Stop Israeli state terror!
SP Newsletter No.313
Israeli commandos used lethal force when they intercepted an aid convoy in international waters heading for the Gaza strip, where over one million Palestinians are trapped behind an Israeli government blockade.
The killing of nine aid volunteers by the commandos has provoked angry demonstrations in Turkey, where the flotilla of ships set out from, and around the world.
The misnamed United Nations Security Council bowed to the US administration and refused to pass a resolution condemning the Israeli government and instead just called for an ‘impartial investigation’ into the loss of lives.
The Socialist Party condemns the Israeli government and our members participated in the spontaneous protests that took place earlier this week.
The 700 people on board the boats have all undertaken this mission out of concern for the people of Gaza, who are now entering their fourth year under siege, without access to basic necessities.
These people posed no threat to Israel, and were completely unarmed. The aid they were attempting to deliver included construction materials which would have helped the people of Gaza rebuild some of the homes destroyed by Israel in 2009.
We call for an immediate end to the siege and blockade that is taking place against Gaza by the Israeli government. We support the common interests of ordinary people on both sides of the divide as the basis for an end to the conflict forever.
In Israel, where the flotilla of ships has been forcibly taken to, left wing activists including members of Tnua’t Maavak Sozialisti (Socialist Struggle Movement, the Israeli counterpart of the Socialist Party) demonstrated against the armed attack on the aid convoy and also against the continuing government siege of Gaza and the occupation of the Palestinian territories on the West Bank.
Tnua’t Maavak Sozialisti issued the following statement: “The Israeli government cynically shakes off responsibility. But there’s no need for a ‘state commission of inquiry’ to understand that responsibility for the killing lies on the shoulders of the ministers and top officers.
“We’re being presented with a simplistic picture, according to which the IDF soldiers were attacked on one of the boats with different objects. The IDF soldiers should not have been there to begin with!
“We reject emphatically the use - common in Israel - of the military and ‘security’ to trample on the right of protest.
“The ministers, generals, and their kept journalists, attempt to divert attention from the aggressive, destructive and oppressive policy that the Netanyahu-Barak-Lieberman government executes, including the siege and occupation of Gaza, and the racist incitement against the Arab-Palestinian public in Israel. The Israeli government, which oppresses the Palestinians, is also harming the long term interests of the residents of Israel.”
The only way to end such disasters and other horrors of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is through the independent struggle of Israeli and Palestinian workers, building and coordinating mass action against the instigators of ‘divide and rule’, the siege and occupation, and all oppression and discrimination. A movement that demands democratic national rights for all, and for the overthrow of the corrupt capitalist elites in the region.
The Socialist Party calls for:
- End the Israeli blockade of Gaza. For the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Palestinian territories.
- For a mass struggle of the Palestinians, under their own democratic control, to fight for genuine national liberation.
- For independent workers’ organisations in Palestine and Israel.
- No trust in the world’s capitalist governments or the UN.
- For working class support, throughout the Middle East and internationally, for the Palestinians’ struggle.
- For a struggle for democratic socialism in Palestine, Israel and throughout the Middle East, with guaranteed democratic rights for all national minorities.
We urge our supporters to attend the protests happening across Australia this weekend.
Brisbane: Friday June 4, 5.30 pm, Brisbane Square
Sydney: Saturday June 5, 2pm, Sydney Town Hall
Melbourne: Saturday June 5, 2pm, State Library, CBD
Perth: Sunday June 6, 12 noon, outside Wesley Church
SP Public Meeting in Melbourne - Crisis in the Middle East
Conflict and division dominates Israel/Palestine. But this is not in the interests of the working class and oppressed – it serves only the ruling elites in the region and the west. Will it ever be possible to build workers unity on both sides and break the grip of fear? This meeting will examine the situation.
7pm Wednesday June 16 @ Trades Hall, corner of Lygon & Victoria Streets Carlton South. For more information phone 96399111.
Other upcoming SP meetings
The Melbourne Branch of the Socialist Party meets every Wednesday 7pm at Trades Hall on the corner of Lygon & Victoria Streets Carlton South. Upcoming meetings include:
9/6 – The 1917 General Strike in Australia
16/6 – The Middle East: A socialist analysis
23/6 – The politics of the Black Panthers
30/6 – Who was Rosa Luxemburg?
For more information or for details of meetings in other parts of Australia contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111.
News links:
Joe Higgins MEP challenges US Ambassador on IDF killings
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/4313
Lebanon: Peace activists murdered by reactionary Israeli army
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/4312
Gaza: Stop the killing of demonstrators
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/4311
Join the Socialist Party
If you agree with what you have read in our newsletter or on our website you should consider joining SP. The Socialist Party has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Perth as well as members and supporters in all other states.
We are involved in trade union work and student work. We also run community, anti-war and environmental campaigns. But most of all we want to build a party that will fight to get rid of the capitalist system, the system that is at the root of all of these problems. We fight for socialism - a system that will bring an end to wars, poverty and environmental destruction. To join SP contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111 and we will send you a membership application form.
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Socialist Party contact details
Melbourne: Phone Anthony on 0396399111.
Sydney: Phone Gary on 0297287727.
Newcastle: Phone Samantha on 0249681545.
Adelaide: Phone David on 0883441474.
Perth: Phone John on 0894020728.
Rest of Australia: Phone our National Office on 0396399111.
Rest of the world: Phone our International Office on ++ 44 20 8988 8760.
The Socialist Party is the Australian section of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI). The CWI is organised in over 40 countries across the world.
http://www.sp.org.au
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