider issues facing the working class. In short, Galloway won't make a difference.
ReplyDeleteGalloway's election will push Gaza to the forefront of British politics. It doesn't matter a tinker's curse who he speaks to in Parliament. Yes of course the mainstream media will feature him.
DeleteIf we employ your logic we should do nothing as nothing will ever work.
Ok, let's imagine it does just that, your assuming the parliamentary system will work in our favour, when the reality is, its set up to work for the ruling class.
DeleteThe BBC and co are so pro-establishment, I doubt he'll appear, and if he does, still don't see what difference he'll make. I seem to remember various Stop The War people being in the media leading up to the Iraq War, but it didn't stop Britain and America invading.
We should take action, but it would be misguided to think the parliamentary system is on our side, regardless of if a socialist gets in.