Photo Above: Houthi fighters on board a helicopter seize the Galaxy Leader, when the ship owned by Israeli capitalist billionaire, Abraham Ungar was passing through the Red Sea. It is in the service of Israel’s rich capitalist exploiting class, whom Ungar is part of, and their counterparts in the U.S. ruling class that the Netanyahu regime is waging its genocidal assault on the people of Gaza.
Photo credit: Houthi media centre

Support the Pro-Palestine
Actions of Houthi Rebels!

U.S. and Australian Militaries:
Get Out of the Red Sea!

Close the Pine Gap Spy Base that’s
Helping Direct Israel’s Genocidal Hellfire

10 January 2024: Israel’s rulers would not be able to massacre Gaza’s people without the support of the U.S. and Australian capitalist regimes. Even while pretending to care about “minimising Palestinian civilian deaths”, the U.S. is sending Israel huge new weapons caches. For its part, the Australian regime greatly assists Israel to direct its air and artillery strikes through helping operate the NT-based Pine Gap ground station for U.S. spy satellites. Most recently, the U.S. and its allies are insisting on “stopping the conflict from widening”. Their lying media make this seem like a “peace” initiative. But it is the very opposite! The Western powers want to protect the Israeli onslaught by preventing actions in support of the Palestinian people. The “widening of this conflict” through non-Palestinian forces supporting the Palestinian resistance is precisely what is needed! We say: Urge the intensification of attacks on the Israeli military by the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi pro-Palestine groups! Welcome socialistic North Korea’s supply of weapons to the resistance! Hail the acts in solidarity with Palestine by Houthi rebels!

Houthi attacks demanding an end to Israel’s onslaught have disrupted Israel’s trade. When the Israeli rulers are massacring Palestinian people, such economic sabotage is 100% justified. For although they hurt ordinary Israeli people, they also block supplies to the Israeli military and hit the profits of Israel’s capitalist class – the class behind the genocidal regime in Israel. It is possible that some Houthi actions have inadvertently targeted ships not travelling to or from Israel. And it is bad that the resistance acts do put at risk the lives of workers on ships. However, such unwanted consequences are what inevitably happens when brave but poorly-armed resistance forces take on a much more powerful oppressor. Moreover, by forcing several Western shipping firms to redirect shipping from the Red Sea to the much longer route around the tip of Africa, Houthi actions are causing Western company owners to lose big profits. When the regimes that serve these Western capitalists are participating in the Gaza genocide, such blows against Western capitalist profits are what is needed.

To crush Houthi resistance, the U.S. has sent military forces to the Red Sea. The ALP government is dispatching eleven soldiers to back this anti-Palestinian action. We must demand: U.S./Australian military, get out of the Red Sea! We call on all maritime workers unions to refuse to load or crew any ships that shipping lines schedule to traverse through the Red Sea. This is necessary both to support the pro-Palestinian Houthi acts and to protect workers aboard the ships.

The Norwegian-flagged tanker, Strinda. On 12 December 2023, Houthi fighters damaged the tanker with an anti-ship missile after the vessel rejected several warning calls from the rebels. No crew were injured but the ship suffered significant damage. The Strinda was passing through the Red Sea to unload its cargo and then pick up oil or chemicals from a Mediterranean port for scheduled delivery to the Israeli port of Ashdod on January 4. Four days after the attack on the Strinda, the Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line, owned by one of China’s socialistic state-owned enterprises, COSCO Shipping, announced that it “will stop cargo acceptance to and from Israel with immediate effect until further notice”. The Houthi actions have affected the import of some supplies for the Israeli military and by making Israel’s imports more expense and disrupting Israel’s trade have hurt the profits of Israel’s capitalist class – the class behind the country’s mass murdering regime.

What the Australian Government’s Refusal to
Send a Warship to the Red Sea Means and Doesn’t Mean

Although the ALP government is sending troops to the anti-Houthi operation, it declined Biden’s request to send a warship. Some have welcomed this as a sign of the government asserting “independence” from the U.S. and retreating from support for Israel. However, as it explained itself, the government only declined to send the warship because it wanted to concentrate its forces in this region – especially in the South and East China Seas. In plain speak, the Australian regime wants to focus on squeezing socialistic China. This is hardly a noble agenda! Nevertheless, it is good that the warship was not sent. That weakens the anti-Palestinian operation. But Albanese deserves no credit! The credit should go to Red China. For, inadvertently, socialistic China has drawn the fire of the Australian military and that has weakened the Red Sea operation. This is a symptom of a momentous change that is taking place in the world. That is that the rise of a socialistic power in China is challenging the global tyranny of the Western imperialists. Although China’s compromise-seeking rulers do not themselves want to overthrow imperialism and although China’s transition to socialism is wobbly, the successes of her system based on public ownership of key sectors and working-class state power inevitably threatens the hegemony of the Israel-supporting capitalist powers. And the imperialists know this! That is why all those on the side of the people oppressed by the Western capitalists – from the masses of the Global South to the Palestinian people to the working classes and subjugated First Peoples within the West – must unconditionally defend socialistic China. We must demand: U.S and Australian imperialists, stop your provocations against China and get out of the South and East China Seas! Down with the propaganda against China that is used to justify the war drive against her – from the slanders against her highly successful COVID response to the lie that she is persecuting Uyghurs.

For Class War against the Australian Capitalist Ruling Class
That is Participating in Israel’s Genocide!

The greatest force that can topple the imperialist “order” that is massacring Palestinians is the world’s working class. Here, the working class has the power to undermine the Australian regime’s participation in Israel’s massacre through waging class war against the ultra-rich capitalist class that is behind the regime. Mobilising such struggle is possible because the Israel-supporting capitalist class is driving many workers into poverty by slashing real wages, jacking up prices and putting up rents. The fact that many trade unionists and other wage workers have been energised by the huge pro-Palestinian marches – a movement that has brought together Palestinians and other Arabs with Aboriginal people, Asians, Africans, anti-Zionist Jews and anti-racist whites – provides an important platform for building the type of actions needed.

However, for our pro-Palestine movement to be able to push the Australian regime back, we must change its direction. To be sure, there have been terrific speeches at the events – especially by Aboriginal activists – that have indentified Australia’s capitalist rulers as an enemy that needs to be defeated. However, other speeches and slogans have instead sought to win over Australia’s ruling class. Although this latter agenda is still very critical of the rulers, it blames the regime’s stance on the particular stripe of the government or on the government’s lack of courage to resist the U.S. rulers and the pro-Israel lobby. Therefore, according to this latter political line, through either appealing to the humanity of the rulers and beseeching them to show greater resolve to resist harmful influences, or through threatening to change the stripe of the government, the Australian regime can be pulled over to a more humane stance. It is this latter political line that is overall dominant at the pro-Palestine protests. The problem with this agenda is that it is not based on reality. The truth is that Australia’s capitalist ruling class – and all the parties bidding to administer their system – is inherently loyal to Israel. Hence the capitalist rulers cannot be won over. Rather, they must be compelled to retreat. However, as long as the Palestine movement appeals to them as if they could be future, at least partial, allies, the ruling class will not feel threatened by the movement … and hence will not be forced to step back from their pro-Israel stance.

Let us examine some of the flaws in our movement that need correction. Some slogans have appealed to Albanese to “grow some balls” or “get a spine”. The message is that he should follow his own “conscience” rather than being pressured by Washington or the Israel lobby. However, although those pressures exist, the reason that Albanese supports Israel is because that is what is in the interests of Australia’s capitalist class. Australia’s capitalists back Israel because Israel is the USA’s enforcer in the oil-rich Middle East. And Australia’s capitalists need U.S. dominance to be protected because they need U.S. power to both underwrite their imperialist exploitation of PNG, East Timor and other South Pacific and Southeast Asian countries and to lead the charge against socialistic China. Although the ALP has a working class base, the Labor party’s program is to bow to the capitalists on key questions. When Albanese backs Israel’s tyranny, he is merely doing what he does on all other crucial issues – serve Australia’s capitalist exploiting class.

After Canberra voted at the UN for a “humanitarian ceasefire” four weeks ago, some hailed this as the government being dragged into finally taking a more humane stance. Especially pushing this narrative is Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi – who takes a more pro-Palestine position than the Greens’ overall line which is to (despicably) equally condemn Hamas and Israel. But the truth is that the government’s December UN vote does not represent any shift towards a more humane line. Not while the regime has not pulled back one bit from directing Israeli strikes on Gaza through the Pine Gap spy base! And not while Australian troops are taking part in the Red Sea operation! The government’s UN vote was rather an attempt to protect the regime’s “human rights credentials”. They worry too that an escalation of Israel’s massacre could further expose the true colours of Western capitalism and, moreover, provoke such resistance that it destabilises Zionist rule. As both their words supporting Israel’s agenda to drive out Hamas and their actions in Pine Gap and the Red Sea show, in as much as the Albanese government actually wants a ceasefire, they want it to be on Israel’s terms.

Some speakers at the Palestine rallies have vowed to oppose Labor at the next elections. We sure agree with that! At the last elections, unlike the rest of the Left, we in Trotskyist Platform opposed a vote for any of the parties currently in parliament – whether it be the Liberals or the ALP or Greens. But many now rejecting the ALP suggest supporting the Greens. But the Greens, who embrace capitalists amongst their ranks, are just as committed to upholding the rule of the capitalists – the class whose interests lie with supporting Israel. Thus, just like their German counterparts, if the Greens were actually in government they would likely also end up backing Israel. Moreover, when the Australian ruling class sees the Palestine movement today advocating support for the Greens, it reassures them that the movement will not resist their class rule. And that gives them confidence that they do not need to retreat from their support for Israel.

Pro-Greens influence is part of the reason why the Palestine movement has thus far not made opposing the Pine Gap base a central slogan of the protests. Subconsciously in part, leading activists know that highlighting how Australia’s rulers are actually participating in Israel’s genocidal war undercuts their current agenda of trying to win over through pressure sections of the ruling class. They would rather be appealing to the regime to “stand up for humanity” than condemn it as the enemy. However, as we have stressed, as long as Australia’s ruling class do not see the movement opposing them as their enemy, they will not be compelled to retreat. Moreover, if we are not taking a stand on Pine Gap and the Red Sea operation, we are failing to oppose the regime here’s main role in the war on Gaza. Therefore, we make the following appeal to our fellow pro-Palestinian activists: Come to the protests bearing signs demanding the closure of the U.S.-Australia Pine Gap spy base and the removal of all U.S. and Australian forces from the Red Sea! Convince others to also carry such signs! Advocate support for the rise of socialistic China that is threatening the Israel-supporting imperialist order! Expose the Australian government’s con job with its UN “humanitarian ceasefire” vote! Expose illusions in the Greens! Work hard to turn our pro-Palestine movement into a pro-working class movement of irreconcilable opposition to the Australian ruling class that is participating in Israel’s genocide! Support the downfall of murderous Zionism by relentlessly shaking the Western imperialist branches on which it is perched!