Skip to main content

Europe mobilizes for Palestine as leaders reaffirm support for Israel

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of European cities over the weekend of October 5-6, responding to an international call in support of Palestine, only days ahead of the date that marks the anniversary of the beginning of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Solidarity groups marched in London, Madrid, Rome, Dublin, Berlin, Belgrade, and dozens of other locations, once again reaffirming their call for an immediate ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel—a demand they have been voicing for an entire year.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the United Kingdom reported that approximately 300,000 people marched through London, with the police stating that turnout seemed “to be greater than other recent protests.” Among the speakers was Jeremy Corbyn, who urged attendees to continue advocating “for the only path to a just and lasting peace: an end to the occupation of Palestine.
 
Rallies were held in over 40 cities in Spain, echoing the general strike organized by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) the previous week. Led once again by the trade union movement and solidarity groups, protesters in Madrid, Barcelona, and other cities demanded an end to arms sales to Israel.

In Belgrade, protesters echoed these demands, warning that Serbia has exported millions of euros worth of arms to Israel over the past year—arms that, they pointed out, were used in the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians.

In Paris, the rally took place around the same time as President Emmanuel Macron voiced a request to countries to stop delivering arms to Israel. Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed questioned the sincerity of Macron’s call, urging the crowd to continue mobilizing in support of the Palestinians. He specifically encouraged students to oppose the harsh punitive measures that have been—and are expected to continue being—applied to those joining pro-Palestinian actions. Mélenchon stated that not only France, but all of Europe, has a responsibility to “stop collaborating with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.” 
 
Meanwhile, solidarity protests in Italy and Germany faced pronounced state and police violence. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government attempted to block a central demonstration in Rome on October 5 with a formal decree, but protesters showed up anyway, and police responded with tear gas and administrative intimidation. Giuliano Granato from the left party Power to the People commented directly from the protest, reminding everyone that the right to protest is constitutional in Italy and that the police’s behavior should be seen as a trial run for what could happen if the controversial new Security Bill were to pass.

It came as little surprise that the demonstrations in Germany faced perhaps the biggest backlash in the region. In the days leading up to the weekend of solidarity, families of pro-Palestine activists in Germany were harassed, their homes searched, and the activists themselves were banned from joining any demonstrations until October 8. In many cases, the police acted on “evidence” collected from social media, which amounted to reposting materials that included people chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

While people across Europe marched for Palestine, their elected leaders continued to side with Israel. Figures from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke of the “horrific attacks” on Israel on October 7, 2023. Many of their statements specifically blamed Hamas for the “immense suffering” (as von der Leyen put it) and “catastrophe” (as phrased by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz) that the people of the Gaza Strip have been enduring ever since. None of the published statements made reference to the 76-year occupation of Palestine, settler violence, or impunity Israel has enjoyed since the beginning of the occupation.

Full report:


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Israel Is Routinely Shooting Children in the Head in Gaza: U.S. Surgeon & Palestinian Nurse

Democracy Now!  As the official death toll in Gaza passes more than 42,400, the true number may be impossible to know until Israel's war is over. But medical workers who witnessed the carnage in Gaza's hospitals are speaking out.    Democracy Now! spoke with Dr. Feroze Sidhwa about his op-ed in The New York Times that features harrowing stories from dozens of healthcare workers and CT scans of children shot in the head or the left side of the chest. The Times called the corresponding images of the patients too graphic to publish.    " I personally wish that Americans could see more of what it looks like when a child is shot in the head, when a child is flayed open by bombs, " says Sidhwa. " I think it would make us think a little bit more about what we do in the world. "    Democracy Now! also spoke with Palestinian nurse Rajaa Musleh, who worked at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. " I will never forget the dogs were eating the dead body inside Shifa

Israel Bombs & Invades Lebanon While US Pushes Regime Change & Civil War. Will it Work?

BreakThrough News   As Israel unleashes a catastrophic war on Lebanon, many are perplexed by the country’s politics, divisions and potential for civil war. To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by Lebanese medical doctor and public health researcher Anis Germani. 

Genocide Day 376: The Plan Is To Mass Starve The People In Gaza & It’s Already Being Implemented!

The Jimmy Dore Show   According to mainstream outlets like the Associated Press and Haaretz , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a plan to eject all Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza and starve out any who choose to remain. In fact it’s quite likely that the IDF is already undertaking the plan, which explains why Israel is actively bombing aid trucks trying to enter Gaza.   Related:    U.N. Experts Accuse Israel of "Starvation Campaign" in Gaza & Demand End to Western Complicity

How Israel Squashes Dissent & Independent Reporting

Glenn Greenwald  

Dear Americans: You do have a choice ...

Between Genocide Kamala and the Orange Clown, Jill Stein is the answer by system failure   We live in a time of broad institutional deflection . In the collapsing US empire, Democracy has become an empty concept, being used only as a decorating facade by the corrupted bipartisan authoritarianism.   The democratic decline is so blatant that even the mainstream mechanisms of this authoritarian regime admit that the US voters have to choose the 'lesser of two evils'.   And the current US election depicts more perfectly than ever this terrible dilemma.    On the one hand, you have an unpopular less-than-mediocre puppet, promoted by the liberal elites, only because she is the most suitable to help them weaponize identity politics, even more than they did with the Obama presidency.     On the other, the (now well known) awful demagogue, put in a power position by the capitalist faction that is now in war with the liberal class, in a peculiar capitalist civil war.    And the will of

What America did is SHOCKING & no one’s allowed to talk about it

Double Down News   You won’t see this on BBC or CNN.  

Israeli & U.S. DELIBERATE LIES DEBUNKED

Glenn Greenwald 

The US’s Long History of Destabilizing Iran

Kamala Harris recently called Iran a “destabilizing, dangerous force” in the Middle East. The appropriate context for understanding this remark is the US’s own decades-long history of destabilizing Iran.   by Seraj Assi    Part 3 - Just the Beginning In the name of fighting Communism, the United States helped sabotage a thriving democracy in the Middle East. To cite American historian Douglas Little: “ Having convinced themselves that Iran was about to fall to communism, Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers had encouraged pro-American forces to overthrow a democratically elected Iranian leader and place an increasingly autocratic ruler back on the Peacock Throne. ” The 1953 coup, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d’état, was a prelude to a long history of US covert regime change operations against democratically elected leaders across the Global South. Two decades later, in Chile, the United States infamously conspired to overthrow the elected socialist president Salvador Allende, hel

Rogue states: US & Israel oppose entire world in UN vote to end Cuba blockade

Geopolitical Economy Report   For the 32nd year, the entire world voted at the UN General Assembly to demand an end to the illegal US embargo against Cuba. The USA and Israel opposed the international community in a vote of 187 to 2. Ben Norton explains why the US empire has waged such a vicious economic war on Cuba for six decades. 

Hillary & Dems Fear LOSING TOTAL CONTROL Online

Glenn Greenwald     Related:  A unique moment where the establishment admits that is losing control over the narratives!