On Saturday 12 July, supporters of Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism in Birmingham attended a march for Palestine organised by the Activist Independent Movement (AIM). Notably, the turnout for the march was much larger than recent Palestine marches in Birmingham, showing that people’s fervour for the Palestinian cause has not wavered but intensified. Headlining the event were figures who have been alienated from other political platforms for their opposition to Zionism. As Israel intensifies its repression of the Palestinian people, so too has the British state intensified its attacks on Palestine solidarity, so it was very encouraging to see the people of Birmingham out in their hundreds, in defiance of an increased presence from West Midlands Police.
The march began in Sparkhill, on the outskirts of the city, before making its way towards the centre, Sparkhill residents waved to the marchers from their windows and came out of their houses to cheer them on and even join in. Protesters were united in numerous loud chants. The chanting espoused the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and to resist foreign occupation by any means, as per international law. Attendees also laid bare the role of the Labour government in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. As a result, the march was greeted with onlookers’ impassioned support from the offset to its conclusion in the city centre. Our supporters carried a large banner demanding full sanctions on the Zionist state and led chants which were enthusiastically taken up by the crowd.
The march travelled up through the Bullring shopping centre with our supporters leading chants of ‘Death, Death to the IDF!’, and finished at the BBC’s office in central Birmingham. Speakers at the end of the march were keen to point out the BBC’s participation in the imperialist narrative surrounding Palestine and the covering up of the British state’s involvement in the genocide. It is clear then that in Birmingham there is demand for a movement which goes further than the positions occupied by mainstream Palestine groups and one which now needs to understand the Palestinian struggle as a fight against imperialism. Get in touch with the Birmingham branch to attend the next march with us!
