Andrοs Payiatsos
Read part I here
The Anti-war movement and consciousness
The mass movements that erupted against the genocide took the ruling classes in the imperialist countries by surprise given the massive state propaganda in support of Israel.
In the industrially developed countries we had the mass of occupations of universities in the USA and demonstrations of hundreds of thousands, in Australia, Britain, Italy and elsewhere. In the ex-colonial countries, especially in countries with predominantly Moslem populations, millions protested.
The ruling classes in the industrial countries tried to prohibit pro-Palestine demonstrations, characterizing them as manifestations of “antisemitism” but this failed to check the movement. Countries like Germany, that claim to be the epitomes of democracy, would arrest people for even just wearing a Palestinian scarf. These policies however actually backfired and exposed the “democracies” of Europe and the US. “Public opinion” shifted heavily against their governments, against Israel’s war and the genocide.
The vast majority of the people globally reject the narrative of Israel and the Western powers. Even in the major powers of Europe and in the US, the majority stand against their government’s policies and against Israel’s war.
The Economist, on September 18, 2025, summarized the picture as follows, describing it as “striking and sobering”:
“Our polling shows the mood is shifting sharply in America, not just among Democrats but also Republicans. A recent YouGov/Economist poll finds that 43% of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In the past three years unfavorable views of Israel among Democrats over 50, rose by 23 percentage points. Among Republicans under 50, support is evenly divided, compared with 63% for Israel in 2022. If this loss of popular American support continues it will be catastrophic for a small country of 10m people in a hostile neighborhood. Right now, America is all that stands between Israel and pariah status. Optimists will call all of this scaremongering. We believe that view is dangerously complacent.” [Our emphasis.]
The war in Gaza has a major impact on consciousness internationally. It reminds people of the attitude of the old colonial powers in the ex-colonies in the past centuries. It reminds of Apartheid in South Africa. It exposes the Israeli ruling class to an extent that has not been seen for decades. It exposes the Western imperialists for being indifferent to the massacre, for continuing economic and military relations and trade with Israel, and for suppressing democratic rights in the name of fighting “antisemitism”. It exposes their double standards when compared to their stance on Russia and the war in Ukraine. Palestine is one of the most important factors shaping the consciousness of a new generation in this period.
This is bound to be reflected (as an additional factor among many others, like inequality and poverty) on the political plane, sooner or later. In some cases, we see it happening already, for example in Britain and the US. Corbyn’s and Sultana’s new “Your Party” in Britain (if it is indeed successfully created in the end) has a lot to do with their support to the Palestinian cause. And the rise of the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) to nearly 100,000 members coupled with a new surge of support for Bernie Sanders in the US, are also linked to the positions they have taken in defense of Palestinian rights. We say this, at the same time as being aware of the severe political limitations revealed both by “Your Party” in Britain and by the DSA and Sanders in the US.
Many activists in the pro-Palestine movement find it difficult to understand why and how in view of the great pressure of the movement internationally, Israel continues with its ethnic cleansing and the West continues to turn a blind eye to it. The answer to this is that war cannot be stopped just by demonstrations. It cannot be stopped by initiatives like the “March to Gaza” or the “Global Sumud Flotilla” that aim to break the blockade of Gaza. These are important moves, but mainly of a symbolic character, because it is not possible to break the blockade (never mind stopping the war) applied by a mighty military machine, by peaceful means and social pressure.
Only mass strike activity can bring a war to its end. This holds for war in general, and for the present one in Gaza in particular. This is what is missing in the present conjuncture.
Some successful strikes of dock workers in France, Spain, Italy and Greece have blocked some ships carrying ammunitions to Israel. That is to be greeted. But it is far from enough. What is required is complete boycott, especially of arms and ammunitions, at every port; it is mass strikes of whole sectors, including general strikes, against the genocide.
For this reason the general strikes by Italian workers on September 19 and 21 are of particular importance, as is the call by Italian dockworkers to dockworkers in other European countries to meet to discuss coordinating their efforts. These, were followed by a general strike in Italy on October 3, that brought out hundreds of thousands in different cities, overall, more than 1,000,000 workers and youth on the streets. It has been the biggest mobilization of workers in 20 years.
It would of course be too much to expect the current leaders of the trade unions internationally to call for general strikes against the genocide. In our epoch, the trade union leaderships are faithfully and obediently tail-ending the capitalists and their political representatives. But pressure must continue and under certain conditions can bring results. Sectoral strikes, like of the dockworkers or transport workers, are of course possible and need to be pursued vigorously.
This passivity (not to say sell out) by the official trade union movement, is of course linked to the political “weakness” of the Left internationally. The reformist, but also the anticapitalist and revolutionary Left – not to mention of course the ex-reformists who capitulated entirely to the ruling class but try to present a “progressive” face– are facing a major crisis internationally. They are unable to show a way forward, and this is reflected, among other things, in the capitulation of the trade unions to the pressures of the ruling class.
The developments around Palestine, however, are radicalizing people on a big scale. And in this way are creating more favorable conditions for the strengthening of the forces of Marxism or, at least, of the “anticapitalist left” (a broader description of radical left currents, not necessarily revolutionary) in the first instance. This, can prepare the ground for the emergence of powerful revolutionary Marxist currents at a later stage.
The movement inside Israel
The last two years have seen a gradual strengthening of the anti-war mood in Israel. Initially it was the Jews of the diaspora that began to mobilize against the mass slaughter of Palestinian civilians. One of the most well-known protests was in the US where thousands protested, many occupied the capitol and hundreds were arrested. Inside Israel the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, initially played the role of rallying the Israeli population behind the Netanyahu government, as would have been expected, but gradually opposition to the war began to be built. The number of conscientious objectors has been rising and becoming more prominent in social media, while demonstrations against the war have been attracting bigger and bigger numbers. These reached a climax in the recent months.
In the second part of July, when it was established that the Palestinian people were facing famine while the plans of expelling the Palestinian people and turning Gaza into a riviera had already been made public, splits began to emerge in the Israeli ruling class, as numerous important figures came out openly against their government. These included the ex-attorney general and the ex-president of the Israeli parliament, who together with others went ahead with the unprecedented step of calling upon the “international community to impose severe sanctions on Israel” until its atrocious military campaign comes to an end and a permanent ceasefire is imposed.
Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert accused Netanyahu of war crimes and of planning to create a concentration camp in Gaza, which he equated with ethnic cleansing. Yair Golan, leader of the main opposition party, accused the government of killing “babies as a hobby”. Nineteen ex-military chiefs publicly demanded an end to the war. Two well-known humanitarian organisations in Israel, B’Tselem and PHRI, on July 28, presented multi page reports in which they claimed that what Israel was doing in Gaza was genocide, demanding “an immediate stoppage to this crime”.
These processes at the tops were inevitably a reflection of processes taking place in society. A small but very bold minority of conscientious objectors refused to enlist, despite facing prison sentences. The film director Michael Ben Yiair produced the documentary “Νo other land” which won an Oscar in March 2025. More and more workers and youth have been coming out in demonstrations and protests. On August 17 Israel was shaken by a day of protest which in many cases took the form of a general strike. According to the Guardian there were hundreds of thousands in Tel Aviv alone, according to “Democracy Now” there were a total of 1,000,000 on the protests nationally. These, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz, were a clear warning to Netanyahu.
This picture is also reflected in the armed forces. The real figures, of course, are not given out by the Israeli government. These are not only related to the conscientious objectors among the new recruits who refuse to join the army and face (repeated) prison sentences, it is also related to the reserves. According to the Israeli publication 972mag.com, “The Israeli army is facing its biggest refusal crisis in decades”, with up to 50% of reservists refusing to show up:
“At the start of the war, the army stated that it had recruited around 295,000 reservists on top of the roughly 100,000 soldiers in regular service. If reports about 50-60 percent attendance in the reserves are accurate, that means over 100,000 people have stopped showing up for reserve duty”.
1,000,000 people on the streets, a mass refusal of up to 50% of reserves to show up, and key political and other figures that represent a section of the ruling class, in opposition to Netanyahu’s war – these are indications of a society in crisis while at war. This shows the potential for a class approach to the national question.
The 3rd and final part will be published on Tuesday, October 7th
