An ‘Assembly for Palestine’ showed the power that people can have

Against the backdrop of a seemingly endless genocide with absolute impunity provided from Israel’s Western partners, it can feel like the fight is hopeless as fatigue sets in. Fatigue is human, and arguably it is what our governments are counting on as they drag their feet in opposing the murder and brutalisation of an entire population – indiscriminate of guilt, age, or gender.

We have to prepare for this fatigue and restore our energies both individually and collectively if we want to realise an end to arm sales and an unconditional ceasefire, especially when Lebanon is now facing the same threat of destruction and Israel’s attempts to plunge the West into an unjust war across the Middle East.

An ‘Assembly for Palestine’

In Warrington, we organised an ‘Assembly for Palestine’ where we openly invited those in our community to gather in our grief and anger over one-year into this horrific aggression. Our language and how we communicate ourselves matters and it must mirror the true extent of Western involvement, and how we organise ourselves must require a long-term framework of activism to ensure we are consistently advocating for our brothers and sisters in Palestine.

As Matt Kennard of Declassified UK states on X, following Declassified UK revealing the surge under Starmer in US special ops flights to Israel using our UK base in Cyprus:

We are not complicit in the genocide. We are participants. The shame should never leave us.

It is a damning indictment of our political class that we are left so devoid of representatives who are prepared to speak to the conscience of their constituents, instead choosing to tow the lines of power and party over basic principles of humanity and international law.

Just as the silence of our leaders can breed silence amongst the masses, courageous voices have the power to breed courage and confidence amongst passers by and those they meet. It is through our own dogged determination that others will seek to understand, with more joining the movement as time goes on.

What we have to say is worth taking responsibility for.

Collectively we can make ourselves heard

Lee Hunter, brigade secretary for the Fire Brigades Union for Merseyside and acting regional chair for the North West, stated:

The dehumanisation of the Palestinian people by Israel has been ongoing since well before October 2023. They have been left without a voice. Assemblies are a way of us collectively being that voice for them.

I have been imploring people not to look away when we are faced with what is happening, as horrific as the images are. Instead we must use the anger and upset that we feel and turn it into a positive force to speak out against the inactions of our elected leaders.

One voice may be lost in the crowd, but collectively we can make ourselves heard and speak for the Palestinian people.

Following initial speeches, those in attendance at the Assembly for Palestine were split into four groups, each sat in a circle.

We then invited discussion on the lessons learned from other actions seen across the world. This prompted a passionate and informed discussion, from those in our Muslim community and from those who have spoken and fought for Palestine for decades through their activism, such as with the Stop The War Coalition.

An ‘uplifting’ Assembly for Palestine

Jacqui, who attended, spoke to her direct connections to Palestine and the Nakba of 1948, when her Palestinian-Christian family were forcibly displaced from their homes, walking mile upon mile to find safety and shelter.

As a child of a Christian-Palestinian woman displaced in the Nakba, it fills me with immense sadness that history is repeating itself. I know how painful it was for my family then, so I can only imagine what it’s like for the people of Gaza today.

What I have found heartwarming though is how so many have got behind Palestinians over the past year, seeing the protests and the flag being waved. The Assembly for Palestine in Warrington was uplifting, seeing people of all ages and backgrounds coming together for a common cause.

I am excited to see how we join together and plan events to keep our voices heard!

These discussions led to identifying the biggest issues that we needed to confront in our communities. These were the systematic and deliberate dehumanisation of Palestinians, the lack of education around the history of Palestine, fatigue, and finally the feeling of being powerless.

This enabled further conversation about how we could combat this, with ideas put forward to have a ‘Fair for Palestine’, celebrating the culture and educating communities on the rich and diverse history of Palestine. This would seek to combat the efforts to dehumanise and demonise Palestinians and their resistance.

It was also decided that more effort should be put into informing and educating people so that they can understand the conflict through their own eyes, rather than through the biased reporting of mainstream media.

This will be carried forward as a stand in our town centre, every week, for people to approach and encourage dialogue. It is only through embracing the difficult conversations that we can make progress in breaking through the normalisation of western aggression in the Middle East spanning decades.

People have the power. So, focus it.

The assembly also provided the means of identifying individual strengths, with the ability to coordinate letters to MPs and other leaders amongst a group of volunteers who aren’t active on social media. This ensures that energy is maintained, with maximum impact on MPs’ inboxes as a result of a coordinated campaign.

In addition to this, we also agreed that we should focus on a fixed, visual, and interactive protest in our town centre and look to work with other networks for Palestine to fortify the resistance against Israel’s onslaught and to highlight the importance of international law for global peace.

The people have power, and if we organise assemblies in our hometowns we help people find and focus that power.

At a time when many seek to divide our communities, we must come together to realise the kind of world we need to see.

Featured image via the Canary