Workers’ Power Against Genocide
Fighting for a Free Palestine

The following text is a leaflet Geelong Anarchist-Communists distributed at a Free Palestine Geelong rally on November 4^th. GAC are participants in FPG and encourage locals to get involved and support the campaign.

Today the people of Palestine are like a modern day David, fighting against the Goliath of the Israeli Defence Forces, backed by Western governments. The prospects for military victory are dire, instead the liberation of Palestine depends on uprisings across the Middle East. Only another Arab Spring that breaks the reactionary regimes across the region can provide Palestinians with breathing room in their struggle.

But the liberation of Palestine also requires breaking the back of Western Imperialism. Australia maintains its own imperialist interests, exploiting Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and other neighbours. To further Australia’s interests the government follows the lead of the United States. Our politicians cannot even call the violence in Palestine by its name; genocide and colonialism. Deputy Prime Minister and the local embarrassment of the Corio electorate, MP Richard Marles has said

“Israel is a liberal democracy. She cherishes human rights and values freedom of speech. And in that, Israel and Australia are the same.”

We too believe Israel and Australia have similarities – they are both colonial nations built on violence, genocide and exploitation. They both use ‘liberal democracy’ to cover up deeply entrenched racism and systemic violence.

Smashing Australian imperialism requires confronting Australian capitalism. We can’t just petition politicians to speak out against the violence Israel enacts on Palestinians. There must be protests that break through the media’s imperialist bias. There must be more occupations of government offices and the shutting down of companies that support the Israeli apartheid regime. But even if all the politicians changed their mind, words would not stop the IDF.

But the international labour movement also has an important role to play. In Belgium, transport unions recently declared they would refuse to transport weapons to Israel. Workers in Australia could use their industrial power; with strikes and boycotts they can halt the flow of profit and material to the Zionist regime.

Australian dock workers once refused to ship iron to Japan, while their armies occupied and slaughtered the Chinese. Wharfies also led the so called ‘Black Armada’, which helped defeat Dutch colonialism in Indonesia. There were strikes against the Vietnam war. Australian workers, through their unions, once played a powerful role in the liberation of South Africa from apartheid. We can do it again.

Geelong Anarchist Communists believe that we have an anti-imperialist duty to fight the interests of the Australian government and capital, to struggle in solidarity for the liberation of Palestine. We call on workers to form rank and file committees in their unions supporting Palestinian resistance, to boycott the production of all materials that support the Israeli regime, to refuse to transport Israeli goods, to attend rallies and occupations and to raise their voices. We will not stay silent in the face of genocide.

Smash Imperialism! Smash Colonialism!

Freedom for Palestine!