Weapon of demonstrations in support of Palestine

Majdi Al-Shomali

The siege on Gaza these days is unprecedented, and the number of martyrs has reached approximately 100 per day. However, this is not the reason that made the governments of Britain, France, and Canada reconsider their position on the war on Gaza. The killing, siege, and destruction began from day one. As a reminder, the Baptist Hospital massacre occurred on October 17, ten days after the start of the aggression, and 500 martyrs fell in a single minute and in a single location. The target was a hospital, not a military barracks. And which hospital? The Baptist, which belongs to the Anglican Church, which bears the name of England and is headquartered in England. Yet, neither Britain, Canada, nor France took any action.
The demonstrations that began on the second day of the war chanted slogans in support of Palestine and called for an end to the war and the blockade. They also called for a boycott of Israel and an end to the arming of Israel. We saw demonstrators storming arms factories in Britain and other countries, and we also saw campaigns to boycott Israeli goods. Human rights, international law, and democracy became a source of ridicule and a target for mockery of Western governments. Millions participated in the demonstrations, led by journalists, politicians, parliamentarians, doctors, lawyers, artists, and academics. Thus, the demonstrations and their demands gained credibility.
Throughout the 19 months of the war on Gaza, it was clearly a war of extermination, unrelated to the liberation of prisoners. During this period, Western governments were not serious about calling for an end to the war of extermination. However, the use of starvation as a weapon in the war, the indiscriminate bombing of civilian tents, and images of the remains of martyrs gave strong momentum to demonstrations, positions, and statements by a number of figures, especially in Europe and America. The demonstrations that began on Nakba Day had a significant impact on Western government positions. The most significant of these demonstrations was in London, where the number of participants exceeded half a million demonstrators, and the "Red Demonstration" in the Netherlands, where more than 200,000 people dressed in red participated to tell their governments that this is a red line. In addition, there were more than 100 demonstrations in European cities such as Madrid, Manchester, Berlin, Thessaloniki, Rome, Paris, Marseille, Stockholm, Oslo (especially the University of Oslo), Copenhagen, Florence, Geneva, Belfast, Malmö, Mannheim, Hamburg, Dublin, and others. In addition to demonstrations in America, Canada, Australia, Korea, Japan, some Islamic countries in Asia, and South Africa.
Recently, universities have regained their footing and begun to demonstrate, as we have seen in Oslo, Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, and Switzerland. It has also become commonplace to chant slogans against the war of genocide and the slogan "Free Palestine" during awards receptions and graduation ceremonies. It has also become commonplace for government lecturers to be boycotted and accused of complicity in the war of genocide. It has also been noted that Israel has been unable to organize a pro-Israel demonstration or find a prominent journalist who would dare repeat the lie of beheading children and raping women. It has also failed to find an influential academic who would boldly praise and justify the policy of genocide. The Israeli entity has been described by many, including Jews, Israelis, and even government officials, as "a pariah entity." In other words, the Palestinian narrative has triumphed, and the Israeli narrative has been retroactively exposed.
Amidst this climate, with the intensification of genocide, starvation, and killings; the expansion of settlements in the West Bank; the illegal practices of settlers; the delay in achieving a decisive military outcome; and the emergence of signs of disagreement between Trump and Netanyahu, Western governments have found it in their best interest to move forward and adopt practical positions that will satisfy their constituencies and deflect accusations of complicity in a war of extermination.
Therefore, continuing demonstrations and boycotts in all the creative forms we have witnessed over the past 19 months remains the most powerful weapon available to the people, ensuring that governments do not back down from their decisions, which are essentially the achievements of the people.


...........

The demonstrations commemorating the Nakba had a significant impact on Western government positions. The most significant of these demonstrations was in London, where over half a million people participated, and the Netherlands' "Red March," which saw over 200,000 people wearing red clothing, signal to governments that this was a red line.