Middle East

The Assad regime has fallen. In just two weeks, an offensive of Islamic militants led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has swept through the country and succeded in toppling a dynasty that has ruled for over half a century. 

We are currently producing a statement to explain these latest dramatic developments. In the meantime, all of the fundamental points of this article remain true. 

This week has been full of sharp and sudden turns. The Syrian civil war has suddenly reignited due to the shock advance of a Turkey-backed rebel group. The French president was forced to resign after trying to force through an austerity budget. Joe Biden has used his last few weeks in power to pardon his corrupt son. And, to top things off, the president of South Korea declared martial law, only to be quickly defeated by opposition from the whole of parliament and mass mobilisations. 

85,000 students went on strike last week against Israel’s ongoing slaughter in Gaza. This was the largest student strike over international solidarity that Canada has ever seen.

This week, the Middle East has once again dominated the news, with the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the announcement of a supposedly ‘lasting’ ceasefire in Lebanon. In Europe, meanwhile, explosive events are being prepared in France, as the tottering National Assembly is set to face off against a rising tide of class struggle.

On 27 October, Revolutionary Communist University 2024: The Power of Ideas came to a close. This was the second ever Arabic-language school organised by the Revolutionary Communist International. Arabic speakers from Mauritania to Syria sang The Internationaleto celebrate three excellent days of talks and discussions on various theoretical and political topics relevant to the struggle of communists in the Arabic-speaking world.

This is a massive step in the right direction for the Palestine movement in Quebec and Canada. At least 26 student associations representing 50,000 students will be on strike for Palestine on Nov. 21-22!

On Thursday 7 November, Maccabi Tel Aviv played away from home against Ajax Amsterdam in the UEFA Europa League. The fans of Maccabi, the second most popular team in Israel, have also been found to have the second-most racist fans in the country, outdone only by those of Beitar Jerusalem in this respect.

Having failed to destroy Hamas or return the hostages, it is becoming increasingly clear that Israel’s strategy has changed. The whole population remaining in northern Gaza, some 400,000 men, women and children, are being subjected to a policy of ethnic cleansing.

From Friday 25 to Monday 28 October, members and supporters of the Revolutionary Communist International in North Africa and the Middle East are organising the second ever Arabic Communist University, titled, ‘The Power of Ideas!’

Ever since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, the logic of the situation in the Middle East has been moving in the direction of an escalation of the war beyond Gaza. All attempts to hold back this process have followed the same course. The Americans first state they don’t want an escalation. But each time Netanyahu does something to push towards widening the war, because he knows that the US will always fall on Israel’s side.

Israel’s war of words with the United Nations has escalated into deliberate IDF attacks on its peacekeepers in Lebanon. These provocations reveal the embarrassing impotence of the UN and Israel’s sense of utter impunity as it pushes for a new regional war.