Back the actions needed to stop the genocide in Palestine
We’re witnessing a genocide of Palestinians in real time. The evening of the 27th October, as Gaza was bombed in darkness with no power to contact the world, exposed most clearly the merciless approach employed by the apartheid state of Israel. Since then Jabalya refugee camp has been bombed twice without any regard for the lives of Palestinians.
Indeed, at the UN, Israeli representatives told the world it is not interested in a ceasefire. If we need clarity on their position, we can look to their Western allies who are defending the line. ‘Humanitarian pauses’ is the furthest many will go.
The US, Joe Biden’s administration, is probably the most cynical example of Western cover for genocide, and Britain is slavishly following suit.
The call for sanctions on Israel at this time is imperative – the breaking of political ties, including the expulsion of Israeli ambassadors, and an end to economic and military support. The US and the rest of the West are uniquely placed to implement effective sanctions as Israel’s project depends on Western backing.
As missiles rain down, every elected political leader in Ireland should be banging down the doors of their US counterparts, demanding an end to the genocide, demanding an end to ethnic cleansing, and, crucially, the sanctions, including the expulsion of the Ambassador, needed to deliver it.
And Sinn Féin, as the largest party in Ireland with recognised ties to the US establishment, are well placed to make the demand for sanctions. The decision, then, to drop this call which Sinn Féin made loudly in the past is extremely unfortunate.
In Derry, Belfast, and in Dublin, the party refused to endorse sanctions, including the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. This shift in position, as leading Sinn Féin members toured Joe Kennedy across the North sends a very clear message to Biden and the rest of the West: we won’t make this difficult for you.
We recognise, from speaking to Sinn Féin members and seeing the open calls from Ógra Shinn Féin, that this position does not reflect the view of many Sinn Féin members, including those who have been activists for a long time.
We call on those members, fraternally, not to go along with this reversal of a long-standing position. Send a message that Sinn Féin in government will stand with Palestinians.
Build the pressure internally to steer the party back toward the path of supporting expelling the Israeli ambassador, and calling for the tangible strategies which worked in South Africa and which can work in Palestine today.
In solidarity,
Richard Boyd Barrett TD
Gerry Carroll MLA
Gino Kenny TD
Paul Murphy TD
Brid Smith TD