The Return of Firebrand George Galloway

 

By David Starr

 

He’s been called a “firebrand” and “disrupter” for taking political stands that worry the British establishment. 

 

After a stunning by-election victory in Britain, specifically in the town of Rochdale, George Galloway has returned to become a member of parliament in the House of Commons. Highlighting Galloway’s electoral campaign was his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He declared that his victory was for Gaza, which has suffered an Israeli “blitzkrieg” with heavy bombing and shooting by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). 

 

Now, Palestinians have a forceful voice in the British parliament to challenge the establishment on its own stand regarding the Israel-Palestine war. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is a tory (conservative) and is thus a supporter of the war; since it’s a habit of conservatives to push for and glorify war. After Galloway’s victory, Sunak stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street in front of a crowd to declare that Britain has to worry about “extremism.” That’s a strange remark coming from someone who supports Israel and thus its own extremism, or more to the point , its attempted genocide of Palestinians.

 

Galloway founded the Workers Party of Britain in 2019, which is considered a “hard-left” and “fringe” party. But Galloway and the party have been apparently popular, at least in Rochdale, as they are supported by many Muslims in that area. Galloway took 39.7 percent of the vote in Rochdale, which turned out to be a blow-out with the rival Labour Party candidate Azhar Ali gaining only 7.7 percent of the vote. Before the vote, Ali was shunned by his fellow Labour Party colleagues for allegedly making anti-Semitic remarks, which resulted in Ali’s downfall in the election.

 

But every time there’s a criticism of Israel, the anti-Semitic card is whipped out. Ali’s remark could have been truly anti-Semitic, or he was criticizing Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. The Labour Party, which previously was literally pro-labor, changed in the 1990s when Tony Blair took up the leadership role. Labour became more pro-business and thus takes reactionary positions when it comes to the issue of Israel’s aggression. Like the Biden administration, Labour fully supports Israel “defending itself.” But Israel has gone way beyond self-defense.

 

Galloway was a part of Labour, specifically, with the Scottish Labour Party, joining in 1981 and was pegged as being a rising star in the ranks. But when the 2003 Iraq War was going on, Galloway took a stern position in opposing the war, knowing it was based on lies. George W. Bush Jr. and his regime in the U.S. forcefully pushed for the war, with Tony Blair being a junior partner. When Galloway rebelled against Labour’s position on the war, Blair had him expelled from the party.

 

Galloway’s support for the Palestinians, and Palestine, is very sincere. He began to take this stance after a trip to Beirut in 1977. A week after returning to Scotland, Galloway made a vow that he would support the Palestinian cause for the rest of his life. In 2002, having spent some time in the Palestinian territories, Galloway met Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

 

Besides being called a firebrand and disrupter, Galloway has also been called a veteran political agitator, left-wing and controversial. And being controversial, Galloway has made some off-the-wall remarks. For example, in 1987, Galloway attended a charity conference in Greece.  A journalist asked him about his presence in that country. Galloway answered that he has spent time with some Greeks, in particular, women. He added that he had sexual experiences with some Greeks.

 

Even though Galloway’s remark was bizarre, that is overshadowed by his commitment to pursue justice for the Palestinians. And the Palestinians have not been given a fair analysis in the British media. Pro-Palestinian supporters have also not been exempted. Both have been labeled as a threat to democracy and that they should be banned. This helps the government to hide its own failures by also portraying them as trouble-makers, outsiders, a threat and undemocratic. 

 

But while protesters see the support of Gaza as a major priority, there’s also those government failures: corruption, high living costs, an unequal distribution of wealth, heavy taxes, increasing poverty, and homelessness. Those problems also come to the forefront. With the government having its priorities ass-backwards (similar to the USA), more funding goes into fueling Israel’s war based on the full support of the “Holy Land.”

 

Besides being call a variety of names, Galloway has been accused of playing the Muslim card. In Rochdale, there’s a majority white population, but with a sizable Muslim minority. Galloway is portrayed as being an opportunist, taking advantage of the Muslim community. But most of his votes came from the white population. 

 

Many of Gaza’s supporters are not Palestinian. They are, for example, Orthodox Jews and Christians. Many Jews, in fact, have come out to protest Israel’s occupation, settlements and the war in Gaza. Some even say that Israel should not be existing at this time. According to their belief, Israel will be established when their messiah comes. This puts the Zionist version of Israel under heavy scrutiny. Zionism is an ultranationalist and religiously fanatical movement. For about 75 years, it has been aggressive in gradually stealing Palestinian land and treating Palestinians in a brutal and humiliating way. Israel’s war crimes in Gaza are the most terrifying example of what has been going on for decades.

 

After his victory in the Rochdale by-election, Galloway heavily criticized Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Galloway said, “Keir Starmer–this is for Gaza. And you will pay a high price, in enabling, encouraging and covering for, the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.” Galloway continued: 

 

“I want to tell Mr. Starmer above all, that the plates have shifted tonight. This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies…Labour is on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them, generation after generation…Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight.”

 

Galloway’s victory could indeed be a real threat to the Tory-Labour hold on power if a mass, working class movement can go further in opposing the current establishment until it has its own victory in changing not only British politics, but be an influence in changing the current world order. It’s a struggle that will continue.