“A future of liberation for all is possible”: Nadia Whittome MP’s speech at the Notts Friends of Standing Together vigil

I want to say thank you to everyone for their beautiful and moving contributions today.

When I was thinking about what I wanted to say today, I really struggled. How do you begin to sum up the sheer enormity of the pain, death and destruction of the past year?

How do you include within that every innocent victim, no matter their nationality or ethnicity, without drawing false equivalences?

How do you address a vigil, a space which is often seen as not the place for politics, about something which is so deeply political?

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m going to do my best, but getting all this right isn’t easy, so I hope you’ll be generous with me if you feel the balance is slightly off.

From Gaza to Israel, from Lebanon to the West Bank: this year has seen war crimes on a truly terrible scale.

Indiscriminate attacks on civilians, wherever they occur, are wrong: from Hamas’ horrific atrocities in Israel on 7th October, to the Israeli government’s genocidal assault on Gaza.

And one can never justify the other. Dead children do not justify more dead children.

They do not justify bombing schools or targeting emergency workers.

They do not justify starvation, displacement or mass murder.

And the Israeli government’s appalling actions following the atrocious attacks on 7th October don’t even bring safety to Israelis. They just continue the cycle of endless war, destruction and death.

World leaders are also enabling this. Those responsible for war crimes must be held to account – whether they are our supposed “allies” or not.

In fact, we have a special responsibility to stop the Israeli government because of our relationship.

Instead Israeli leaders are being treated with impunity, even as they expand war across more and more of the region, bombing and invading. Not only this, but governments like ours are continuing to allow arms to be sold to them. This is undermining the entire international legal order.

So today we stand in solidarity with all those who are grieving loved ones, who are dealing with life-changing injuries, who are displaced from their homes.

We stand with Israeli hostages and Palestinians prisoners unjustly detained.

We call again for a ceasefire, and for our government to do more than just repeat these calls – for it to pull every diplomatic lever possible to bring one about. For it to end arms sales to Israel and hold the Israeli government to account.

And we call for a just and lasting peace. Because we know that none of this started a year ago. And we know that until Israel stops its illegal occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza, it will not end. That there must be a free, viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

I just want to finish by reflecting on another event. This week also marked the 88th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street.

It was an incredible example of tens of thousands of people coming together to prevent Oswald Mosley’s fascists marching through a predominantly Jewish community.

They were Jewish, they were Irish Catholic, they were workers of British and other nationalities.

Why do I speak about this today?

In Israel, Standing Together operates in the same tradition – forging links across community lines to oppose anti-Palestinian racism and the Israeli far right.

And here in the UK, as we fight for a ceasefire and for a just peace, we must stand against the rising antisemitism and Islamophobia that only harms communities and makes us weaker.

We recognise our shared humanity, no matter our race, religion or nationality.

And we believe that from Israel and Palestine, to the UK, a future of co-existence and liberation for all is possible. That’s what we’re fighting for.

Thank you.

Posted on 7 October