John McDonnell, the ICJ and another empty House of Commons Michael Murray (The photo shows the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands) On the 19th of March last, Labour MP John McDonnell tweeted: “The Government is sending arms to Israel that may be being used in attacks on Gaza, which under ICJ judgement may be … Continue reading “A Point of Order” on the ICJ Ruling
By Nadia Klok London Secretary of the Workers Party of Great Britain “It all starts here you see,” states my father, as we walked down Duke Street off Grosvenor square some few years back, “Where do you think Simon Bolivar got his taste for revolution against Spanish Imperialism? Or where Karl Marx got the balls … Continue reading A personal reflection on Rochdale
Keir Starmer has one objective, to win the next general election and form the next government, preferably with a large overall majority. Anything that might endanger achieving that objective will be removed. Starmer identified, early on in his leadership, that one danger was the opposition of the powerful Zionist lobby in the UK. He has consequently gone to … Continue reading Starmer’s Gaza Problems—Editorial 1
Original SNP motion: That this House calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel; notes with shock and distress that the death toll has now risen beyond 28,000, the vast majority of whom were women and children; further notes that there are currently 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, 610,000 of whom are children; … Continue reading Gaza in Parliament, Wednesday 29th February 2024—For the Record
The massive marches against Israel’s genocide that have taken place in London and other parts of the country since October have been met with hostility by Labour, putting the party at odds with some of its core electorate. In a recent speech to the Jewish Labour Movement Starmer came close to Suella Braverman’s claim that … Continue reading Labour, Palestine and Imperialism
The outcome of the ICJ case Michael Murray “Ceasefire!” An appendix to an article elsewhere in this issue of Labour Affairs, about the human rights lawyer, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, KC, and her role in the South African legal team, lists the nine “Provisional Measures” sought in South Africa's Application to the ICJ. The first is: "The State of Israel … Continue reading “Hague Schmague?” Oy veh!
Michael Murray Introduction: “An bealach seo atá romham” - my destiny Over the desk of Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, In the busy London office of Matrix (Barristers’ ) Chambers, on the Greys’ Inn Road - also of Brussels and Geneva, hangs a framed pamphlet with a photograph on its cover of a smiling twelve year old … Continue reading Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh: “The Making of a Human Rights Lawyer.”
Gaza debated in the House of Lords, 16 January 2024 Baroness Janke To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs what steps he is taking to secure a lasting ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Gaza. A brief debate followed, during which David Cameron the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs said: … Continue reading Gaza in Parliament, January 2024
South Africa and the World’s Conscience The world has been witnessing, powerless or complicit, the destruction of the people of Gaza through bombing, starvation and disease for the past three months. Israel has said it will continue perhaps for another year. South Africa has taken a step to call what is happening by its proper … Continue reading Israel at The Hague
On the 11th November 2023 the largest of a series of ongoing popular demonstrations against Israel’s actions against the population of Gaza took place in London. By some estimates between 800,000 and a million people attended, certainly far more than the official estimates of 300,000. By any standards this was a significant expression of popular feeling, … Continue reading Authoritarian Liberal Democracy—Editorial
“Events, dear boy !” Mick Murray “A terrible beauty”? Harold Macmillan was the author of such enduring soundbites, as they would now be called, such as “the winds of change” a euphemistic term for the beginnings of the decolonialisation of Africa and“they’ve never had it so good” to describe the social change in Britain as it began to enjoy … Continue reading Gaza, Dawn of a New World
Notes on the News By Gwydion M. Williams Democracy Only Real if Mediaeval? Democracy Frustrated Over Climate Change Class Politics in Climate Change Gaza: Ethnic Cleansing Snippets China Seeking Peace BBC Coopts a Dead Chinaman A New Hope for Germany? A Dope’s Guide to US Politics Gay Games in Hong Kong Wed Gayly, but no … Continue reading Notes on the News
Questions to the Ministry of Defence House of Commons 20 November 2023 These consecutive questions and answers to the Ministry of Defence cover a variety of topics, as per subheadings below. The questions and the answers show quasi unanimity among Labour and Tories regarding Defence and Foreign Affairs in general; they show also the British appetite … Continue reading The Ministry of Defence
A contribution to a debate Peter Brooke In a recent interview on BBC radio, Ehud Barak, the Israeli Prime Minister who is supposed to have offered the best deal Israel ever offered to the Palestinians, spelled out, in rather awkward grammar, what he regards as the ideal two state solution: 'I will never lose eye … Continue reading A STATE FOR ALL ITS CITIZENS
Palestine Links—November 2023 GAZA: 3,195 children killed in three weeks surpasses annual number of children killed in conflict zones since 2019 (Save the Children, 29 October 2023) I run the UN agency for Palestine refugees. History will judge us all if there is no ceasefire in Gaza (Philippe Lazzarini, Guardian, 26 October 2023) Joe Biden’s … Continue reading Palestine Links
Early Day Motion on Gaza — House of Commons 17th October 2023 Early day motions are short proposals that give MPs a chance to express an opinion, publicise a cause or support a position. They are rarely actually debated, and are only publicised in writing. Motion text This House utterly condemns the massacre of Israeli civilians and taking … Continue reading Gaza Motions in Parliament
They line up for the camera, the remainder of families, still in life as in death, they don’t complain, make no requests, they will get nothing and have nothing but checkpoints, high walls, razor wire, Israeli fighter jets who strike at their children, their mothers, their fathers, their grandparents, their phones are listened to, their … Continue reading GAZA STILLS
Labour Affairs 