Gaza has been bombed to rubble – and the bombing continues. Nearly 30,000 murdered and many more injured or unaccounted for. Almost obscured by the sheer weight of these atrocities, the West Bank has been bombed and raided, with hundreds more killed and thousands arrested. Around the world, Palestinians and Palestine supporters have demonstrated and protested, while western governments have continued to arm Israel and bomb Yemen as well.
The task for us is to build the most massive Palestine solidarity movement in Greater Manchester. From home-based activity, letter-writing, individual consumer boycotting, through bike-riding, information stalls, leafletting, and our increasing social media output, to widespread protests on the streets and more direct action against those complicit with Israel’s racist apartheid genocidal actions, we want to bring together local groups and campaigns in co-ordinated and targeted ways that can no longer be ignored. The 19 consecutive weekend protests, organised together with the Youth Front for Palestine, Manchester Palestine Action, Jewish Voices and others, have been tremendous. There is no let-up in popular enthusiasm for visible protest. But we have to turn this into actions – such as those which have seen the cutting of links with Israel on the part of Fisher German, IO Associates, and Puma, and the continuing and county-wide closures of financial institutions such as Barclays, AXA and BNY Mellon.
We have therefore set up the “Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine” (GMFP) and we invite anyone in Greater Manchester or nearby, who agrees with our demands for freedom and justice for all Palestinians, to join and/or work with us. Individual members can of course be members of other organisations – such as Manchester Palestine Action, Youth Front for Palestine, Oldham Peace and Justice Group, Whalley Range Peace and Justice Group, or national organisations or otherwise. GMFP is however an independent local/regional group, of individual and affiliated members, we are not part of any “national” or party political or religious organisation. This means that we can, and must, continue to work with and create space for younger activists, and support those who have taken direct action, and most of all we must make sure that we always give platforms to Palestinian voices – and to the Palestinians’ right to resist – until Palestine is free.