How Gaza sparked a new movement for justice in the UK: Opinion
On a small self-built stage at 6am in a leisure centre in Portslade, I stand side by side with the people and politics I felt compelled to stand against in the 2024 general election. We have all put ourselves forward for the people’s vote, and now the value of our voice is measured by a number. The precise number of people I represent at this moment is 3,048. I am disappointed.
I soon learned it is a high score for a very short political campaign with no party brand or media coverage. Gaza ceasefire candidates did best in areas with major Muslim populations, where many voters felt ignored by the main parties.
Hove and Portslade, where I stood, is a city with only a 2.2 percent Muslim population. Nationally, five independents were elected that morning and many thousands of votes went to other independents who stood for an end to Israel’s genocide, as well as to the Greens for their pro-ceasefire stance.
As I step out into the morning rain, exhausted from a relentless six weeks, I realise, with discomfort and appreciation, what Palestine has done for the British left. It is the beginning of a movement for justice and humanity that our establishment parties and media wish would go away. It won’t. It’s just beginning.
As I write this reflection, history has drawn the line sooner than we thought and it is no longer legally advisable for our government to stand against the long-overdue warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest.
A strange respect grew between some of us candidates over many hustings - the debates held during election campaigns. The Lib Dem candidate argued hard against Labour’s stance on selling weapons to Israel; while Reform’s candidate always shakes my hand as he walks past.
Both Reform and I take the voice of the people as our starting point, but Reform turns the blame on small boats, where the independent candidates are fighting the war machine which causes people to risk their lives travelling on small boats.
Even though the Greens did call for an immediate ceasefire, the reason I stood was not just relatability as a British Palestinian. Alone, our campaign foregrounded the Palestinian cause and named this as a genocide. For many of us, we are aware of the chasm in the emotional response and the option to otherise this horror and simply add it to a wish list of policies. That compartmentalised approach to Israel's actions in Gaza relegates its significance and reduces the humanity of its victims. Otherism is a building block of inequality and racism.
Read more: How Gaza sparked a new movement for justice in the UK:Opinion by Tanushka Marah
