Palestine Rally in Sheffield in pictures

In affectionate memory of Martin Jordin, who introduced me to Marxism and YEARS later followed me (I DARE SAY unknowingly) into the practice of meditation.

Martin on October 21, 2023, at one of the first Sheffield rallies following Al Aqsa Flood and Israel’s genocidal response

MARTIN DIED JUST AFTER XMAS. HE IS GREATLY MISSED.

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Saturday, April 5. Sheffielders opposed to genocide gathered at Endcliffe Park under a sky of sunlit blue. Exiting the park at Hunters Bar, we were stewarded across the busy roundabout to march down Sharrow Vale Road before turning left onto Hickmott to join Ecclesall Road and head for the Town Hall by way of the pedestrianised Moor.

I met five former colleagues, mostly retired, from my Sheffield Hallam days. (Martin would have made it six.) Another five hailed from my three year stint as a Woodcraft Folk Leader; a further two, only one of whom snubbed me, from my days in a tiny Trotskyist group.

(It’s not just liberals who take offence at my site. Many on the Marxist Left object to my take on Syria, on Putin and the Ukraine War, and on a China I see as humanity’s only hope. ¹ )

Others are less neatly categorised: friends made over decades in what some call the biggest village in Europe, and folk I don’t know from Adam but share my distaste for mass murder.

Jon: stalwart Palestine organiser, and fellow member of an extinct reading group on imperialism

Mehdi: in the 80s we did an M.Sc together, and in the 90s were colleagues at Sheffield Hallam

Let’s hope her focusing is sharper than mine

More dire focusing. In self defence: (a) I had to respond fast; (b) – a technically bad pic may still speak volumes

Steve: another graduate of that imperialism reading group

Jawed: another Palestine stalwart, and former Sheffield Hallam colleague

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1. This is off-topic but for the second time in three weeks I’m indebted to Jan Oberg of Transnational Foundation. This time for alerting me to an April 4 piece, Xi’s Chess vs Trump’s Circus. Here’s its opening …

   As the political West struggles to maintain cohesion in what often resembles a dysfunctional marriage — one seemingly heading toward an inevitable divorce — events unfolding on the other side of the world are fostering optimism and belief in alternatives. China has set out to build a ‘positive peace’ (in Johan Galtung’s sense of well-being, progress, and emancipation). By successfully eradicating extreme poverty, nurturing a stable middle class, and achieving unprecedented economic growth, China has laid the foundations of such peace. With these domestic gains, it’s unsurprising that this philosophy has begun to take on an outward-facing form as well. In alignment with the principles of the United Nations Charter — and drawing on its historical wisdom — China has embraced globalization, seeing it as essential for building bridges of cooperation, all without imposing political conditions or meddling in the internal affairs of other nations.

   … and here’s its closing paragraph:

   At present, China declares, the world is big enough for all. The U.S. retorts, you’re either with us or against us — and if you’re not, you’ll pay higher tariffs or buy our weapons. This is more than just an economic standoff; it’s a civilizational, value-based, and strategic divide. The way this dynamic evolves will define the future of the global economic order.

   It is not remotely Marxist to declare, undialectically, that all capitalism is bad. For the why of that, see my three posts, Why read Michael Hudson?