Once again, bourgeois politicians and media are raising a hue and cry over pro-Palestine protests. This time, it’s over a protest that supposedly took place outside of Toronto’s Mount Sinai hospital. Media have reported on Justin Trudeau’s condemnation, “The demonstration at Mount Sinai Hospital yesterday was reprehensible.” There’s only one problem—the story is made up. There’s no depths that the ruling class won’t stoop to to smear the Palestine solidarity movement and shield their ongoing support for mass murder.

Netanyahu is taking his war to another level. He is on a path he knows he cannot retreat from if he is to remain in office. And yet his actions threaten to destabilise the whole of the Middle East, with the risk of a generalised war becoming ever more real. Revolution is also stalking all the regimes in the region as the anger of the masses is pushed to ever greater heights. The next tragic act, the massive bombing and land invasion of Rafah, could prove to be the tipping point.

Two months after his release from jail, left-wing sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky was sentenced to five years in prison by a Russian appeals court. The Russian law enforcement system showed that it had made an uncommon error in releasing him, rather than showing a sign of a thaw.

This week’s special episode was recorded during the recent meeting of the global leadership of the International Marxist Tendency in Italy. We hear reports from the front lines of the class struggle from five leading comrades involved in building revolutionary communist organisations in: South Africa, Argentina, Pakistan, France and the United States.

The British section of the International Marxist Tendency are proud to commemorate the centenary of Lenin’s death by publishing a book defending his life and ideas, and by launching their new paper The Communist and the Revolutionary Communist Party. The ‘Communist’ Party of Britain, by contrast, is promoting articles on Lenin that only mislead and sow confusion.

“This is a rebirth, a renaissance!” These words, spoken by Alan Woods, leading theoretician of the IMT, encapsulated the mood at a recent meeting of our International Executive Committee (IEC) in Italy. A significant stratum of workers and youth are reaching out to grasp the banner of communism with both hands – we must turn decisively outwards to meet them by building a Revolutionary Communist International.

At the end of January, around 100 comrades of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) from across the globe came together for a leadership meeting that represented a decisive landmark in our history. Below, we publish a full transcript of the opening talk by Alan Woods on the turbulent world situation, and the urgent tasks that this places before communists. On Monday, we look forward to publishing a full report of the meeting, which will include important announcements of interest to revolutionary communists everywhere.

A spectre is haunting the Swiss media – the spectre of the Revolutionary Communist Party! Its launch on Saturday (10/02) by the Spark (the Swiss section of the IMT) has been picked up by all the major media outlets. Blick ran the headline: “Revolution in Switzerland is completely realistic!” The bourgeois paper NZZ went with: “Lenin to rise again in Switzerland”, and 20 Minuten: “Revolution as the target – 250 new communists wanted”.

The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) condemns the proposed expulsion of Communist Ofer Cassif MK from the Israeli Knesset (parliament), and we indignantly protest the suppression of democratic rights in Israel.

In July 1936, General Franco’s coup d’état was defeated through a revolutionary uprising of the working class, and the anarchists emerged as the leading force. However, their programme and perspectives proved impotent in the face of events. They betrayed the revolution several times and, partly due to their mistakes, the Spanish proletariat was crushed. Fascism went on to establish a four-decade dictatorship. It is the duty of all thinking anarchists to analyse events in Spain critically and draw all the necessary conclusions.

Experienced trade unionist John McInally introduces Wellred Books’ latest publication: a fascinating biography examining Lenin’s life and ideas by Rob Sewell and Alan Woods. With support for communism on the rise today, we say: Lenin lives!

The Cuban Revolution is rightly considered an inspiration by communists worldwide. This tremendous movement threw off the chains of capitalism and US imperialism, opening the way for incredible social, economic and technological advances in what had previously been a brutally oppressed society. Today, however, the Cuban Revolution faces a number of perils.

Last Saturday, police officers in Britain arrested an IMT member for raising the slogan of 'Intifada 'til victory!'. But the communists won't back down. We need your help to fight back against state repression, and to see an end to this brutal capitalist system.

Tata’s decision to close its Port Talbot steelworks will devastate the town. With no lead coming from the trade union tops, the Communists have launched a campaign for workers to get organised, occupy the plant, and demand its full nationalisation.

We are proud to announce that the world’s foremost magazine for original Marxist theoretical content, In Defence of Marxism - América Socialista, is now available in French! It joins regular English, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese, Swedish and Chinese translations, and will soon be joined by an Italian translation. The enlarged audience of communist workers and youth that will thus have access to these ideas will find in this magazine a powerful weapon.