Ahmed Alnaouq confronts factionalism on the left

Yesterday, Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq delivered a powerful mobilising speech confronting the left’s continuous squabbles whilst the far-right are exploiting divisions and soaring in popularity with British voters.

At the Declassified UK summit, Alnaouq called on left-wing fighters against fascism and Zionism to unite against the threats we all face. He challenged us not to fall for the gutter press’ toxic culture wars, amplified by our broken media system. His energised speech reminded us of the power we hold in solidarity and shared resources.

Furthermore, it comes as a wake-up call for socialists across the country: build bridges, focus on what unites us, and stop obsessing over what divides us.

Ahmed Alnaouq: ‘we have everything to unite us’

Since Your Party was announced by Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn in the summer, public spats and our failure to have respectful, decent debate have left socialists across the country frustrated and angry.

Alnaouq’s speech in full was as follows:

I think it is the time for unity. I’m just sick and tired of us people with morals and human rights. I’m sick and tired of us quarreling among each other. I’m sick of us trying to build new parties. I’m sick of us fighting each other, finding ways to divide us from each other.

Well, we have everything to unite us.

My friends, fascism is not at the doorsteps in the UK. It is here. And unless we join forces with each other, unless we hold hands, we will not be able to defeat it. And we don’t have the luxury for trial and waiting. We do not have time. We have to act. My friends, we have the numbers. We have the resources. We have the support of the people. What we don’t have is organisation. We need to learn how to work with each other in order to defeat fascism, in order to defeat far-right, in order to defeat Zionism. And we must never shy away from calling ourselves anti-Zionists because we are anti-Zionists.

Our recent reporting highlighted the deepening split between Your Party’s co-founders, exposing factions more interested in division than unity. Following the launch of Corbyn’s The Many slate, we wrote about the common enemies we should be uniting against:

Both leaders have been clear that they face the same enemies. Wealth inequality, rising costs, oppression, injustice, and war all sit at the centre of their political focus.

Despite those common enemies, as Alnaouq outlines, leftists are not doign enough.

Power for the people, not egos

This issue once again underscores an issue that we know full well permeates through all structures of power: ego and self-advancement. To build a movement that can sustain the fight ahead and withstand attacks from the far right and the media, we must safeguard against self-interest and the hunger for power. Those shady, unwelcome interests will continually seek to manipulate the overall movement for their own advantage, which will only weaken us all in the end and lose the battle ahead.

Capitalist, neoliberal abuse won’t fall on its own. In order to beat billionaire-funded fascism we must have a socialist movement run and powered by its members. Anything else is just repeating failure and hoping for miracles.

As Alnaouq pleads, it is high time for the left to finally learn our lesson.

Featured image via Instagram