Jeremy Corbyn joins tens of thousands showing support for the Gaza Sunbirds and their goal to support Palestinians facing Israel’s brutal assault. On a bike ride through Caledonian park, the former Labour leader, recently re-elected independent Islington MP and avid cyclist meets with Karim Ali, co-founder of the Gaza para-cycling team. Corbyn sings Bob Marley with him, as well.
Discussions around a year of current attacks, the movement against Israeli occupation and the Gaza Sunbirds’ courageous aid missions prompt reflections on the role of cycling, mobility justice and the relevance of wisdom from figures like Bob Marley in the conversation about Palestine.
Israel’s actions are “disgusting”
“First of all, everything that’s happening in Gaza is unbelievably disgusting…50,000 lives gone” said Corbyn.
With a rising death toll as a result of Israel’s current assault on Palestinians and Lebanese people, 99,500 injured, nearly 10,000 missing and 1.9 million displaced, the pair look for hope in a positive shift in public sentiment over the last twelve months.
Corbyn said:
A lot of the people that have been protesting around the world, including a lot of those students in the U.S.A. have probably never given Palestine or Gaza a thought before and they did come out and do something. We had almost a million people in Britain on the big demonstration to the U.S. embassy. Extraordinary numbers.
A long-standing champion of social justice, Jeremy has consistently advocated for the rights of the Palestinian people throughout his political career.
He has played a pivotal role in various campaigns such as “Stop the War,” the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and, most recently, an Independent Alliance group with other independent MPs opposing Israeli attacks on Gaza.
His bike ride with Karim prompts reflections on the significance of complimenting this type of action with celebration of Palestinians and their right to self-expression. Corbyn said:
It’s important that there be this cultural expression of Palestine and Palestinian people because anyone who’s not very involved or informed would say the Palestinians are always victims. Yes, of course they’re victims. But they’re also people with imagination, with ideas, with literature, with poetry, with music, with art. We need to see and hear that as well.
Corbyn sings Marley, discusses disability, and more
Topics like this are steered through seamlessly on the ride through Caledonian park, breaking briefly for a singalong to Redemption Song by Bob Marley, a shared idol for the two. They discuss amputations in Gaza as a result of attacks on the strip, life for those affected and how bikes can bring independence. As Corbyn noted:
Mobility comes in many forms. It can come through depending on the condition. It comes from a wheelchair. It can come through crutches for walking or the liberation of cycling.
These conversations are close to the hearts of the Gaza Sunbirds and its 20 athletes who have all lost limbs due to previous Israeli aggressions.
The para-cycling team were forced to give up their training regime after 7 October 2023 and instead, have been distributing over $280,000 USD worth of food and supplies across Gaza supported by their funding partners Amos Trust and ASC ONG.
As well as this, their captain Alaa al-Dali was able to realise the dream the squad were founded on by flying the Palestinian flag on the world sporting stage at the second biggest international para-cycling event last month.
He was evacuated to race at the Zurich UCI World Championships. Seeing Alaa succeed on this incredible journey, Karim affirms, has been a ray of hope as he asks Jeremy to share his own hopeful symbol. Corbyn noted:
To me it’s the inspiration of people who move between societies and then somehow or other, not just survive, but thrive, and their communities thrive…they did it because that’s what they believed in.
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