On Saturday 11th November, demonstrators showing solidarity with Palestine Liberation struggle set up their stalls outside the doors of Marks & Spencer at the Marble Arch end of Oxford St, London, engaging shoppers in conversation and collecting signatures for their petition.
Stall opposite M&S
School Students Against War die-in
'Security Guard' outside M&S
SSAW address shoppers
There is a weekly M&S picket here on Thursday evenings, but this was a special event as a part of the week of international actions being taken against the Israeli wall.
As they makes clear, the demonstrators' concern is not with M&S's Jewish roots, but with its historic and continuing support for Zionism, as the biggest UK corporate sponsor of Israel.
After a while the picket was joined by around 20 members of the School Students Against the War, who had been demonstrating outside the US embassy. They staged a 'die-in' on the pavement outside M&S, attracting a great deal of interest among those passing by. The students than briefly addressed shoppers before moving off to stage another die-in further down the street, again attracting the attention of shoppers, although perhaps surprisingly, not the police.
When I left them at Oxford Circus the SSAW students were considering other such actions further along Oxford St.
As they makes clear, the demonstrators' concern is not with M&S's Jewish roots, but with its historic and continuing support for Zionism, as the biggest UK corporate sponsor of Israel.
After a while the picket was joined by around 20 members of the School Students Against the War, who had been demonstrating outside the US embassy. They staged a 'die-in' on the pavement outside M&S, attracting a great deal of interest among those passing by. The students than briefly addressed shoppers before moving off to stage another die-in further down the street, again attracting the attention of shoppers, although perhaps surprisingly, not the police.
When I left them at Oxford Circus the SSAW students were considering other such actions further along Oxford St.
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