Protest is not enough. We need trade union action to end all arms sales to Israel!
Editorial from issue 50 of Socialist Alternative, our monthly paper. If you would like to subscribe to get your copy every month, please click here.
Scenes from the Middle East depicting endless mass murder of innocent people, are making decent working-class people sick to their stomachs, in Britain and around the world. Yet the Israeli state is hell-bent on deepening the bloodbath, extending its genocidal war on Gaza into the West Bank, then Lebanon, and Yemen, and with Iran now firmly in its sights.
Meanwhile, no amount of hypocritical hand-wringing or empty gestures can hide the blood on the UK Government’s hands. Staying true to British capitalism’s role as chief lapdog to US imperialism, they are up to their necks in this conflict, backing the actions of the Israeli state at every decisive turning point. Pleas for “restraint from all sides” and vain appeals for a ceasefire are merely window dressing, which attempts to hide their fundamental position of full-blooded support for the Netanyahu regime’s bloody campaign.
Zarah Sultana – one of the Labour MPs he unceremoniously booted out of the parliamentary party for the crime of voting against the impoverishment of children – posed the big question to Starmer in parliament. When she asked whether he was prepared to stop arms sales to Israel in response to the slaughter, Starmer simply replied “no”. He then despicably parroted the Israeli government’s sickening claim that these weapons are being used for “defensive purposes”!
UK arms sales to Israel include components for F-35 fighter jets, which rain down bombs on hospitals, refugee camps and communities in Gaza and Lebanon. But the British ruling class’s complicity in the bloodshed also goes beyond arms sales. The UK military has also repeatedly participated directly in air strikes on Yemen, and mobilised the Royal Air Force to intercept Iranian missiles. If called upon by the US leadership of the Western imperialist camp, this government will step up British involvement in the region, including in a potentially earth-shaking war with Iran.
Starmer’s Labour committed to war and imperialism
In reality, the change in government following the general election did not change Britain’s fundamental position on this war one iota. This is yet another stark illustration of how completely Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is committed to serving capitalism and imperialism.
His neo-Blairite outfit seems determined to follow in the footsteps of the original New Labour government, which followed the US into Iraq and Afghanistan, murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent people, sending British troops to be slaughtered, and stoking a wave of terrorist attacks in British cities.
Starmer’s support for this genocidal war was presaged by the ‘anti-Semitism’ witch hunt within the Labour Party itself, which was an important tool in driving out the party’s left, most notably Jeremy Corbyn. It has also been echoed in his government’s ultra-hawkish stance on the war in Ukraine, with Starmer and co reportedly pushing the Biden administration to “call Putin’s bluff” and authorise long range missile strikes deep into Russian territory, regardless of the threat of dangerous escalation in a proxy conflict with a major nuclear power.
Protests will not be enough
Mass anger at this genocidal war has led to some of the biggest protests in decades in Britain and internationally. As the slaughter spreads and escalates, so too must the protests. But the lesson of the past year is that, unfortunately, protesting in of itself will not be enough to stop the British government’s support for Israel.
Starmer’s position, in lockstep with that of the Tories before him – and of course with Farage and co – is ultimately based on the interests of British imperialism, in an era increasingly dominated by a global power struggle between rival imperialist blocs. The Israeli state is the main strategic base of Western imperialism in an important region, crucially standing against the power and influence of Iran, which is now firmly integrated into the rival imperialist bloc, led by China and Russia.
Workers have the power to stop the war machine
This does not mean that working class people are powerless to stop this slaughter by any means. It only means that we must take more effective action. In particular, it is necessary for the power of the organised working class to be mobilised.
Workers make the economy and society run, and have the power to paralyse the war machine. Some key groups of industrial workers have the power to halt the production of the weapons or parts churned out by British factories for the Israeli war machine and rail and maritime workers have the power to halt the shipment of UK arms sales.
Indeed, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which organises over six million trade union members, including many in the relevant sectors, took a clear position at its annual conference in September against all UK arms sales to Israel. While union leaders speaking out against the war is welcome, it is not enough. Words must now give way to action. The TUC must pledge to defend, encourage and organise any union, or individual worker, who takes action to stop arms sales and shipments.
Palestinian trade unions have been actively appealing for solidarity from the labour movement internationally for a year now. In Spain, the US and Greece, strike action against the war has taken place, including in some cases the obstruction of arms shipments to Israel. This included a political general strike in Spain, which aimed to pressurise the Spanish government to end all complicity with Israeli state terror. The trade unions have a role to play in mobilising their members to participate in this movement, and to consciously connect struggles on pay, terms and conditions to the political questions facing our movement – including opposing war and militarism. It is time for union leaders here to step up to the plate and do what is necessary to stop this genocidal war.
History is rich in lessons of how the working class can force the hand of governments who are determined to wage war. In Britain, opposition from the labour movement was crucial in preventing the government from entering the Vietnam War in support of the US. After his time in office, Tony Blair confessed to being driven to the brink of resignation by the historic mass movement against the war in Iraq. And of course, dockers famously took action to boycott all arms being sent to British troops fighting to crush the Russian revolution of 1917.
A new phase of the anti-war movement must be launched, with mass protests combined with effective direct working class action to stop arms sales. Such action in Britain could inspire workers internationally, both in the Middle East and in other countries which prop up the Israeli state’s terrorism.
We need a new anti-war left party
Labour’s support for the war has already been a source of crisis for Starmer. Despite his landslide victory in terms of seats, the party’s vote collapsed among important sections of working-class communities, with reports indicating a loss of one-third of Black and Asian support, for example. This crisis will deepen as the government’s support for war and imperialism continues into new bloody conflicts.
Opposition to the war was also a key factor in the election victories of left independents, five of whom, including Jeremy Corbyn, now form an alliance in Parliament. This breakthrough must now be built on by the launching of a new, anti-war left party, which can build opposition to the policies of war and imperialism to which the entire political establishment is bound by a thousand strings.
The Labour government’s honeymoon has been practically non-existent. But as it flounders, those waiting in the wings to replace it are a disaster for working people. Farage, the most popular party leader in the country in the polls, openly aspires to win the next general election. The Tories, meanwhile, are at the time of writing still deciding which mini-Farage will lead them next.
A real opposition, which stands for working-class people’s interests against all the anti-migrant, pro-austerity warmongers, must urgently be built in the form of a new left party. Corbyn should urgently call a national conference of anti-war campaigners, trade unionists, climate campaigners and socialists, to launch a party. It could quickly grow to tens of thousands of members, and become a powerful force within the anti-war movement.
The role of the organised working class is the key to the change we need, both in ending imperialist war and addressing the cost of living crisis, climate emergency and all other burning problems. The working class has already put its stamp on events, with both the recent strike wave and the mass anti-war movement having major political impacts. A new party can play a crucial role, combining the power of working-class organisation and action, through unions and social movements, with a clear political voice which stands for real political solutions.
The programme defended by a new party is therefore also pivotal. It should stand against all imperialist powers, on both sides of the current global power struggle. It should demand full pay restoration for workers, and the funding that our public services need, to be paid for by taxing the wealth of the super-rich, which has skyrocketed while the majority suffers. It should stand for public ownership of the key sectors of the economy, as part of a democratically planned, socialist economy which is geared towards the interests of people and the planet.
Socialist Alternative has published a new pamphlet – The New Party We Need – which contributes to the much needed debate on this question. Click here to order your copy!
