On Sunday July 20th, upwards of 800 people took to the streets in Brighton, in a magnificent show of support, solidarity and sympathy for the people of Gaza, who are currently enduring unimaginable terror and suffering. This was without doubt one of the largest demos for Palestine ever in Brighton. We stood up for Palestine at a time when the world’s power elites and news media seem to be looking the other way. Thanks to everyone who joined us and helped to make it such a success.
| The demo started at the Old Steine War Memorial with short speeches from local politicians, activists and members of the Palestinian community in Brighton – including a personal story from Khalil whose family in Gaza has suffered – and continues to suffer – terrible losses. |  |
One member of the local Palestinian community read out excerpts from the “ACT NOW!” statement issued by Palestinian civil society, calling on the international community to build pressure on israel through Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), including a complete arms embargo of israel.
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A short vigil followed, in which the names were read of the 333 Palestinians killed by that point in the assault of Gaza. The enormity of this tragedy was graphically illustrated by a die-in, with people lying on the ground covered in blood-stained white shrouds. |
Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters and passers-by signed our “Stop Arming Israel!” petition calling for a complete military embargo of israel, in response to the call from Palestinian civil society. There is an online petition you can sign as well.
| We then marched through the streets of Brighton, in a noisy and passionate display of collective fury, picking up dozens of supporters along the way. We paused at the Robert Dyas shop in Western Road, to remind protestors that this shop continues to stock Sodastream products, one of the targets of our current boycott compaign. |  |
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We also stopped outside the site of the former Ecostream shop, recently closed after two years of weekly street protests by people of conscience in the town, and after tremendous support for our boycott message from the people of Brighton. Marchers were reminded that BDS remains the focus of campaigning in the UK. |
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| On the return to the Old Steine we held another solemn die-in at the Clock Tower, with a minute’s silence, as a mark of respect to the steadily rising number of innocent victims of israeli brutality. |  |
Thanks again to everyone for supporting this demo, which will undoubtedly be seen by Palestinians in Gaza on social media sites. We hope it will remind them that they are not forgotten, and that we are all working hard – not just to end the current carnage, but to end the 7-year siege of Gaza and to bring justice and self-determination to the Palestinian people. Please check our website, Facebook and Twitter for updates on further planned events, and please circulate and re-tweet this report widely.