Palestine
Reports and news related to the Israeli aggression against Palestinians and Palestine solidarity actions and campaigns.
No Salute to Israel, 60 Years of Apartheid is Nothing to Celebrate
01-07-2008 15:18
Today, a series of non-violent protest actions disrupted the 'Salute to Israel' parade. The parade celebrated 60 years since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Activists wished to remind the public that since its inception, Israel has been maintained through the constant oppression of the Palestinian people, in particular through ethnic cleansing.
The 'Salute to Israel' parade was a shameful show of support to a government engaged in war crimes. Sponsors included the Jewish National Fund, an organisation deeply involved in the colonisation of Palestinian land as well in anti-Palestinian discrimination within Israel. Activists wish to stress that the British government's authorisation, protection and support of this event is entirely unacceptable.
En route, the parade was greeted by activists with red dye on their hands to symbolise the blood of Palestinians killed by the Israeli government. In Trafalgar Square, both fountains were turned red after activists poured dye into the water and a Palestinian flag was unfurled at the entrance of the National Gallery. An activist climbed up a big screen which had to be turned off for most of the event. Also, another group attempted to get onto the roof of the National Gallery in order to unfurl a banner but were arrested in the process.
Police responded by making a series of ridiculous arrests, assaulting and detaining a woman for singing anti-zionist songs and deploying Forward Intelligence Teams to monitor and follow those attending the counter demonstrations.
Several Counter demonstrations were held by Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Action Palestine and Friends of Al Aqsa while Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others drove three double decker buses draped with Palestinian flags and black balloons around the square and Rhythms of Resistance tried to drown out the Pro-Zionist hip hop gig.
Newswire Posts Action Reports and photos of fountains and screen Climber | Report and Photos|
Press Releases Autonomous Actions For Palestine Disrupt Zionist Parade| 60 Years of Israeli War Crimes - Nothing To Celebrate |
Links Israel at 60 Protest Site| Palestine Solidarity Campaign | Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign | Jews for Justice for Palestinians | Action Palestine| Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods | Friends of Al Aqsa | Palestine-UK Twinning Network |
Corporate Media Coverage of the Protests Al Jazeera Report |
Video Buses and Critical Mass | Woman assaulted by police for Singing|
Full article | 2 additions | 6 comments
Carmel Agrexco's Depot Shut Down in Commemoration of the Nakba
23-06-2008 13:35
In the early hours of Saturday morning, activists occupied and shut-down the HQ and only UK freight warehouse of Carmel Agrexco - Israel's largest agricultural exporter from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The occupation held for over 6 hours until they were forcibly removed at 12 noon.
During the occupation over 10 loading trucks intended for the warehouse were sent away. British supermarkets - accounting for 60% of Carmel-Agrexco's total exports - had some of their orders affected. The Israeli government has a 50% stake in the company. Exports include flowers, avocados and herbs grown in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.
Newswire: Israeli Owned Agrexco Warehouse Shut Down | Carmel occupied! Israeli settlement exporter shut down| Video of Police Forcibly removing Activists but Failing to Make Arrests
Previous Actions: Fortress Carmel Agrexco breached by Peace Activists | Video - Carmel Agrexco protest during Camp for Climate Action | Weekend of Action Against Carmel Agrexco | Activists Blockade Carmel-Agrexco's UK Headquarters for the Third Time | International Actions against Israeli Apartheid
Further reading: Text of letter to Carmel-Agrexco | Report on Carmel's involvement in the Jordan Valley | War on Want's report: Profiting from the Occupation
Links: Palestine Solidarity Campaign | The Big Campaign | ISM London | ISM Palestine
Nottingham Student Banned from Travelling by Israel
06-06-2008 23:30
Wissam Abuajwa risks losing a place at Nottingham University because Israel will not allow him to leave Gaza. He has a place, a scholarship (from the London-based charity Karim Rida Said Foundation, and a British visa to study for an MSc in Environment and Research Engineering at the University of Nottingham's School of Chemical and Environment Engineering, beginning in September.
However, his place could at risk because the Israeli authorities have prevented him from leaving Gaza to travel to the UK. Abuajwa's situation is, unfortunately far from unique. Abir Abu Warda, 29, has a Ford Foundation-funded place at London Metropolitan University, which is at risk for the same reason. In the US, seven students from Gaza who had previously been told that they would lose their Fulbright scholarships because of the travel ban have now had them reinstated by the State department. The US now claim to be working "closely" with Israel to secure exit permits (which you can interpret however you want).
Full article | 21 additions | 30 comments
Timeline - SmashEDO Carnival Against the Arms Trade
04-06-2008 11:47
The SmashEDO Carnival Against the Arms Trade was held in Brighton on Wednesday 4th June. Over 500 people marched from The Level to the EDO/ITT factory in Moulescombe. Police plans to contain everyone in a pen outside a neighbouring unit were foiled, and protestors managed to get to the factory. The factory gates were mysteriously opened, and a police van attempted to block the entrance to the EDO/ITT car park but protestors seized the opportunity to enter the car park and vent their rage against the arms company. A few arrests were reported.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Video [1] | More videos | FIT watch Video
Arrests updates: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Smash EDO Press Releases: 10 Still in Custody over EDO Protest | Death of Marie Vesco | All Arrested Released Without Charge | Post Carnival Message from Smash EDO
Full article | 1 addition | 3 comments
Smash EDO Carnival Against the Arms Trade
28-05-2008 23:36
Every bomb that is dropped and every bullet that is fired in the name of this war of terror has to be made somewhere and wherever that is it can be resisted...
On the 4th June, Smash EDO, a campaign group aiming to shut down EDO MBM, a Brighton based arms manufacturer, will be holding a Carnival Against the Arms Trade aiming to highlight the level of public opposition to the factory and be an oppurtunity to take creative direct action against the arms trade.
The Carnival will include live music, a critical mass and with a unifying theme of red. Smash EDO are calling for activists to come from around the country to join the carnival and help close down EDO.
Resources: Flyer for the Critical Mass | Webpage for the carnival - Info on accomodation and transport | Press Release for the Carnival | More Info about the Smash EDO Campaign (pdf) | Info about the Merger with ITT (pdf)
Links: Smash EDO | EDO MBM | Smash EDO Indymedia topic page
Previous features: On the Verge - The Film They Tried to Ban |Singers Arrested Outside Arms Factory | Smash EDO Action Camp: Shut down the Brighton bomb builders | Lebanon War protesters - Not Guilty! | EDO CORP: 2006 Alternative Report | 2007 Is The Year To Shut EDO Down | EDO MBM Injunction crumbles | EDO MBM desperate to stop protests as resistance increases | Smash EDO Take On The Law | Harassment Law Used Against Anti-War Campaigners | Campaign to Smash Edo | Arms company shut down
Full article | 2 additions | 6 comments
Student Hunger Strike for Palestine
24-04-2008 01:01
Two student activists at the University of Nottingham have been on hunger strike whilst camping on campus since Tuesday the 22nd. The hunger strike will last until the end of the week and has been taking place in front of the main library (the Hallward) on University Park Campus.
The hunger-striking students, and many others, are concerned about the most recent, particularly inhumane, and on-going “Siege on Gaza”, the continued Israeli aggression in the area, and the proliferation of arms as a result of the arms trade, which leads to the deaths of innocent people not only in Palestine, but in situations of military oppression around the world.
Brighton Tubas Solidarity Group Visit to Palestine
16-04-2008 11:01
A delegation of seven people from Brighton arrived in the Tubas region of occupied Palestine last week. The delegation is part of the project by the Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group. The group's aims are to highlight Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in the region, raise awareness about life under occupation and create practical solidarity links between grassroots organisations in Brighton and Tubas region.
Reports from the Delegation in Palestine: Teaching King Lear in Occupied Palestine | The Breadbasket of Palestine | Resourcefulness and Tenacity | Jordan Valley 2008 | Smashed To Pieces and Bled Dry | Day 5
Press Releases from the Brighton-Tubas Solidarity Group: Education and Resistance in Occupied Palestine | Palestinian Village Denied Water and Threatened with Demolition
Links: Brighton-Tubas Blog | Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group | Palestine Solidarity Campaign | International Solidarity Movement in Palestine | Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign | Stop the Wall in Palestine
Israel keeps its promise of a 'Holocaust' in Gaza
05-03-2008 22:05
After months of inhuman siege and daily attacks, Israel last week mounted a massive offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has claimed the lives of over 100 Palestinians, including many civilians and children. Israeli officials had threatened the Palestinians with "a holocaust" if home-made rockets fired at nearby Israeli towns did not stop. As the aggression continues, so do solidarity protests throughout the world.
From the Newswire: Children gassed and shot in Gaza solidarity protests | Blockade on Gaza: Crime against humanity | The Gaza Strip's People are dying, Help us! | Palestine in darkness | Israel's policy in Gaza: at least as evil as it is self-defeating | Still no justice for October 2000 killings | Palestine society not allowed in BirminghamAudio: Indy Global Report from Bethlehem | Palestine Today & This Week in Palestine | Flashpoints
Recent solidarity protests: London: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Manchester | Sheffield: 1 | 2 | Wales
Links: International Middle East Media Centre | Palestine News Network | Electronic Intifada | End Gaza Siege | Indymedia UK's Palestine topic page
International Actions against Israeli Apartheid
16-02-2008 18:22
The period leading up to Valentine’s day saw actions against Israeli apartheid taking place in the USA, England and Belgium. A week of action had been called against the import of Israeli flowers for Valentine’s Day. The call to action was against Carmel-Agrexco, the 50% state owned Israeli export company, and in support of a boycott of apartheid Israel.
On Friday 9th February Belgian activists blocked trucks at Agrexco’s depot in Liege, On Monday in Hayes, Middlesex, Activists blocked the entrances and exits of Agrexco’s UK headquarters. Some activists opted for another Valentine’s day target, the Israeli diamond trade: In London Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine and Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods picketed Lev Leviev’s new store while activists from Adalah in the US targeted Levievs’ New York branch. Leviev, an international diamond merchant, is responsible for developing illegal settlements on Palestinian land near the West Bank Villages of Bil In and Jayouss. His New York store has been targeted for several months by anti-apartheid activists.
Reports: Report of the Belgian Carmel-Agrexco action | Photos| Videos - 1 2 3 4 5 | Report of the London Carmel-Agrexco Action - 1 2
Previous: Original call to action against Agrexco | Previous Actions against Carmel-Agrexco 1 2 3 4 | London Pickett of Lev Leviev’s Store (+ Video) | Report of the US Picket (+ Video | Pictures)
Heavy Handed Police Condemned Over Peaceful Protest
04-12-2007 15:54
Nottinghamshire Police have been condemned for their heavy handed dealing with a peaceful protest which took place at Nottingham University. The protest, which was organized by students, occurred outside the Hallward Library on the University Park Campus, to raise awareness about the Israeli West Bank barrier, aka 'the wall'. A mock wall was constructed and spray-painted with slogans and images.
After Nottingham Uni security failed to 'apprehend' the situation, the police were called. This resulted in the threat of arrest to a number of students. For 'breach of the peace', 'assaulting a police officer', 'filming a police officer'(!), obstructing a police officer and obstruction of the highway. One student was arrested to 'apprehend a breach of the peace'. The wall was dismantled (rather symbolic given the context) and moved on after about half an hour.
Links: Arrest at Nottingham Uni over Palestine Protest | Notts Indymedia Palestine page
Audio: This Week In Palestine – Week 48 | Week 47 | Week 46 | Full audio archive
Previous protests: Starbucks Not Welcome at University | Nottingham University Student Die-In :: to protest at ethical investments | 'Die-in' at Nottingham University to protest at unethical investments | Protests as arms dealers attend careersfair
