UK Labour Party bans words ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ from annual conference
Liverpool (Quds News Network)- UK Labour Party managers blocked the words “genocide” and “apartheid” in reference to Israel’s policies against Palestinians from being used in brochures at a side event during its annual conference in Liverpool on Monday.
The conference’s start was marked by pro-Palestine protests on Saturday with over 15,000 people marching through the city to express their opposition to the United Kingdom’s arms sales to Israel amid its ongoing assault on Gaza.
Last Saturday over 15,000 people took to the streets of Liverpool for the 19th National march for Palestine. We brought a clear message to the Labour government, #StopArmingIsrael now!
We can't stop here. Join us for the 20th national march back in London on October 5, when we… pic.twitter.com/SH47gwWsRf
— Palestine Solidarity Campaign (@PSCupdates) September 24, 2024
A fringe event on Palestine was planned at the conference on Monday.
However, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) revealed that party managers refused to allow the words “genocide” and “apartheid” to appear in the name of its fringe event scheduled for the conference brochure, according to Middle East Eye.
The event, featured members of pro-Palestinian groups in a panel discussion alongside Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, was described as “Justice for Palestine”, with the phrases “end the genocide” and “end the apartheid” removed, Middle East Eye reported.
PSC director Ben Jamal told Middle East Eye: “I think what this speaks to is the party leadership’s failure to address the root causes of the current violence that is happening in Palestine. It says it wants that violence to end, it says it wants a ceasefire.
“But it fails to acknowledge that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid, a judgement made by the International Court of Justice. It is now on trial at the world’s highest court, the ICJ, which has accepted the plausibility of South Africa’s case that Israel is committing genocide.
“You cannot tackle an injustice unless you’re prepared to name it accurately.”
He added that Labour “still wants to treat Israel as a normal democratic state and therefore as a crucial ally”.
