This event, organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), has been taking place peacefully over the last 40 years with the participation of demonstrators from all walks of life. Jews, Christians and Muslims, people of other faiths and none all march in common cause side by side. Many women and children are in attendance.
This year’s event takes place amidst Israel’s mass slaughter and deliberate starvation of the people of Gaza, where almost 33,000 named victims are known to have been killed and thousands more lie under the rubble. At the same time, Israeli troops and armed settlers run amok in the occupied West Bank, killing hundreds of Palestinians and taking thousands of prisoners, most of whom are held without charge or trial.
As the International Court of Justice deliberates on a charge of genocide against Israel, Western nations, including the UK, are either averting their gaze or actively complicit in the slaughter.
The Rally is also taking place amidst alarming political developments in the UK. Peter Oborne, a well-known political commentator and author of the best-selling book about Boris Johnson Assault on Truth, speaks of a neo-con coup at the heart of Government. The leading personality in this enterprise is Michael Gove, an extreme figure who has rejected many of the core policies of the British State, like its support for the Oslo Accords and the Good Friday Agreement - and seeks to severely curtail Britons' right to protest.
Central to Gove’s thinking is the idea that “the West” is in an existential conflict with the rest of World, including Islam, Russia and China, and that in pursuit of victory, the end justifies the means. This project is being carried forward by attacks on key institutions central to our system of Government, notably the BBC and the civil service, and the brazen politicisation of public appointments, putting poorly qualified right-wing placemen in positions of authority. Notably, he cites the following individuals:
Robin Simcox, who comes from a series of structurally Islamophobic organisations and is now appointed Commissioner for Countering Extremism;
William Shawcross, who has made terrible remarks about Islam and is given the job of reviewing the Prevent Strategy, and;
Lord Walney, a man with no credentials, who has accepted hospitality from the Israel lobby and has made a series of critical remarks about Palestine Solidarity and the marches.
Oborne characterizes this as an attack on freedom of association and freedom of speech. He goes on to note that those who have made a career of denouncing cancel culture, people like Nigel Farage, Piers Morgan and Julia Hartley-Brewer, have been all but silent about attempts to drive Muslims and other supporters of Palestinian rights out of the public domain.
Why CAMPAIN supports the Rally
A range of organisations supports the Rally, each with its own ideas and perspectives. However, all agree on certain underlying principles like freedom of expression and association, and the legal right of the Palestinians to resist Israel’s violent occupation.
Many Palestinians have tried resisting by non-violent means. However, Israel has answered with violent repression, and in the UK, Michael Gove is seeking to shield it from the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement with his atrocious Anti-Boycott Bill. Under circumstances in which Palestinians are denied any peaceful or political path to rectify the injustice, oppression and dispossession that they face daily it is tragically inevitable that some resort to violence.
We are protesting the complicity of our own Government (and Keir Starmer’s opposition) with Israel’s 100-year-old ethnic cleansing project, now expressed in genocidal violence against the Palestinians. And we are outraged at political manoeuvres that threaten the heart and soul of our own nation, in which right-wing extremists are charged with clamping down on defenders of human rights in the name of fighting extremism.
CAMPAIN is a secular organization involving people of different faiths and none. Nonetheless, we note that the three great monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism all contain injunctions to treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated. If we work together from that perspective, we can push back against those who seek to drive us apart, and advocate for a resolution that honours the rights and dignity of all.
Attending the rally
The Rally takes place on Friday 5th April, and starts at 3pm, outside the Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, Westminster, London SW1P 4DF.
CAMPAIN will be there with its banner. If you wish to join us, please write to us at admin@campain.org so we can supply instructions.