Palestinian and Israeli Young Communists Unite at KNE Festival: Against War and Occupation

At the 51st KNE–Odigitis Festival, the annual gathering of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) in Athens, the event “With Palestine Toward Freedom” became a powerful declaration of internationalist solidarity. 

It was not simply a cultural tribute but a militant denunciation of war, genocide, and imperialism, affirming that true solidarity means exposing and confronting the real guilty parties: the imperialist powers, their governments, and the system of exploitation that sustains them.

In his keynote speech, Giannis Giokas, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and Member of Parliament, made clear that solidarity is not an empty word but an active stance. He saluted the Greek port workers who refused to unload NATO and U.S. cargo destined for Israel, a living example of how solidarity can obstruct imperialist operations. 

He mentioned teachers who faced disciplinary threats for educating their students about Palestine, artists who endured attacks for denouncing genocide, and soldiers who declared publicly that their role is to defend Greece’s borders rather than serve imperialist missions abroad. 

Giokas underlined that solidarity must target those responsible for crimes against the people, directly condemning the Greek government for its ever-deeper alignment with Israel and its transformation into one of the most zealous international defenders of Israeli war crimes. He denounced as lies the attempts to label opposition to genocide as “anti-Semitism,” stressing that such distortions are used to silence resistance and shield the real culprits. Finally, he dismantled the poisonous argument that alliance with Israel supposedly protects Greece against Turkey, insisting that no people have ever secured freedom by sacrificing the rights of another, and no nation’s security can be built on complicity with war criminals.

The internationalist heart of the evening was expressed through the participation of communist youth organizations from Palestine and Israel, whose interventions gave voice to the struggles of their peoples. Konstantin Zarzoura, from the Union of Young Communist League of Israel, spoke of the duty to stand with comrades from Palestine and revolutionary youth worldwide “at a moment when humanity is being tested,” denouncing the crimes of his own state and affirming that young communists in Israel refuse to become complicit in genocide and occupation. 

Ibrahim Afana, from the Palestinian Communist Youth Union, reminded the audience that those buried under Gaza’s rubble are not anonymous numbers but real people, with names, lives, and dreams — a living testimony to the inhumanity of imperialism. 

Mazend Bandara, from the Youth of the Palestinian People’s Party, spoke with defiance, declaring that despite the massacres, “we are still here, we resist occupation, we struggle for liberation.” Their interventions embodied the essence of proletarian internationalism: the understanding that the enemy of one people is never another people, but imperialism itself, and that liberation can only be won through united struggle.

Greek singer Natassa Bofiliou added her voice to this message, denouncing the disinformation that suffocates young people and the pressure placed on artists to remain silent in the face of injustice. She insisted that every act of truth, however small, is a crack in the fortress of lies, and that silence in times of genocide is nothing less than complicity.

This event within the framework of the 51st KNE–Odigitis Festival, where more than 30 Communist Youth Organizations from across the world are participating, was more than a discussion.  It was a declaration of resistance, a call to turn solidarity into action. It reaffirmed that supporting Palestine means confronting imperialism itself, naming those who profit from war and occupation, and uniting the oppressed across borders in the fight for freedom. 

The four-day activities of the 51st KNE-Odigitis Festival will be culminated with a large, political event on Saturday 27/9 afternoon, including a major speech by the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas.  

IN DEFENSE OF COMMUNISM ©