“In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians!” – the heartfelt cry rings out from massive marches, demonstrations and sit-ins across the world, in their scale an unprecedented expression of solidarity, empathy and humanity. The peoples of nations from the USA to Japan, from Brazil to Turkey, from Australia to Denmark have united to demand an immediate ceasefire and a reassertion of the rights of their Palestinian brothers and sisters.
Behind the horror of the genocide to which we are daily witness and the unimaginable suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and, as is increasingly evident, in the West Bank, a “terrible beauty” has been born in the form of the many who have come anew to political awareness – and to activism. Moreover, polls indicate that our demands are backed by around 70% of the general public globally, a figure that is steadily increasing as Israel’s atrocities multiply.
Before our eyes, a new world order seems to be emerging. Political and media elites in the West give no indication of understanding the level of revulsion against their cynical realpolitik and blatant manipulation. It has been left to nations of the global south – South Africa, Nicaragua, Brazil amongst them – to lead demands for action against Israel’s criminality.
In North America and Europe, the contrast could not be clearer, with political “leadership” hitting new lows of venality and inhumanity. In the UK, Sunak and Starmer strike compromised, inconsequential figures, still parroting the mantra of Israel’s right to “defend” itself and evidently waiting to take instruction from the USA. But nothing of worth is to be expected from the leaders of the free world, who have laid bare the limits of their political vision. Biden’s confused pronouncements on Gaza are lamentably weak and inept. His long history of unequivocal support for Israel, combined with his palpably deteriorating capacities, show up the feebleness of his incumbency, and there must be doubt as to the actual extent of his personal control.
Of course, the Trump alternative in the forthcoming election is worse, wholly unfit to address this existential crisis. That this election is a replay of 2020 is a grim indictment of the USA’s political culture, and the consequence of its domination by tainted finances. The malignant power of AIPAC, in particular, has never been so damaging – or so obvious.
Where does Scotland stand in this dismal scenario? Are we umbilically attached to the sclerotic powers of the Atlantic Alliance, or do we share the moral urgency of the overwhelming majority of UN member states, in support of Palestine? The former FM, Humza Yousaf, broke ranks last October by writing to every political leader in the UK to urge them to back a ceasefire in Gaza, to stop the “staggering humanitarian disaster” before it becomes “cataclysmic”. His dignified handling of the plight of his wife’s family, stranded in Gaza before being allowed to leave, gave him a unique stake in the crisis. His successor, John Swinney, in a tribute to Yousaf during his FM acceptance speech, said of him that “in particular, his moral leadership on the issue of Gaza has been a light in these dark times”. As the SPSC marched through Glasgow with independence activists “all under one banner”, common cause between Scotland and Palestine seemed to be settled will.
But politicians are politicians, manoeuvring in what they perceive to be the “real world”, tailoring their messages to different audiences. In 2014, addressing a Glasgow Jewish Representative Council centenary event, Humza Yousaf pledged not to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel and rejected the notion that Israel is an apartheid state (despite this being the firm conclusion drawn from detailed research by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN). He went on to say that "our position on the Middle East doesn't vary much from the UK government”.
Before that, as SPSC reported in 2012, John Swinney made a rare foray into the BDS arena: A subsidiary of Eden Springs, an Israeli water bottling company operating in Britain “turned successfully for help from the Scottish Government to deal with what the Israeli company called 'a wave of protests...that is threatening the future of Eden Springs UK'”.
On January 5th 2010, a meeting took place between Eden Springs’ UK Managing Director Jean-Marc Bolinger and Scottish Minister John Swinney. The Scottish Government the following year gave £200,000 of Scottish taxpayers’ money to Eden Springs, some of which will end up as profits in Israel, taxed there and freeing up state funds for military aggression and further dispossession of the Palestinian people.
As we know, such pressure exerted on government ministers through exclusive lobbying channels carries a weight out of all proportion to their popular support. It is both corrupt and corrupting to acquiesce by participation in such a system. As a cautious, consensus politician, focussed on shoring up the SNP’s domestic agenda, it seems unlikely that John Swinney can be expected to match even the tepid initiative Yousaf took on the Gaza genocide. It has never been clearer that in Scotland, the UK and the USA it is not to governments, nor their token opposition parties, that we should look for meaningful action in support of Palestine.
All the more need for pressure on them to be stepped up through the power of mass protest, civil disobedience and backing BDS, connected across the world. In our “thousands and our millions” we are seeing the creation of a new political order. The clear imperative is to build on this, reinforce strong links around shared aims and seize the time.
As the great Palestinian writer and human rights activist Susan Abulhawa puts it:
“Gaza is no longer the enclave sealed and besieged by Israel and Abdulfattah al-Sisi’s Egypt into a concentration camp. Gaza is no longer the densely-populated strip of Israeli-occupied land. Rather, Gaza is now all the world. Gaza is our collective moment of truth, the meaning in our lives. It is the clarity we need and seek. It is the definitive divide between us and the ruling class that tramples us. It is us or them. There is no middle place now. All the borders fade, leaving us united to confront this greedy genocidal minority everywhere.”
Ashley Pringle
20 May 2024
