While Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues, thousands of protesters came out on Monday, April 15th, to various cities worldwide to protest against the ongoing genocide, primarily carried out with American and German weapons. They protested in Melbourne, Australia; Gothenburg, Sweden; Barcelona and Tarragona in Spain; Zwolle and Utrecht in the Netherlands; Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark; London, Soweto, and Leeds in Britain; several cities in Canada and some cities in the United States, including Minneapolis, Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; New York City; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Eugene, Oregon; Auckland and San Francisco in California; San Antonio in Texas; Washington D.C., and several other cities, blocking roads, railways, or bridges, besieging government offices or the offices of arms manufacturing and selling companies to Israel, or refraining from loading weapons bound for Israel. Participants in these actions were part of millions who, despite being fired from their jobs, police violence, accusations of anti-Semitism, and the like, have not refrained from protesting against Israel’s genocide, with the United States and NATO turning a blind eye. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli armed forces have killed 33,000 people in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health’s statistics. Although the actual number is higher. Some NATO members, such as the United States government, with billions of dollars and 66% of weapons, the German fascist-leaning government with 30%, and the right-wing Italian government with 5%, have been and are involved in this genocide by providing weapons to Israel. According to the report of the human rights organization “European Monitoring – Mediterranean,” published on April 11th, besides the 33,000 killed, 12,000 others are missing, either under rubble, in Israeli prisons and detention centers, or have been killed there. The organization has so far discovered 120 mass graves that have been dug by Israeli military forces.
While some of the protesters have welcomed the actions of some governments and the United Nations to end the genocide in Gaza, a significant number of them rely on their own strength and actions. For example, radical protesters have organized young people in various cities through social networks under the title “Solidarity Groups with Palestine from the route of shutting down the economy.” The actions of April 15th were called by them. They believe in striking at the economies of governments and major capitalists because they see them as the main cause of the genocide in Gaza. The police, mainstream media, hired pens, rhetoricians, and reactionary politicians fundamentally try to suppress them. Thus far, Israel, despite killing 33,000 and adding 12,000 missing, has failed to achieve its goals.
In conclusion, public opinion and the awakened conscience of the world, manifested in the opposition of workers, the anti-war movement, intellectuals, and humanistic thinkers against the Israeli army’s genocide in the Gaza war, have created the conditions for the clear retreat of states supporting Israel’s crimes. These awakened consciences have led to an increase in the number of opponents of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The anti-war movement, which needs to be broader and strengthened, has the capacity to further confront the heavily armed Israeli army and its right-wing extremist cabinet in its war against the Palestinians. The oppression of the Palestinian people and the genocidal massacre of the racist Israeli government in Gaza should not be allowed to intensify conflicts between the Islamic Republic and the Israeli government and to diminish. Mobilizing public opinion in various countries and attracting the support and cooperation of peace organizations and institutions to pressure their governments to end the blatant genocide in Gaza is an indispensable necessity.
