A-Infos (en) Australia, Melbourne MACG: The Power To Stop a Genocide By Ablokeimet (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The genocide in Gaza has been paused by the current ceasefire. Phase 1, 
which provided for a cessation of military action and a staged exchange 
of hostages, was due to end on March 2. Phase 2 provides for a permanent 
cessation of hostilities and total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, along 
with the exchange of more hostages, including all remaining Israeli 
hostages. ---- Israel has refused to shift to Phase 2, or even to make 
serious negotiations about it. Instead, it has demanded an extension of 
Phase 1, with the remaining hostages exchanged under that. It has also 
threatened dire consequences if Hamas doesn't agree. The difference 
between the two positions is that, under its own proposal, Israel won't 
withdraw from Gaza. By refusing to move to Phase 2 and demanding 
changes, Israel is in violation of an agreement it signed less than two 
months ago.

Since reneging on the ceasefire agreement, Israel has imposed a total 
embargo on aid entering Gaza and cut off the supply of electricity. This 
is a war crime of immense proportions and, if persisted with, would mean 
re-commencing the genocide of Gaza.

Meanwhile, on 5 February, Donald Trump, the US President, announced his 
intention to support the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and its redevelopment 
into the "Riviera of the Middle East", with the United States owning it. 
The Palestinians were to depart to unspecified Arab countries and 
possibly dispersed amongst many. This would be a crime against humanity, 
aggravated by the level of violence necessary to compel the Gazans to 
submit to a second Nakba.

Trump's proposal is aligned with Israel's tactics over the Gaza 
ceasefire. His proposal makes public US support for Israel's maximum 
military objective in Gaza, which is the total depopulation of the 
territory of its Palestinian inhabitants. However, the US plan for Gaza 
faces an obstacle in the opposition of all Arab States to taking 
refugees from Gaza. An Israeli assault on Gaza that drives the 
population over the border into Egypt's Sinai peninsula would overcome 
this. Given the Palestinian resistance to being displaced, the assault 
would need to have genocidal dimensions, with no upper limit on the 
casualties imposed. Presumably, Trump considers the political fallout in 
Egypt would be manageable.

Genocide Must be Stopped
With the US eagerly participating in the genocide of Gaza, both through 
political support and through providing Israel with the arms necessary 
to accomplish it, international law requires other countries to do all 
within their power to stop the genocide. Stopping military exports to 
Israel, including parts that go via the US or elsewhere, is therefore 
compulsory. States which won't do this are, themselves, guilty of genocide.

Central to Israel's military operations is the F35 fighter-bomber, which 
is manufactured in a distributed process in the US & across a number of 
key US allies, including Australia. Some of the components are only made 
in Australia and the plane can't fly without them. A particularly 
telling example is that the bomb bay doors for the F35 are made here. 
Workers in Australia have the ability to stop Israel's genocide in Gaza, 
even in isolation.

If governments won't act to stop the genocide, it becomes an obligation 
for workers in relevant industries to do so. Unions worldwide should ban 
the export of war materiel, automobiles, oil and petroleum products to 
Israel. In Australia, this means F35 parts. While workers who 
manufacture these parts should ideally do this, our best opportunities 
today are in preventing their transport via sea or air. Workers in a 
position to black ban war materiel are far more likely to do so if there 
is a large public campaign supporting this.

The Task Before Us
Workers in every union should form groups opposing the Gaza genocide and 
ethnic cleansing. They should urgently demand black bans on war 
materiel, automobiles, oil and petroleum products bound for Israel, 
directly or indirectly. They should acknowledge that, in Australia, this 
includes F35 parts. They should demand that their union support that 
position and that the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) also 
support it. This means providing relevant solidarity action for workers 
at the pointy end who will actually be implementing bans. These groups 
should link up together to wage a strong public campaign demanding the 
Labor Government cut off the export of F35 parts and demanding the ACTU 
black ban them until it does.

This campaign will not be welcomed either by the Labor Government or the 
union officials. Support for Israel is cemented into the Labor Party at 
all levels and even the current Gaza genocide has only compelled it to 
make marginal changes to its language. The union officials, meanwhile, 
though somewhat more critical of Israel and a little more supportive of 
Palestinian aspirations, are rigidly opposed to independent actions that 
would break the legal straightjacket of anti-union laws in Australia.

The fact that the legal obligation to prevent genocide trumps industrial 
law won't change that.

Workers organising to stop the genocide in Gaza should certainly seek 
the support of their union officials, but they mustn't let them have a 
veto. Rather, this organising should be done even in the face of 
opposition from the officials if necessary. By organising in the 
workplace, workers in Australia have the power to stop the genocide. In 
the process, workers will build the networks necessary to rebuild the 
unions, which are vital in creating a movement that can make a 
revolution - to abolish apartheid Israel and capitalism all together.

FOR WORKERS ACTION AGAINST GENOCIDE

TOUCH ONE TOUCH ALL

https://melbacg.au/the-power-to-stop-a-genocide/
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