On August the 1st, the members of SKOJ took part in a rally in support of the people of Palestine, entitled “Stop the Holocaust in Gaza”, which was organized at Republic Square in Belgrade by the Students Front. In addition to a large number of citizens, the rally was attended by members of the Palestinian diaspora in Serbia, the Ambassador of the State of Palestine and the Ambassador of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, representatives of the Iranian Cultural Center, the Network for the Defense of Humanity (MOČ), and the Revolutionary People’s Party-Front (RNPF).
The Students Front, together with SKOJ, joined the global action of solidarity with the Palestinian people, calling for an end to the aggression against Palestine and support for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as well as for the peoples of Yemen and Iran, who are also victims of Zionist and imperialist aggression. The protest carried the message that all peoples must fight against the forces of imperialism within their own countries, and that the people of Serbia—the very same people who in 1999 suffered Western aggression and whose southern province, Kosovo and Metohija, is under NATO occupation—should fight for the complete break of diplomatic relations between Serbia and Israel as long as the genocide in Gaza continues, as well as the occupation of all Palestinian territories.
The main aim of the rally was to highlight the need to stop the “Holocaust in Gaza”, caused by the Zionist regime in Israel. The crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian population of Gaza bear shocking parallels with the atrocities of the Holocaust. Israel is applying Nazi methods against Palestinians, just as the Nazis did 80 years ago in their extermination of Jews, Roma, Slavs and anti-fascists. The latest reports from the ground show images of starving children, reminiscent of those from the Nazi camps. Beyond Gaza, Israel continues to commit crimes in the West Bank, while the Zionist regime led by Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to provoke wider war in the Middle East with the support of the United States. Israel’s military provocations toward Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran pose the risk of a wider conflict, which could also involve imperialist allies led by the United States.
At the protest, SKOJ welcomed the Government’s decision to halt arms exports to Israel, emphasizing that numerous rallies in support of Palestine had significantly influenced this decision. However, SKOJ also once again condemned President Vučić’s statement, made before this decision, in which he boasted that Serbia was the only country in Europe selling arms to Israel. SKOJ also condemned the cooperation of the Serbian authorities not only with the Zionists but also with Western imperialism in general, particularly highlighting the shameful conference on Serbia–U.S.–Israel partnership, held on July 15th in the National Assembly. Speakers on the rally stressed out that Serbia belongs among the countries leading the struggle against imperialism, which is the main culprit for the genocide in Gaza. They underlined that for Serbia it is necessary to abandon EU integrations and the Partnership for Peace with NATO, and instead to establish an alliance and strengthen cooperation with countries such as Russia, China, Venezuela, Cuba, and the DPRK.
