Workers’ Liberty’s slogans on Israel-Palestine are as they have been for many years, with minor variants: Two states, equal rights; Israel out of the occupied territories; a real independent Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel; Arab-Jewish workers’ unity. And of course immediate demands like “Stop the massacre”.
We used to use “solidarity with the Palestinians”, because in the first intifada (1987-8) and long afterwards it was clear: general solidarity with the oppressed, specific solidarity with an immediate struggle to get Israel out of the occupied territories. It is not clear when Hamas appears as the forefront of “Palestinians”, and we do not wish solidarity with Hamas.
What of other slogans?
Many take “Free Palestine” to mean just general protest against oppression of the Palestinian people. Some interpret it as meaning “two states”. Some even interpret another favourite slogan, “From the river to the sea” as meaning a democratic settlement for the whole area, i.e. two states. But...
“Free Palestine” (or “Freedom for Palestine”) came into wide use from April 2002, introduced by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) as a slogan for the Socialist Alliance (then an umbrella for most of the activist left groups, including SWP and Workers’ Liberty). The SWP said the slogan would make socialists in tune on a demonstration that month which was the first big public appearance of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), British offshoot of the political-Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.
The MAB’s own slogans in that period were such as “Zionists out of Palestine”. The SWP’s aim was to draw in left-minded people with an ambiguous slogan, and then explain to those desiring more “militant” or “Marxist” fare that really only “smash Israel” would do.
The SWP persuaded everyone else in the Socialist Alliance bar Workers’ Liberty to back their ambiguous slogan. Then the SWP also voted down “Israel out of the occupied territories” (though some others voted with us on that). They said it was “the wrong priority”, meaning, as far as I could ever make out, that it implied Israel continuing to exist.
The SWP then got the MAB (still a tiny minority among Muslims here) advertised as co-organiser of the huge “Stop the War” demonstrations of 2002-3 against invading Iraq. “Freedom for Palestine” was added to the demonstration slogans to entice MAB but be bland enough not to put off the mass of liberal-minded protesters.
“From the river to the sea” gained currency then as an unofficial chant nailing down “free Palestine” to sweeping away Israel, but less offputting than MAB’s original “Zionists out of Palestine”.
Variants like “Smash the Israeli terror state” and “End Israeli apartheid” are also now current. They are designed to draw in many who will interpret them as opposition to Israeli policies. For their chief promoters, pushing these slogans in opposition to a “two states” message, the slogans mean: “smash” or “end” Israel. Wrapping the cause of justice in blanded-down versions of the reactionary Hamas programme is no service to the Palestinians.