A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Israel...a 60 year salute.

Terence Bunch | 29.06.2008 22:13 | Palestine

Supporters of Israel gather in London to take part in a large march and rally to 'salute' Israel 60 years after its creation in 1948.

A Jewish troublemaker objects to photography.

A Jewish woman taunts a bystander.

Palestinian villages destroyed by the Israelis.

A Palestinian flag at the Palestinian protest.

Chanting Israeli supporters...

Are asked to leave the area.

Palestinian entertainment.

Pro-Israeli supporters taunting Palestinians.

Stop and Search at the rally.

Supporters of Israel gather in London to take part in a large march and rally to 'salute' Israel 60 years after its creation in 1948.

The march is attended by thousands of supporters who walk through the streets of London waiving the flag of Israel and the British 'Union' flag to compound the continuing relationship between the two nations in the current wars in the Middle-East.

The event is highly controversial and is largely policed by 'private' security personal. The march ends in Trafalgar Square where the crowd listen to guests, some of whom (Nick Ferrari, LBC radio, London.) make disturbing references to the degree to which modern Jewish interests are able to exercise influence in British government foreign policy.

London. 29th June 2008.

Terence Bunch
e-mail: terry.bunch@terencebunch.co.uk
Homepage: http://www.terencebunch.co.uk/salute-israel-60-years-march-london-29-06-2008.php

Comments

Hide the following 5 comments

Something smells fishy

29.06.2008 23:10

Arg, I really don't want to come off as seeing anti-Semitism everywhere, but seriously "a Jewish troublemaker"? "a Jewish woman?" Surely the problem with the isn't that they're Jews, it's that they're supporters of an oppressive colonial state - a state that gentiles are equally capable of supporting. I also didn't like "the degree to which modern Jewish interests are able to exercise influence in government foreign policy" - Jews don't have interests any more than white people do, races are just divisive constructs. What influences government policy is the same as it's always been - the interests of capitalism and imperialism, and jew-baiting does nothing to help combat that.

Anti-zionist

A dream of racial purity gone sour

30.06.2008 11:47

It does not surprise me that a previous comment suggests there are anti-semitic overtones to this coverage of the event. Israel was founded as a JEWISH state and is self-declared as such, gives 'refuge' only to Jews that are actively recruited from all over the world, and calls on all Jews to give it their indiscriminate support even as it continues its illegal expansion of settlements in Palestinian lands - the same Palestinians it refuses to give equal or any citizenship rights to - because they are not Jewish. And yet, if one talks about ideological supporters of Israel as Jews, we are offending all Jews.

It is time to take up this grievance more forcefully with the Zionist state that has appropriated and abused the name Jew - giving it to occupiers and aggressors whose solution to the Middle East conflict is collective punishment of another race, and the complete removal of the Palestinian people from their land.

Elly

Spot-on analysis

30.06.2008 14:38

Elly - your take on it is totally correct. Israel does encourage anti-semitism by trying to equate all Jews with zionism. Another reason why we should be careful to avoid echoing the language the Zionists use, and make it clear that the problem with supporters of Israel who happen to be Jewish is their adoption of a racist ideology, not their own ethnic background.

Anti-Zionist.

Hooligan threats

01.07.2008 17:26

I passed by and watched some football hooligan types chanting 'Israel, Israel' like a football chant. The one in the white jacket and brown boots above on the 'Pro-Israeli supporters taunting Palestinians.' photo said to an asian man 'I hope your house gets bulldozed.'

Watcher

anti-semitism

03.07.2008 19:02

please don't delete this post, I have a valid point;
if you consider yourself progressive, you wouldn't define someone by their religion and you would respect a person as an individual, not look at a group identity first.
Eg. if there was a pro Palestine demo, you wouldn't label a picture 'Muslim on demo'. If you still don't get it, think about the fact that you wouldn't say 'Black walks down street', or 'White walks down street', or 'Christian bloke walks down street'...
So I object to this article on those grounds, surely that is not hard to understand????

gem

UK Indymedia