We, the people of Sheffield, stand in solidarity with Palestine. This is our pledge to the Palestinian people.
You can find the text here
Category Archives: Protest
Nakba vigil
An emotional address from a number of Palestinians was given in front to the town hall on Saturday 12th May as part of the Nakba vigil in Sheffield.
Re-telling their family stories of escape in 1948 and determination to return – and to remember – showed us how pathetic was the prediction from Ben Gurion – and how stupid its current proponents – that ‘Palestinians will forget’ .
Palestinians do not forget and nor do their supporters.
The right to remember is indivisible and cannot be demolished however many houses are raised to the ground.
Bank shut by protest
A great turn out day saw HSBC in Sheffield’s Fargate shut.
Bank security hurriedly closed the doors when they realised boycotteers were going to do an action.
Two of Shefield PSC managed to be in the bank. Meanwhile outside, about 20 others ensured that shoppers and walkers got to understand what the noise was about.
Even HSBC customers locked out of the bank showed awareness and understanding when it was explained how this is similar to the Barclays boycott so many years ago.
Memory and resistance – two events for May
The Israeli policy of erasing memory is cutural as well as physical. Aside from
- murdering Palestinians this month on the Great March of Return in Gaza,
- on top of the history of house demolitions
- and right at the start, during the Nakba, the flattening of over 500 villages and subsequent erasure of them,
the Nakba law, deprives Israeli public institutions, including schools, universities and libraries, of funding should they mark the Nakba, and is aimed at erasing memory.
70 years from the Nakba, let’s defy Ben Gurion’s prediction that while many have died, those alive will not forget.
Demonstration against Balfour
Members of Sheffield PSC supporting the national demonstration against Balfour. More pictures here.
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Vigil to oppose Balfour-Friday 3rd November
Over 100 people turned up to protest against the creation of Apartheid Israel. The Balfour declaration was signed 100 years ago and led to a catastrophe for the Palestinian people. More pictures here.
Manchester – Balfour
A group of Zionists wanted to celebrate 100 years since the Balfour Declaration. We believe that the creation of a new Apartheid state is nothing to celebrate. A group of us went from Sheffield. One of our sisters fell and broke some bones in her wrist and shoulder. Our thoughts are with her. We wish her a full recovery.
Join us this Friday 3rd November 5pm Sheffield Railway station. Bring a light.
Boycott Saturday 2nd September
As part of our continuing campaign to highlight complicity from major corporations with the Irsaeli arms industry we will be assembling outside HSBC on Fargate, Sheffield city centre.
We are calling on them to end its support for the Israeli Arms industry.
Elbit 5 court case.
The Hearing on August 23rd was a travesty.
The CPS complained that the police had not spoken to them about the charges they had decided on and the CPS were not ready to proceed and might be considering another charge. They had given the defence no notice about this.
The case was therefore adjourned until 13th September to allow the CPS to sort itself out, but with no pressure on them to do anything other than to tell the defence ‘before the hearing’ what they planned to do. This means they can leave it until 7.30 a.m. on the day of the hearing, giving the solicitor no time to discuss things with the 5 people charged. the magistrates were completely uninterested in putting any pressure on the CPS to make a decision in good time.
So: another court hearing on Wednesday 13th Sept at Cannock magistrates court.
Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners
Saturday 6th May. There was a lively protest outside Sheffield Town Hall in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. We were joined by Paul Blomfield, MP (till a week ago and current candidate) for Sheffield Central constituency . The prisoners are on hunger strike over such things as jailed children, family visits restricted to one a year, and administrative detention (jail with no trial). For more information go here.
Support Malaka Shwaikh – sign our petition
Possibly the worst thing a newspaper can do to a Muslim woman is to publish a picture of her under the headline “I am proud to be called a terrorist”. This is exactly what the Mail on line has done to Malaka Shwaikh.
Malaka is currrently at Exter University, studying under Ilan Pappe , a Jewish Israeli Professor; she is in no way anti-semitic. Before she moved from Sheffield, Malaka was a member of Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign. She is an intelligent articulate active anti-racist.
What has stirred the ire of the Pro Israeli and Zionist campaigners is that she is Palestinian, articulate and effective.
The full sentence she used was: “If terrorism means protecting and defending my land, I am so proud to be called terrorist. What an honour for the Palestinians!” This was said in the context of Israel’s 2014 bloody onslaught on Gaza. The wilful ripping out of part of the sentence completely misrepresents her position.
The attack on Malaka is part of a coordinated attempt to discredit pro-Palestinian campaigners. Israel has become increasingly right wing and xenophobic. It is feted by white supremacists and Islamophobes. Its supporters desperately hope to drown out criticism of Israel’s illegal land theft by false allegations of terrorism and anti Semitism.
If the Daily Mail’s malevolent distortion is allowed to stand Malaka’s ability to travel, to return to Gaza, and live a normal life will be made near impossible. It will also embolden the Mail for further attacks.
What you can do
- Read the statement by Sheffield PSC.
- Raise the issue in your place of worship, trade union or community group, classmates etc.
- Complain to IPSO (You will need to refer to the article here)
- Complain to the Daily Mail
- Send a message of support to Malaka via Sheffield PSC
- Sign the online petition [emailpetition id=”3″]
- If you are doing a paper petition, please download from here and return the completed sheets to Sheffield PSC as detailed on the document