Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Archive for the ‘Israel’ Category

The War in Ukraine: Agenda for the Left – the most serious war on the European continent since the end of World War 2 in 1945 has not gone away, you know

leave a comment »

Here are the latest articles published on the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine  website ukraine-solidarity.eu in English.
For more information, write to the network at info@ukraine-solidarity.eu.

Israel’s genocidal war against Palestine has pushed Putin’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine off the national and international headlines, but the most serious war on the European continent since the end of World War 2 in 1945 has not gone away, you know. 

In a rational left-wing political ecosphere, all forces across the left would be promoting the information below, and seeking collective action in solidarity with the workers and social movements of Ukraine against Moscow’s sinister far-right invasion. It is time to step up solidarity with Ukraine, before it is too late. One of the articles linked below is reproduced at the end of this blog post : The War in Ukraine: Agenda for the Left . We also reproduce the latest news report written by the outstanding Irish Times Eastern Europe correspondent, Daniel McLaughlin.

Read the rest of this entry »

Did British Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer say “Israel has the right” to cut off food water and electricity to 2 million people in Gaza?

with 2 comments

A resident of Great Britain advises these posters are appearing in an English city. The correspondent observes “Someone is sailing very close to the wind with electoral law even if it is an accurate account of what he said. This is the latest and biggest of a series of these that have popped up locally.”

Has anyone seen these posters in other parts of the British state, including the bit styled “Northern Ireland”. I am guessing the posters would be popular in Scotland and Wales. They could catch on!

A correspondent wondered “And of course it’s not what he said!” – so the blog team looked it up.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ukraine Needs Extra Aid – Everywhere, far-right forces are trying to facilitate Putin’s genocide – Oppose genocide in Ukraine and Palestine

leave a comment »

Dublin City Council has voted unanimously to fly the Palestinian flag at City Hall on Dame Street for seven days. Great decision.

The Ukrainian flag should flutter alongside the Palestinian flag. Solidarity with the people of Palestine and Ukraine – under genocidal bombardment from the states of Israel and the Russian Federation.

Read the rest of this entry »

“When did EU leaders lose their humanity?” – Holly Cairns TD (Social Democrats) Advocates Expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador from Ireland

leave a comment »

On November 15 2023 Dáil Éireann (parliament of the 26 county Irish state) debated 2 opposition motions calling for immediate action against the genocidal war waged by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people living in Gaza. Holly Cairns TD (Teachta Dála [Dáil Deputy]) leader of the Social Democrats party, introduced a motion calling for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Ms Ehrlich. The text of Holly Cairns’ speech is below.

The deputy from Cork South-West pulled no punches :

When did EU leaders lose their humanity? At what precise moment? Was it when Israel cut off supplies of water, food, medicine and fuel to 2.3 million people in Gaza, and no one shouted “Stop”? Was it when more than 5,000 children were slaughtered, and no one shouted “Stop”? Was it when the fuel ran out and incubators keeping premature babies alive were turned off and no one shouted “Stop”? Was it on Friday, when the death toll reached more than 11,000 and no one shouted “Stop”? Was it at the weekend, when they had to stop counting the bodies and still no one shouted “Stop”?

Holly Cairns TD, Leader, Social Democrats

The opposition motions were defeated by 85 votes to 55 (expel the Israeli ambassador from Ireland) and 80 votes to 60 (refer Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Parties supporting the Cairns motion were Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, and Solidarity-People Before Profit.

Read the rest of this entry »

‘An African “Homeland” for the Jewish Refugees?’ by CLR James from Socialist Appeal. Vol. 2 No. 51. November 26, 1938.

leave a comment »

This is a remarkable CLR James essay from 1938, where the writer explains that a proposal to deport Jews from Nazi Germany to Africa is a form of racist European colonialism :

The transference of Jews from Germany to Africa means the extension of the Palestine policy to Africa, the strengthening of European imperialism in Africa, with the additional crime that the emigrant Jews will be forced to occupy the position in Africa in regard to the Africans that the Nazis occupy in regard to the Jews in Germany. That is how the ordinary African will see it. He could not help seeing it otherwise.

Yes, one of the ideas floated by the Roosevelt administration when it was turning away Jewish refugees from Nazi persecution was to send them to Ethiopia or Uganda. ‘An African “Homeland” for the Jewish Refugees?’ by C.L.R. James from Socialist Appeal. Vol. 2 No. 51. November 26, 1938. New “Panacea” Put Forward by World Imperialists […]

‘An African “Homeland” for the Jewish Refugees?’ by C.L.R. James from Socialist Appeal. Vol. 2 No. 51. November 26, 1938.

Among Africans, as all over the world, there is widespread sympathy for the Jews and detestation of this latest brutality of the Nazis. Africans, more than most other social groups, can understand what it is that the Jews are being subjected to. They are ready to take common action against the imperialists, Fascists and “democrats” who have for generations subjected them to similar persecution in their own country. But the land situation in South and East Africa makes inevitable a wide-spread resentment among Africans at any proposal to send Jews there.

Wherever whites have been able to live in large numbers in Africa, there exists an economic, political and social situation of the most acute tension. The accepted policy is to take the best land for the whites and to segregate the Africans in areas too small for them. This is one of the means by which black labor is assured. Unable to earn a living and money for the Government tax in the restricted areas assigned to him, the African must go to the settler and seek employment at whatever terms the settler offers.

Read the rest of this entry »

More Than 500 USA Officials Sign Letter Protesting Against President Biden’s Israel Policy – International Solidarity With Palestine is Growing Very Rapidly

with one comment

International solidarity with Palestine is growing very rapidly. The Jewish state of Israel is conducting a war of genocide against people living in Gaza. The world’s population is also witnessing a Russian war of genocide against the people of Ukraine. These statements are not made lightly. Here is a recognised definition of genocide :

Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people[a] in whole or in part. In 1948, the United Nations Genocide Convention defined genocide as any of five “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. These five acts were: killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children out of the group. Victims are targeted because of their real or perceived membership of a group, not randomly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

The alarm has spread to the highest levels of the United States government. We re-publish a New York Times report, dated November 14 2023.


More Than 500 U.S. Officials Sign Letter Protesting Biden’s Israel Policy

The signers, representing some 40 government agencies, reflect growing internal dissent over the administration’s support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Read the rest of this entry »

From Ukraine to Palestine – Occupation is a Crime

leave a comment »

This statement comes from the USA Ukraine Solidarity Network. We thank Joan McKiernan for supplying the information.

Howie Hawkins, who was the Green Party Presidential Candidate in the 2020 General Election which Joe Biden won, explains the meaning of the demonstration photographed below :

Note the Ukrainian-themed flag in the center of this picture from the Palestine solidarity demonstration in Washington, DC on Saturday. It is not the official Ukrainian flag, but it has the same blue and yellow colors and the Ukrainian trident symbol. Apparently, somebody was trying to express solidarity with the Ukrainian as well as Palestinian liberation struggles. This picture is from a Green Party page of pictures and videos from that demonstration and others last weekend at https://www.gp.org/ceasefire_now.

From Ukraine to Palestine: Occupation Is a Crime!

Statement from the Ukraine Solidarity Network

We Stand with Ukraine. We Stand with Palestine.

End the Genocide in Gaza!

Read the rest of this entry »

Ukrainian Letter of Solidarity with Palestinian people

leave a comment »

Ukraine-Palestine Solidarity

Source : https://commons.com.ua/en/ukrayinskij-list-solidarnosti/

Лист українською | en français | en español | auf Deutsch

We, Ukrainian researchers, artists, political and labour activists, members of civil society stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine who for 75 years have been subjected and resisted Israeli military occupation, separation, settler colonial violenceethnic cleansing, land dispossession and apartheid. We write this letter as people to people. The dominant discourse on the governmental level and even among solidarity groups that support the struggles of Ukrainians and Palestinians often creates separation. With this letter we reject these divisions, and affirm our solidarity with everyone who is oppressed and struggling for freedom.

As activists committed to freedom, human rights, democracy and social justice, and while fully acknowledging power differentials, we firmly condemn attacks on civilian populations – be they Israelis attacked by Hamas or Palestinians attacked by the Israeli occupation forces and armed settler gangs. Deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime. Yet this is no justification for the collective punishment of Palestinian people, identifying all residents of Gaza with Hamas and the indiscriminate use of the term “terrorism” applied to the whole Palestinian resistance. Nor is this a justification of continuation of the ongoing occupation. Echoing multiple UN resolutions, we know that there will be no lasting peace without justice for the Palestinian people.

Read the rest of this entry »

Irish podcast host and former Gaelic Footballer Joe Brolly slams President Joe Biden over USA support of Israel : “a rogue state completely out of control”

with one comment

We thank Joan McKiernan for drawing our attention to Joe Brolly’s blistering attack on Joe Biden’s support of Israel.

Irish podcast host and former Gaelic Footballer Joe Brolly has criticized President Joe Biden over America’s support of Israel. The American President has requested a package worth $105 billion to be used towards humanitarian and military assistance for both Israel and Ukraine.

Joe Brolly is married to Joe Biden’s third cousin, Laurita Blewitt (Image: Twitter/@joebrolly1993)

The $ 14.3 billion earmarked for Israel includes $10.6 billion – via the Defence Department – including provision for air and missile defense. There is also $3.7 billion from the State Department to be used to bolster the Israeli military and strengthen the US Embassy’s security.

Read the rest of this entry »

Solidarity With Palestine, Dublin October 23 2023 – Sue Pentel Addresses Large Demonstration – “We see genocide unfolding before our eyes”

leave a comment »

Is Genocide happening today in Palestine 🇵🇸 and Ukraine 🇺🇦?

Let us consider carefully a robust definition :

Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people[a] in whole or in part. In 1948, the United NationsGenocide Conventiondefined genocide as any of five “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. These five acts were: killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children out of the group. Victims are targeted because of their real or perceived membership of a group, not randomly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

The answer is Yes.

The term is carefully used by Sue Pentel, a speaker at an October 23 2023 large Dublin demonstration. The speech is here :

Read the rest of this entry »