Word reaches Harry’s Place that George Galloway’s ‘Viva Palestina’ caravan of love has reached Morocco.
George texts an excited supporter:
“Just driven at 40mph through the streets of Tangier. Crowds of people lined the route cheering, giving victory signs and waving. Amazing!”
A fellow pilgrim adds:
“The feeling is immense peace, love, respect and humbleness. The people here are true brothers welcoming us with food, love and hospitality. When the convoy got off the ferry from Spain to Tangier the whole convoy group joined together in one big Jummat.”
Well, that’s lovely. There’s nothing more heart-warming than a big Jummat is there? And very generous of the Moroccan government to provide a police escort for the virtuous crusaders against injustice while they are the esteemed guests of the North African regime.
Putting all that love and solidarity to one side for a moment, let’s remind ourselves for a second or two what the various political reasons for setting the Viva Palestina convoy in motion are. I’m sure we can agree on the following as a minimum programme:
– To protest against and publicise ‘the occupation’
– Ditto with regard to so-called ‘security walls’
– Ditto with reference to the vast numbers of people languishing in refugee camps
– Finally, to provide as much publicity and support for the intifada as possible
Now have a read of these extracts from a Socialist Worker article from 2005, and see if you can guess which stateless and oppressed nation it describes:
This is a country occupied by a murderous foreign power for decades. A country split apart by a 1,600 mile series of fortified walls backed by soldiers, heavy weaponry and millions of landmines.
A country with 160,000 people living in refugee camps and yearning to return to their homeland.
It is a country where young and old have declared an intifada against their rulers — and where hundreds of UN resolutions which call for justice have been contemptuously ignored.
Still not guessed yet? The language may be familiar but the target might surprise you.
Look here for the answer.
The conclusion: Jews behaving in a certain way, bad: Arabs doing the same, erm well, you don’t understand, you’ve got to see it in context…ah, can I phone a friend? etc etc
Gene adds: George Galloway supports the Moroccan government’s position on Western Sahara. But check out fellow convoyer Yvonne Ridley’s rather different take on the Western Sahara issue. She as good as accuses people with Galloway’s view of being Zionist stooges.