Our job has never been clearer: to actively resist racism and rising fascism, war and genocide

SPSC Statement, 15 June 2025

Israel continues to act with complete impunity, enjoying active support from our governments.  

Just two days before a sixth round of US-Iranian nuclear talks, Israel carries out an unprecedented military attack on Iran. They assassinated Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists in the middle of the night, killing civilians, including children. At the time of writing Israel continues its attack Iran, bombing targets that include oil and gas fields. Iran is responding with missile attacks on sites across Israel.

Twenty-four hours before launching their attack on Iran, Israel cut Gaza’s access to the internet. While the world’s eyes are on Iran, 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza are in total blackout as Israel continues their genocidal attacks.  

At the same time, Israel placed the Occupied West Bank under complete military closure, locking gates and isolating towns and villages using infrastructure already in place to enforce Israel’s system of apartheid and military control over 3.3 million Palestinians. Palestinians are currently living in an open-air prison across the Occupied West Bank, separated from family and prevented from moving freely, from reaching their own land, to travel to work, school and university. 

For almost two years, while it has been carrying out its brutal genocidal attacks on Gaza, Israel has escalated their ethnic cleansing in the Occupied West Bank. This month, Israel approved 22 new settlements, murdered and imprisoned Palestinians, demolished homes, protected and joined violent settler attacks on Palestinian communities, stole more and more land, and forcibly displaced 40,000 refugees in Jenin and Tulkarem.

Within Israel itself, organisations such as the JNF-KKL work with government authorities to demolish homes and forcibly displace Palestinian Bedouin communities.  

Meanwhile, our governments are either actively involved in Israel’s genocide and war crimes or refuse to take active steps to hold Israel to account. Their anti-Palestinian racism has resulted in genocide denial, attempts to delegitimise the Palestinian struggle for freedom, equality, and justice, and in moves to suppress the movement for Palestinian rights - a movement that represents the majority of ordinary people across the globe who are opposed to Israel’s genocide.  

As an international solidarity organisation and movement, we must always have a view of the full spectrum of Israeli aggression, including the threat they pose to the peace and security of the people in the region and beyond – what matters is what action we take. 

Our job has never been clearer: to resist racism, war and genocide; boycott & isolate Israel and resist complicity at home.  

Zionism and the state of Israel have always found friends amongst the far right. For a long time, Israel has provided training, technology and equipment that have been tested on Palestinians to regimes around the world – from apartheid South Africa to far-right governments in Europe, India and the Americas. Israel's experience in brutal occupation is also of value to London Met Police and Police Scotland who receive training from Israeli police and have Israel's SandCat armoured vehicles, used in Gaza, in their possession. In Glasgow the Council has installed NICE Systems - Israeli surveillance technology now used to monitor our lives and activities. Just this past week, the British government was forced to admit that the British military is training Israeli Occupation Forces in this country. 

The Scottish Government may sound more humane than Starmer, yet they have refused to demonstrate the same commitment to Palestinian human rights as they applied to the invasion of Ukraine, when, without hesitation, the Scottish Government called for and facilitated boycotts and sanctions against Russia. Their refusal to take effective action is perhaps even more despicable when they utter their mealy-mouthed platitudes while providing public funds to arms companies and discuss strengthening trade with Israel in secret meetings. 

Decades of impunity and active support of our governments have led Israel to this situation, where it poses an immediate and dangerous threat to the Palestinian people, to the broader region and beyond.  

Whatever else we do, we must all now work to boycott and isolate the state of Israel.

This is not a time for despair:

• Glasgow Friends of Israel exist because the Israeli government is afraid of the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel (BDS)
• Our governments attempt to suppress the movement for Palestinian rights because they are afraid of what we might achieve when we use our collective power to make change happen

What matters is that we organise from the ground up and harness our that collective power.

Let's get moving:

• Join SPSC
• If you are already a member, get actively involved in our campaigns and initiatives: message 07931200361
• Support Palestinian rights campaigners on trial for solidarity activities - donate to SPSC's Fighting Fund  
• It’s time Scotland follows Canada’s lead to revoke the charity status of KKL JNF Scotland - write to OSCR
• Urge Home Bargains to stop stocking Israeli goods - send your letter
• Support and consider getting involved in Palestine Action 
• As workers, we have power, but only when we work as a collective – find out what you can do  
• Get in touch to volunteer for SPSC: message 07931200361