By George Banks and Alex Rutherford
In response to the latest onslaught of the Zionist state against the people of Gaza, the Palestinian solidarity movement has seen a significant upsurge in recent months. In Manchester, this has led to the formation of a new group, Manchester Jewish Action for Palestine (MJAP), which Jewish members of Workers Power have been helping to organise.
Bringing together antizionist Jewish activists from different political traditions, both secular and religious, MJAP has formed to show that there is a large section of the Jewish public which stands against the atrocities committed by the Israeli state, its apartheid system, and its ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza.
So far, MJAP has participated in all of the solidarity demonstrations in Manchester, with a Workers Power comrade giving a speech on behalf of the group at a vigil for the Palestinian people in December. The ‘Jews Against Gaza Genocide’ banner has become a regular feature of Manchester Palestinian solidarity protests, and some of MJAP’s members also participated in the recent arms factory blockades on 7 December, at the BAE Systems factory in Salemsbury.
The group is aiming to build a strong, youthful Jewish voice which stands against Israel’s atrocities and the system of imperialism which allows them to be committed with impunity. We call on all antizionist Jews to join us, to help destroy that famous antisemitic lie that all Jews must support the state of Israel.
Antizionist Jews have a key role to play in the struggle against false accusations of antisemitism against the socialist and Palestinian solidarity movements. We are in a unique position to demonstrate the falsity of Zionist claims that they represent the views of all British Jews.
The slogan of MJAP is ‘never again means never again, for anyone’, a poignant statement at a time when the only supposedly ‘Jewish’ state in the world is committing one of the worst atrocities since the mass murder of Jews (as well as others such as travellers, the disabled, and LGBTQ people) in the holocaust. Workers Power stands with these brave voices within the Jewish community, and we call on other antizionist Jewish activists in different cities to organise themselves likewise.
Together, we can be a vital element of the struggle to undermine Zionist propaganda and false accusations of antisemitism, and provide an example for the Israeli working class to follow in breaking with Zionism and fighting for an end to the genocide and equal human rights for all.
