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Over 50,000
people demand justice for Palestine
JUSTICE
FOR PALESTINE
[London Rally, Saturday 18th May 2002]
Saturday 18th May saw over 50,000 people demonstrate
in London demanding an end to illegal Israeli occupation, for sanctions
to be imposed on Israel, a complete boycott of Israeli goods and
companies supporting Israel and for Sharon to be tried for war crimes.
A sea of protesters
spilling out of Trafalgar Square
on to the steps of the National Gallery (behind)
The rally, organized by Palestinian Solidarity Campaign
with help from Muslim and anti-war organizations, was unique in
the diversity of people and organizations it brought together united
against the oppressive zionist state and in support of justice for
Palestine. Muslims, Christians, Jews, socialists, ant-war campaigners,
trade unionists and members of the general public all marched in
unity from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square for a huge rally.
The march commenced
its 2 mile journey from Hyde Park,
heading for Trafalgar Square
At Trafalgar Square, the rally was addressed by
more than 30 speakers including Members of Parliament, Trade Unions
and Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups. Highlights of many of the
speeches are included below.
Anti-zionist
Orthodox Jew holding a Palestinian flag
One participant stated "Many Orthodox anti-zionist
Jews were present, and they were given the pride of place on the
platform at Trafalgar Square, some even carried Palestinian flags!
It was the highlight of the day."
The rally brought
together people from every segment
of British society
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Voice
of the March
Bush Bush watch your back
Hizbullah will attack!
Bush Bush we know you
daddy was a killer too!
Palestine don't you cry
We will never let you die!
Stop the killing Stop the crime
Israel out of Palestine!
Tony Blair You don't care
Children dying everywhere!
La illah ha ill al allah
Muhammad rasool ullah
Nasrullah ya habib
...
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Beneath Israeli
Occupation - Resistance is Fertile!
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Metropolitan
Police Still Can't Count!
The Metropolitan police estimated the crowd
at a mere 8000. Their politically motivated "estimates"
are no longer taken seriously and have become an embarrassment
for them with even Time magazine ditching the official police
figure of 13,000 for last
months march in favor of "more
than 100,000". Why doesn't the Metropolitan police
use its own "official" figures when calculating
how many police will be required for crowd control? It is
interesting to note that a few weeks earlier when the zionists
held a much, much smaller rally, the police adopted the organizers
inflated estimate of the attendance as their own. Also whilst
that rally was broadcast live on BBC with reports through
out the day, this and the previous 100,000 people rally were
given a mere few seconds coverage with deliberate omission
of crowd shots to conceal the huge attendance.
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Zionism
Terrorism |
Jeremy Corbyn addressing the huge crowd
Jeremy
Corbyn, Member of British Parliament, talked
about the lack of justice in the world and of double standards:
"What
bring us here in unity of Muslim people, of Christian
people of Jewish people of people of no faith is that
we believe that there can be no peace in the world where
there is no justice. One
of the greatest injustices of the last 60 years has been
the treatment of the Palestinian people..
Sharon - his record in the Irgund..
his record at Sabra and Shatilla.. his record at Jenin..
is surely is the man the international criminal court
was designed for, to put on trial.
The past 50 years, of the world condemning
what Israel has done, the United Nations passing resolution
upon resolution upon resolution recognizing the rights
of Palestinian people and Israel blatantly and absolutely
ignoring them. And when the United States and Britain
give lectures to Iraq and to other countries about UN
resolutions Israel is in breach of more than all the other
states put together. Normally when a country is in breach
of international law some sanction is applied against
them but in the case of Israel a bottomless pit of United
States aid is made available, a bottomless pit to supply
arms, and a bottomless pit to continue that diplomatic
support...
Jeremy Corbyn, Member of Parliament
My message to Tony Blair is now, now
say no arms no aid no trade with Israel, until a complete
withdrawal from the Palestinian territories...
Too many people have suffered for to long, too many young
people have died as a result of this illegal occupation...
If we want to live in a peaceful world, you cannot gain
that peace by bombing innocent civilians you cannot gain
that peace by illegal occupation there is no peace behind
barbed wire and there will be no peace with Palestine
surrounded by the Israeli army there will only be a peace
when there is justice..."
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Intifada is
Resistance - Occupation is Terrorism
Reverend Garth Hewitt:
"Humanity is on trial over Jenin"
Reverend
Garth Hewitt, started by comparing Israel with
South Africa during apartheid:
"Humanity
is on trial in our time. There comes a point every so
often when one issue encapsulates whether humanity will
march forward, it happened in the 80s with apartheid,
it happens now over Palestine.
Humanity is on trial, its on trial
over Jenin and what is happening there, its on trial over
what happened on the West Bank...
We have the moral right and indeed
the moral responsibility to challenge our leaders, our
political and religious leaders to speak up - no more
silence, to speak up for justice for Palestine.
Martin Luther King Jr. said 'no one
is free until we all are free'
End the occupation and set Palestine
free!"
 Download
(shift-click) speech (real audio 1min 11sec 438Kb)
Reverend
Garth Hewitt then talked about Bethlehem and
the Israeli desecration of the Church of the Nativity:
"I
spent some time talking to three people who just came
out of curfew in Bethlehem. They are traumatized by
the shameful deeds of the IDF
[Israeli Death Force]
and they are amazed with the worlds' silence about what
happened in the Church of the Nativity.
For hundreds of years its been acknowledged
that a Church should be a place of sanctuary and this
Church which is holy both for Christians and Muslims
was treated with extraordinary disrespect, the Israeli
defense force was shooting at the Church of the Nativity
and killing people inside. Blood was shed in a sacred
place, have we become so insensitive?
I believe all desecration should
be condemned, just as we would condemn desecration of
Synagogues and Mosques in Britain or Europe or anywhere
else."
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Al-Aqsa Mosque
- the target of Zionist terrorists
Ismael Patel of Friends of Al-Aqsa
Ismael
Patel, of Friends of Al-Aqsa, talked of justice
and had an important message for Tony Blair:
"We
are fighting for peace in Palestine - peace with justice.
Justice that was denied to the Palestinian people over
54 years ago ...
I want to pass a message to Tony
Blair that his predecessors supported apartheid colonialist
policies in South Africa and he is following their footsteps,
but I tell him that as the apartheid system collapsed
in South Africa, so it will in occupied Palestine...
I urge you, I beg you, on behalf
of those Palestinian people who are defending Al-Aqsa
in our name, who are defending the Church of the Nativity
in Bethlehem to fight on their behalf. First and foremost
to boycott all Israeli goods...
Tony Blair should take note that
although there are 50,000 or more here, a 100,000 a
few weeks ago, we have left a million people back home
and this million people in a few years time are going
to cast a cross against your party and we will vote
for the people who are looking for peace and justice
in the world..."
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Portrait of
Sheikh Yassin supported by a sea of Palestinian flags
Michel Abdel-Massih QC (APC)
Michel
Abdel-Massih, QC from the Palestinian Community,
stressed the importance of understanding the struggle:
"The
only way we can win this struggle, the only way we can
do it is by you supporting the Palestinian cause and
the most important thing is to understand it, Secondly
you must boycott Israeli products..."
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The truth about
Israel's war against terrorism
Carol Reagan reads out statement on
behalf of the anti-zionist Orthodox Jews
Anti-zionist
Orthodox Jews, they perhaps received the warmest
welcome from the crowds, who by now are used to their presence
at these rallies. It was their Sabbath but they still attended
to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people. In
respect of their Sabbath, they came to the rally on foot
from Stamford Hill some 14 kilometers away and they declined
to use the microphone, but asked for their statement to
be read out. Their statement was read out by Carol Reagan
of PSC:
"The
world stands agasp at the atrocities committed by the
Zionist regime. Mere words are insufficient to express
the pain that all mankind feels at the plight of the
Palestinian people for over 100 years they have been
subject to a carefully conceived plan to drive them
from their homes and land.
Through out their history the Zionists
have resorted to intimidation, war, ethnic cleansing,
and state sponsored terrorism to achieve their goals.
This is, has been, and continues to be the criminal
agenda of the Zionist movement.
Yet among this movements greatest
crimes is that it has claimed to carry out these notorious
actions in the name of Judaism and the Jewish people
- this is a wicked and monstrous lie, this is a desecration
of our religion!"
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Rabbi
Attacked by Zionist Thug
Their front line position in the Jewish opposition
to zionism has earned the anti-Zionist Ultra-Orthodox Jewish
community the respect of the Muslims and at the same time
the hatred of the Zionists The Zionists have targeted them
with intimidation, death threats and actual violence. Their
vehicles and property have been destroyed, and they have been
sacked from their places of work.
During the recent pro-Israeli rally in London
(May 6th) an elderly anti-Zionist Rabbi whilst addressing
a counter demonstration was attacked by a Zionist thug in
front of the police who did nothing to prevent it.
Anti-Zionist
Rabbi Grohman was attacked by a Zionist thug
seconds after this photo was taken.
Rabbi Grohman was punched in the face whilst
addressing the sizable counter demonstration. The Zionist
attacker was was arrested by the police.
A police line had caged the counter demonstration
away from the pro-Israel rally and prevented Muslims from
entering Trafalgar Square (using racial profiling) where the
Zionists had gathered. But at the same time the police allowed
Zionists to freely enter the "Muslim area" to intimidate
and attack whom ever they pleased.
Islamic
Human Rights Commission have compiled a report on police
behavior at rallies, any incidents should be reported to them.
The Slogans read:
"Zionism
is atheism"
"We
are against Zionism and its state BECAUSE we are Jews"
"We await the total annulment of Zionism"
"Zionists stole the Holy Land from its residents"
"True Jews will never recognise Zionist occupation in
the Holy Land"
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John McFadden, NEC member of UNISON
John
McFadden, National Executive Council member of
UNISON - the largest trade union in the UK with 1.4 million
members, condemned Israel and pledged support of the Palestinians:
"I
want to pledge UNISONs support for the Palestinian people,
to the fight for freedom and justice for the Palestinians.
At the beginning of March I was part
of a delegation that went from UNISON to Palestine and
Israel and there we saw first hand the effects of the
occupation by the Israeli regime...
We saw ambulances being crushed under
the tracks of tanks, we saw doctors and nurses being
shot, we saw reporters and cameramen being shot, we
saw women and children being shot, and not once, not
once was the Israeli regime condemned for these actions,
and they have to be condemned"
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Calls for boycott
of Israeli goods
and boycott of companies supporting
Israel resonated from each speaker
Betty Hunter from the PSC
Betty
Hunter, from Palestinian Solidarity Campaign,
chastised Tony Blair:
"Tony
Blair and the leaders of this country should be ashamed
of themselves, every time they make apologies for Sharon
and the government of Israel. We know the truth..."
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"End Israeli
Occupation"
Afif Safieh, Palestinian delegate to UK
Afif
Safieh, Palestinian delegate to UK, condemned
anti-Semitism:
"Friends,
anti-Semitism is morally repugnant and politically unacceptable.
Its victims are the Jews and its victims are also the
Palestinians...
Until the ascension to power of Adolf
Hitler, Zionism was a struggling minority within the
different Jewish communities in Europe.
While the Jews and the Palestinians
are the victims of anti-Semitism, Zionism, Israel and
Ariel Sharon are its immediate beneficiaries.
And let us face it, today's anti-Semitism
is the oppression and the persecution by the Israeli
government of us the Palestinian people."
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Muslim and non-Muslim
united against Israel
George Galloway, Member of Parliament
George
Galloway, Member of the British Parliament, captivated
the audience with his words:
"I
thought there was only one man in the world that thought
Ariel Sharon was a man of peace. When George Bush said
that, even Sharon must have laughed, even Sharon must
have come to his aides and said 'this guy really is
crazy!'"
"Sharon is not a man of peace,
he stood for election on a platform that he was not
a man of peace, yet George Bush thinks that he is!
But there is another man, finally,
who was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman just three days
ago, he also thinks that Ariel Sharon is a man of peace
- Tony Blair."
chants of "shame Tony Blair"
"Mr Blair its you and your predecessors
all the way back to Balfour who promised to one people
the land of another people and sowed the seeds of this
catastrophe... its you Mr Blair and your special friend
Mr Bush who are betraying the Palestinian people. And
we are here to say 'not in our name, not in the name
of millions of British people...'
No civilized person in this country
should buy Israeli goods anymore than any civilized
person bought South African goods during the apartheid
time but you have to do more than that you have to stand
outside the stores and picket others on their way in
to persuade them to boycott Israeli goods ...
But you need to do something else
too, none of these crimes would be possible without
the endless stream of American money and weapons and
diplomatic and political support. So I want to propose
here today that none of us and none of our friends smoke
another Marlboro, at another McDonald's, eat another
Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Boycott Americans goods also because
from Kalkela to Kabul and including the 1000s of Iraqis
who are being slaughtered every month. America is behind
every single one of their deaths...
The
scariest faces on the rally,
Bush & Blair wanted for terrorism
I have just returned from the occupied
lands, the dust from Jenin is still on my boots and
will always remain on my boots, its more precious to
me than gold dust, not just as a memorial of those that
died there or the war crimes but as a remember of the
heroism of the fighters who stood and fought until they
could fight no more."
Chants of "jihad
jihad jihad ..."
"To defend their families, to
defend the honor of the Arabs and the Muslims, to defend
their religion, to defend their little refugee camp
in which they've lived for fifty years, looking over
to Haifa where foreigners are living in their homes
and picking their oranges..
Let me say this - those fighters
in Jenin didn't stop fighting because they ran out of
courage, they had to stop fighting because they ran
out of ammunition."
Chants of "jihad
jihad jihad ..."
"Why did they run out of ammunition?
Because the corrupt kings and puppet presidents of the
Arab regimes sealed their borders to stop the arms coming..."
crowds boo the Arab regimes
"I've just come from Gaza, where
the enemy, the barbarian is waiting poised at the gate
and I give them this warning - I've just come from the
refugee camps of Jabala, Khan Yunis and Raffa, I give
them this warning - Gaza is no Stalingrad and its waiting
for you, if you dare to enter."
Chants
of "jihad jihad jihad ..."
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Leila Khaled, Palestinian freedom fighter
Leila
Khaled, the veteran freedom fighter and activist
renamed Trafalgar Square to Jenin Square to the cheers of
the crowds:
"On
behave of my people inside occupied Palestine and those
refugees of whom I am one - thank you all for coming
to Jenin Square, I feel I am now in Palestine...
And
let Sharon and his gang in Tel Aviv know that in Britain
in London in Trafalgar Square begins the march to victory..."
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Israel Terrorises
- America Supplies - Europe Hides
What's the difference between Ariel Sharon and Adolf Hitler?
About 60 years
Michael Rosen, renounced his so-called "right of return"
Michael
Rosen, author, poet and tv presenter denounced
Israel for claiming to represent Jews:
"I
am a British born Jew and I am here to express my solidarity
with the Palestinian people.
Sharon has described the conflict
in the middle east as one for the defense of the Jewish
people. I utterly, utterly reject that, this is a conflict
between Zionists and the Palestinian people and the
most powerful Zionists in the world are the American
government ...
When they say Israel is doing this
or Israel is doing that they lie and they over simplify
and they distort because its the Americans and the Israelis
doing this and doing that ...
I say this, Israel is not my homeland,
along with other Jews around the world I renounce my
so-called right of return. I don't want to return to
somewhere where I have never belonged. The self-determination
of the Jews cannot and must not take place at the expense
of other people.
I am proud to say whenever I have
been asked to go to Israel to read or perform over the
last 20 or 30 years, I've always refused - I will never
go to Israel until there is a free Palestine - I make
that promise here."
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No demonstration
against Israel is complete
without the victorious flag of Hizbullah
Sheikh Said Muhammad Mousavi addressing 50,000 people
Sheikh
Said Muhammad Mousavi, of the World Wide Islamic
League started his speech with three takbirs:
"Allah
O Akber, Allah O Akber, Allah O Akber"
and went on to explain that it was the slogan
of not just Muslims but of all humanity that believes
God is the greatest. He condemned the Zionist crimes and
called for a boycott of Israel.
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Seeking Inspiration
from the Martyrs of Kerbala
Over the centuries, the example of Imam Husayn's
uncompromising stand against oppression and injustice,
irrespective of the might of the oppressor,
has inspired Muslims the world over
in their struggles against injustice and oppression,
Palestine is no exception...
"Every day is Ashura, Every land is Karbala"
"Follow Imam Hussain - Fight Oppression"
"Karbala - Palestine"
see also: http://www.inminds.co.uk/seeking-inspiration.html
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Tirza Waisel from Just Peace UK
Tirza
Waisel, from Just Peace UK [an anti-Zionist Jewish
group] started by condemning anti-Semitism :
"anti-Semitism
is the enemy of us all"
And then talked of unity against occupation:
"Palestinians
and Jews are standing together against the occupation...
ending the occupation is not only in the interest
of Palestinians but also Jews."
She then shared some facts from Israel
which are omitted from the news here:
"100,00
people demonstration last weekend in Tel Aviv
against the occupation.
10,000
people demonstrate every other weekend in the
streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv against the
occupation.
More
than a 1000 Israeli soldiers refuse to serve
in the Israeli occupation army, some of them
have been to jail."
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Spokesperson for "Jews
for Justice for Palestinians"
Jews
for Justice for Palestinians spokesperson reiterated
that Israel does not speak for Jews:
"we
will support the Palestinians cause because it is
right... The Israeli government does not speak for
the Jews - Not in our name!"
Jews
for Justice for Palestinians
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The crowds
demands "Justice for Palestine"
John Austin, Member of Parliament
John
Austin, Member of British Parliament, talked
about the need for justice:
"We
want peace, well we cannot have peace without justice,
and we cannot have justice so long as the Israelis
are occupying one square meter of Palestinian territory!"
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"Victory
to the Intifada" and behind it a new Zionist flag?
Another candidate
for the new flag of Zionism?
This one appeared on large stickers - artist unknown
click here
for a hi-res, cleaned scan (1544x1228, 33k)
(if you are the artist and don't want us to include
this then let us know)
Yvonne Ridley, Journalist & Activist,
talked of her visit to Jenin
Yvonne
Ridley, Journalist and Anti-War activist, recently
back from Jenin, she talked about what she saw there:
"Colonel
Powell said he saw no evidence that a massacre had taken
place in Jenin, this is the same
man that on December 13 1968 said that there was no evidence
of a massacre in May Ly, South Vietnam.
I
visited Jenin last week and they were still pulling the
bodies out of the rubble, 50 people have been buried so
far most of them civilians - innocent women and children.
25 of those were buried alive as the
Israelis moved their tanks in to bulldoze the buildings.
300 homes have been blasted by F16
fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters and tank shells
thieving Israeli soldiers have stolen jewelry from Palestinian
women while they were on their
looting expeditions.
I was told about the killing of innocent
Palestinians many who were denied medical care, ambulances
weren't even allowed in and many people bled to death.
The wanton destruction of homes.
Palestinians were used as human shields
as Israeli soldiers went out and did their dirty work.
I saw the evidence - were the hell was Colonel Powell
looking?
Protesting
the worlds silence over Jenin
... there was a military map that was
left behind by the Israeli soldiers - it was written in
Hebrew and it clearly marked out military targets and
the date of that map was 1997 - Jenin wasn't an accident
or a knee jerk reaction, it was planned for years by the
Israeli butchers.
Despite calls for a UN investigation,
absolutely nothing , nothing, has happened! Sharon wants
to keep the world out of Jenin - and we all know why...
... and where was our fearless leader
Tony Blair when the massacre of Jenin took place? He was
being groomed and tickled in that poodle parlour known
as George Bushs' Texas ranch. We all have a message for
our prime minister - a man elected by the people, elected
by us - his silence on Jenin will come back to haunt him.
Even now people are talking about Jenin
, its name is being whispered in the wind in the same
breath as Stalingrad, Beirut, the Paris Commune - all
examples of revolutionary heroism, the name Jenin will
live for ever. It is a living monument to the bravery
of its fighters!
I salute them all I salute all the
martyrs - victory to the intifada!"
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Slogan
with a sense of humour -
a parody of the famous quiz show - The Weakest Link!
Boycott Israeli
Gameshow - The Vault
Boycott the new gameshow on ITV - The Vault
(shown on Saturday evenings at 18:25)
The programme is produced by Carlton TV under license
from Keshet Broadcasting and Menta Productions of Israel.
The Israeli gameshow is bringing desperately needed
foreign currency to Israel. Boycott it and complain to
the companies that advertise on it.
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url:
http://www.inminds.com/palestine-rally-18may02.html
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