Dan, a former student of mine and now an academic, activist and friend, is referring to the regular rallies that are taking place across the world in response to Israel’s annihilation of Gaza. We are talking, at my instigation, about the character of those gatherings; and while in some ways it feels indecent to focus on anything other than the cause itself, it is clear that this spectacular eruption of solidarity with the Palestinian people and cause represents something new to those who regularly attend political rallies, and that Dan is right to note their inclusive and (in particular) familial character. Have the protests mounted in support of Palestine changed the course of Israel’s conduct in this ‘war’? Hardly, though some gentile politicians have come to regret their initial responses to actions now deemed genocidal by commentators schooled in international law. What is clear, however, or is becoming so, is that the protests have changed—are changing—the Left. The precise nature of that change is difficult to articulate, but that it is a change is not to be doubted … [More here]