By Willow Evans, WUN member

Never am I more proud of my home than when I see the Welsh and Palestinian flags flying together. In the past year, comrades of all backgrounds, races and religions have united under these twin banners into a powerful movement for peace and justice. We have brought the Intifada to Welsh towns, Welsh cities, Welsh streets, Welsh shops, Welsh universities and Welsh union meetings. In great numbers we have come together to loudly proclaim that Wales stands with Palestine.

Of course, calls for Palestinian liberation can be heard in every corner of the world, but in Wales those calls have taken on a uniquely Welsh character, with Welsh organisations and Welsh messages behind them. A new Welshness is emerging in the Palestine movement, a radical Welsh identity founded on anti-imperialist action. We align ourselves against the oppressor and with the oppressed, against the British State and with the Palestinians. Now, when I hear “Ry’n ni yma o hyd” – “We are still here”, I think not just of Welsh cultural resistance but of the struggle for Palestinian liberation. The Welsh Palestine Movement is a movement to build a nation of solidarity.

What has struck me in particular about this movement is the overwhelmingly good-faith, friendly and welcoming attitude it has taken on. Spurred by the suffering of the Palestinian people and the urgency of their situation, I’ve seen new friendships forged, old differences forgotten and thousands speak with a single voice. We know that our petty disagreements and dislikes mean nothing against the growing list of atrocities committed by the illegitimate Israeli state, and we have put them aside for that reason. This new spirit of cooperation has come to us not a moment too soon, and with it we have achieved a great deal in a short space of time.

Activists have raised the issue of Palestine with stickering, banner drops and rallies. With marches, occupations and direct actions we have made it impossible to ignore. By boycotting Israeli goods, fundraising for refugees and blockading arms factories, we have provided concrete material support for the Palestinian cause. Cardiff has had a well-attended Palestine march every Saturday since last October. Newport, Wrexham and Swansea have also had weekly protests, and a weekly vigil has been held in Abergavenny. Organised by Stop the War, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stand Up 4 Palestine and others, such events have become a regular sight across Wales. Perhaps most importantly, in the past year the Cymru Peace Coalition (themselves a loose collection of activists from many different groups) have taken action against arms factories in Glascoed and Aberporth, as well as in Bristol. All this deserves recognition and celebration – this year of solidarity has been a year to be proud of.

In holding their respective universities to account, Cymru Students for Palestine and the student encampment movement have weathered a storm of lies and abuse. Amidst a hostile environment they became havens for radical thought, conversation and action, and thereby built strong networks of solidarity. In Swansea, the movement has pushed the university to divest from Barclays, to affirm the rights of students to speak out for Palestine, and to reaffirm their policy of not investing in arms companies. In Cardiff, students have won disclosure of the university’s finances, a doubling of asylum seeker scholarships, the hosting of a displaced academic, a review of university investments and a student encampment working group. In Bangor, as well as other places in Wales, the fight continues. Welsh students have a great deal to be proud of, and a great deal more action ahead of them.

Sewing circles in Cardiff, Pontypridd and elsewhere are a key part of our coalition, and it would be foolish to doubt their importance. Queer art collective S.P.A.F have been hard at work on a beautiful Palestine Solidarity Quilt, bringing people together to sew and to talk of change. Their crafts workshops have not only produced stunning pieces of art, they have also facilitated new conversations and brought new people into the movement.

Local tenants union ACORN have had members at every single Palestine march in Cardiff, and regularly sent delegations bearing their flag. Nationally, they have committed to boycotting Israeli goods, and internationally they have affiliated to the Popular Struggle Coordination Centre, a West Bank group that protects olive groves from Israeli settlers.

Cymru Queers for Palestine have been organising feeder marches, protest blocs and direct actions to reject the pinkwashing of the Israeli regime. Their disruption of Cardiff Pride was an unforgettable moment in the queer history of Wales, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with the corporate, pro-cop, “apolitical” version of pride that we are given.

This is only a fraction of the work people have done in the past year. North and South, East and West, Wales has been filled with the sound of chanting in English, Welsh and Arabic. Our message has been clear: we will not meekly sit by and watch this genocide happen.

My own organisation, the Welsh Underground Network, has been busy: fundraising for the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, helping out at student encampments, supporting the Solvay Three actionists, opposing Zionist politicians alongside Cardiff Stop the War & the RCP, organising protest blocs, and mobilising our members to direct actions. Perhaps our finest achievement was that the WUN and the PGC (Plaid Gomiwnyddol Cymru) led a Palestine bloc at a Welsh Independence march in Carmarthen. Our vision is of an anti-imperialist Wales where all are welcome, all are safe and all push together for a better world. To achieve that vision we must kick arms companies out of our country, coordinate a nationwide boycott of Israel, confront our Zionist politicians and loudly proclaim with a single voice that from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

I know that we are all tired of the petty arguments, factionalism and otherwise embarrassing conduct that have plagued the Welsh Left for years, and that’s why the goal-oriented, non-sectarian work we’ve seen is so vital. Together, people from many different groups have built a strong consensus that Palestine comes before partisanship. This, of course, does not mean an end to all disagreements, divisions and criticisms – nor should it, for it is more important than ever that we have a diversity of thought and tactics. But I do hope that, in time, it will mean an end to Zionism in Wales.

Across this country, people have been taking action in their local communities, agitating for socialism, for independence and for Palestine. More must join them, find new radical tactics, and together we will shake the foundations of the world until capitalism, colonialism and racism are dead. I see before me the beginnings of a movement that can smash the British State and end its imperialism forever. When I am weighed down watching the Israeli Occupation Forces commit horror after horror, outrage after outrage, it is my comrades in this movement who lift me up and keep me going. In them I see an example to follow and a heroism to aspire to.

By uniting us to fight colonialism, the Welsh Palestine Movement is leading the way forward and defining what it means to be Welsh. Welsh culture is the peace tent at the Eisteddfod. Welsh culture is red choirs at the peace march. Welsh culture is bringing welsh cakes and daffodils to the student encampment. Welsh culture is Cwtches for Gaza. I salute and applaud every member of this movement: you have shown us all the anti-imperialist nation we could become. I know now that, standing behind the Palestinian resistance and linking arms with other movements across the world, we will free Palestine.

Solidarity, comrades, I’ll see you at the next action.