PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak met Benjamin Netanyahu at Downing Street yesterday, just as the Israeli leader faces a huge crisis at home after he has imposed a judicial dictatorship that includes known fascists, and which is opposed by many Jewish people as well as the masses of Palestine.
PM Sunak greeted Netanyahu outside Number 10 ahead of talks over security and the ‘threat’ from Iran. In other words, Netanyahu’s Israel will have the UK ruling classes’ full support and approval as long as it is prepared to mount an attack on the Iranian revolution, probably a nuclear attack, when their masters in London and Washington demand it.
In fact, Israel is being kept going by the major imperialist powers solely for this purpose, and none other. Netanyahu also met Home Secretary Suella Braverman on his one-day visit. She has distinguished herself by her determination to force asylum seekers away from Britain’s shores – she wants to send them all to Rwanda on a one way ticket.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters gathered at the gates of Downing Street to demonstrate against Netanyahu’s policies and his conversion of Israel into an open fascistic police state.
A cacophony of noise could be heard, including shouts of ‘shame’, as the Israeli PM made the short walk from his convoy to the steps of Number 10.
A planned photo opportunity for the gathered media was cancelled, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported, and there was no joint statement.
The visit comes at a time of political crisis in Israel, with the country split by the new ultra-right government.
There have been months of some of the biggest demonstrations in Israel’s history.
Netanyahu has defied calls to scrap moves to ‘shake up’ the legal system, amid warnings the crisis is not only causing social upheaval but could harm Israel’s security, with growing numbers of military reservists refusing to serve in protest at the rise of Israeli fascism.
Thursday saw tens of thousands of Israelis take to the streets across the country, in scenes which have been repeated weekly and escalated since the start of the year.
The UK government has not commented on the controversial ulra-right ‘reforms’.
During their meeting, Sunak and Netanyahu were expected to discuss strengthening ‘strategic ties’, the war in Ukraine, and forging ‘a united international front’ against Iran’s nuclear programme, Netanyahu’s office said in advance.’
Another action that has distinguished this visit by the Zionist gangsters is – that the UK Trades Union Congress with its million of members and with a record of opposing racism – has kept quiet. It has not moved as much as a muscle to halt such a disgraceful gathering of the British government and its Zionist gangsters.
The TUC had the power to halt the visit or to greet it with a massive demonstration of out-and-out opposition to the Zionist gangsters, but it has chosen not to do so and has kept quiet.
In fact the TUC has proved to be in practice quite a good friend for the Tories and their various crisis governments.
The TUC could have halted this visit by Netanyahu by threatening to call a general strike but it refused to do so.
It has also allowed the Tory government to begin bringing in legislation that will see strikes banned and trade unionists jailed. It has refused to use its strength to either defend the trade unions and the right to strike or to oppose the rise of fascism in Israel.
The individual trade unions must demand a special recall TUC Congress to both support the people of Palestine against the Zionist gangsters and to organise the general strike to bring down the Sunak government and bring in a workers government that will give full support to the people of Palestine.
The TUC Congress has the power. Workers must make sure that it has a leadership that is prepared to use that power on behalf of the working class of the UK and the world. This is what the trade unions were built for. This is what they must do!