From Washington to Cardiff the 'red line' speaks volumes

A symbolic red line, representing all those politicians in the United States and United Kingdom have failed to draw or allowed Israel to cross during the past 12 months, first appeared around the White House in Washington in June after US President Joe Biden had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March that he would cross a “red line” if he ordered an invasion of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter since Israel’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza began in October last year.

Biden’s warning did not prevent Israel going into Rafah and on 8 June humanitarian crusaders in the US surrounded the White House grounds with a red banner showing the names of more than 36,000 Palestinians killed during Netanyahu’s genocidal ethnic-cleansing campaign as a reminder for the US president and a representation of the line they were drawing over his backing of Israel and complicity in supporting the genocide militarily.

A few weeks later the symbolism crossed the ocean to Bournemouth, UK, where a half-kilometre-long satin red line was carried through the streets to serve as a reminder of the boundaries Israel should never have been allowed to cross by a complicit British government and politicians around the globe… boundaries defined by the sanctity of human rights, the horrors of genocide and the atrocities inflicted upon Gaza and Palestine.

So, with the politicians failing to act on their platitudes, it has been left to ordinary humanitarian souls to represent that red line that should never be crossed. And, since its first appearance in Bournemouth on 29 June, the red line has travelled to London, Brighton and Bristol before snaking its way along the streets of Cardiff yesterday where Husam Zomlot, Palestine ambassador to the UK, spoke to the thousands assembled for the humanitarian crusade before moving on to an engagement at the city’s Dar Ul-Isra Mosque in Cathays.

After a number of poignant addresses by members of the Palestinian community in the UK, Zomlot reinforced the message that the past 12 months have seen far too many red lines crossed.

“Killing civilians is a red line,” he said. “Destroying homes, destroying hospitals, bombing schools, bombing churches and mosques, bombing infrastructure is a red line.

“Starving 2.3 million people is a red line. Using disease as a weapon of war is a red line. Displacing 90 per cent of Gaza, 1.9 million people, not once, not twice, but multiple times is a red line. Dehumanising an entire nation is a red line. Normalising mass murder and mass destruction is a red line.”

And, after his address it was time for the red line to be unfurled and carried from the Canal Quarter, down Queen Street, past Cardiff Castle along Castle Street, down Westgate Street and onto Wood Street before ending up in front of the BBC offices in Central Square where there were more speeches.

It was a powerful and emotional statement of support from the people of Cardiff for the hundreds of thousands of innocent victims of Israel’s 12-month terror campaign in Gaza, that is now crossing into Lebanon and Iran with the complicity of the UK and US governments who are supporting Netanyahu’s regime militarily.

So, this morning, I checked to see what coverage my former employer, Wales On Sunday, had given it. Unsurprisingly there was no front-page image of this symbolic red line winding its way through the city accompanied by thousands of humanitarian crusaders, no photograph of the Palestine ambassador to the UK speaking in the Canal Quarter nor at Dar Ul-Isra Mosque and no reference to the march whatsoever.

It’s the first time I’ve checked the paper's coverage of the Cardiff Palestine solidarity marches for months, there really isn’t any point as I already know that Israel’s campaign of genocide isn’t news to the mainstream media, just something to be swept under the carpet and buried as far out of sight of the public as possible.

In today’s “Pride Of The Nation” Plaid Cymru’s call for an "Israel boycott” did make a sidebar on page two alongside a lead story about a solar project blighting a “family’s dream” but nothing about the red line snaking its way through town.

Although there was no coverage of the march on the front page I did notice a small side plug directing readers to page 29 and an offer of 50 per cent off “your favourite newspaper” for six months. Very generous deal I must say, but rather than offer discounts for a paper that shockingly omits probably the capital’s biggest story of the day, why not just cover the news rather than sweeping it under the carpet. People may actually pay the £3 asking price if they felt the news was going to make the paper. You never know, maybe it’s worth a try?