Category: past events

Peterborough City Council has passed a motion that will resolve the council to strengthen investment and procurement policies to incorporate the United Nations Guiding Principles on Human Rights, explicitly preclude investment in entities implicated in the production of weapons, state violence, war and occupation, and retender its existing banking contracts with an ethical banking partner.

The motion comes to council following a relentless bombing campaign by Israel in Gaza, with the current “war” already into its 20th month. In this time, Israel has killed over 60,000 people, with the majority being women and children. Israel is now making it difficult for aid to get into Gaza and is pushing the entire 2 million+ population to the brink of starvation.

Many organisations have described these acts as illegal under international law, and with the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, Israel continues in its quest to ethnically cleanse the entire region.

Cllr Imtiaz Ali (Green) of Orton Longueville ward tabled a motion to full council on Wednesday (June 18) to push the council to act on its commitments of ethical investment and procurement, specifically citing the extensive investments that the council has, either directly or indirectly, in companies that are complicit with Israel’s Human Rights violations.

The motion also commits the council to monitor the Cambridgeshire Pension Schemes investment at an appropriate forum, whether that be at Audit Committee, or included as a link on Full Council agendas.

The vote was passed with 39 votes recorded in favour, 4 against, and 15 abstentions.

Speaking in support of his motion, Cllr Ali said: “…although many members said they found it difficult to get behind this motion if that word [genocide] were to remain, it doesn’t change my view that what we are seeing, live, in 4k, on a daily basis, is anything other than Israel committing a genocide in Gaza.”

He went on to say “Let me be clear, this [motion] is not about politics, nor is it about choosing sides in a geopolitical conflict. This is about whether we, as a council, choose to uphold the universal principles of human rights and international law. It is about ensuring that our investments do not fund oppression, wherever it may occur.”

In response to the motion, a number of councillors also spoke, including Deputy Leader of the council, Mohammed Jamil, who seconded the motion.

​Cllr Mohammed Jamil – Labour group deputy leader

“I don’t know about other councillors, but my inbox certainly in the last couple of weeks has been so saturated by residents, people who we represent, who have asked me to support this motion. And I, like my colleague Cllr Cole, actually believe it should be ethical and it should be right across the board.”

Cllr Blakemore-Creedon – Independent councillor

“I support the principles this motion claims to uphold, human rights, ethical investment, and a commitment to justice. These are values I deeply believe in. This motion includes strong and specific references to Israel, calling it an illegal occupier. Despite removing the word genocide, this motion still refers to Israel as committing apartheid, which is something I can’t get behind…”

Cllr Katie Cole – Labour councillor

“I’ll be supporting this motion but I believe it could and should go further and look at all unethical investments that support war [and cause] human suffering in all areas across the world.”

The meeting can be viewed on the Peterborough City Council’s YouTube channel.

The last National Demonstration for Palestine, commemorating 77 years of ongoing Nakba, more than half a million people marched on the streets of London. However, mainstream media gravely misrepresented this historic moment, speaking of ‘thousands’ or ‘tens of thousands’ rather than ‘hundreds of thousands’. This is why, on the 23rd of May, we as the Norfolk branch of PSC submitted a formal complaint to OFCOM – the National Office for Communications. The complaint reads as follows and we have yet to receive a response:

We are writing to OFCOM in this manner to avoid the algorithmic labyrinth which comprises your formal complaints form. The tragedy unfolding in Gaza is an intense human tragedy, one which cannot be denied, one which has historical consequences for all involved, and which therefore requires direct communication between all of us.

We need not remind you of your legal duties to ensure that the standards of “due impartiality” and “due accuracy” are met by the non-print media. This was definitely not the case in the reporting of the numbers marching in London in support of the Palestinians on Saturday the 17^th of May. The media variously quoted the police figure of 20,000 or gave the numbers as amounting to thousands (BBC TV and ITV) or tens of thousands (SKY).

The actual verifiable turnout based on photographic evidence was at least 500,000. The Independent online later modified their earlier report to include this figure. They were the exception. The under-reporting or misreporting differed by at least a factor of ten. In other words, the Metropolitan Police counted only 4 in every 100 while the rest counted less than 10 in every 100.

An error of this magnitude goes beyond the lack of due diligence. It speaks to bias, to an orchestrated campaign to minimise the level of active opposition to Israel’s actions and ambitions in Gaza and the West Bank.  Our complaint is not in isolation and falls under the context of numerous court cases being heard in the UK regarding the UK government’s breaches of its own laws and codes both at home and at The Hague.

Therefore, we must conclude not only bias but collusion in support of the British and Israeli governments. You are instructed under the terms and obligations of your legal mandate to investigate this bias and inaccuracy, not to mention, in the name of humanity.

We demand, and will only be satisfied by, a thorough and full investigation by your Office. Given that the majority of Britain, according to every poll, disapprove of the conduct of the Israeli Government and their backers in Gaza and given the likelihood that these events amount to a Genocide under the Convention, you need to proceed with the utmost caution and seriousness.

We will of course be happy to participate in any investigation and provide supporting evidence.

We look forward to the results of your comprehensive investigation.

For and on behalf of The Committee,
Norfolk Palestine Solidarity Campaign

26 January 2025

As the World Bowls Tour comes to an end, Norfolk PSC, Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card, and Scottish Sport for Palestine noted that Israeli competitor Daniel Alonim was knocked out in round 1. They expressed their immeasurable disappointment that Daniel Alonim did not make the morally honourable choice and withdraw of his own volition.

Multiple news agencies, including local EDP reporter Bruno Brown, asked the group if they thought it was fair to call for withdrawal of players under the Gleneagles agreement. Citing that individuals may not necessarily agree with their countries’ policies of apartheid and in this case additional, well documented, actions of suspected genocide.

Norfolk PSC and partners’ response was clear: they invited Daniel Alonim to demonstrate where his commitment lay in relation to Israel’s policies.

“If an individual (or team) does not support the policy of apartheid, they have the power to boycott competitions,” a spokesperson said.

Adding that “this would send a clear message to sporting organisers and people around the world.”

The international court of Justice, Amnesty International, and many other humanitarian agencies have decreed Israel to be an apartheid state.

Daniel Alonim refused to respond or withdraw, communicating unequivocally his complete disregard and indifference for the suffering of Palestinians at the hands of Zionist policies.

An estimate of over 45,000 Palestinian deaths were reported by the UN (December 2024), 70% of which were women and children. A peer reviewed study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine suggested this figure may be 41% higher.

The “Israeli killing machine” killed 14,000 children, left 20,000 missing under the rubble or in mass graves, and injured and maimed many others.
(UN, 23 January 2025)

Norfolk PSC and partners reaffirmed their commitment to the monumental Gleneagles agreement, of which the UK is a signatory, declaring that “we will continue to call out any sporting event or sporting body who flouts this agreement by allowing players from Israel, a country accused of apartheid, to compete.”

The Metropolitan Police has promoted a misleading narrative about the events in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, claiming that a peaceful delegation pushed through police lines in an attempt to justify their repressive actions on Saturday 18 January. This could not be further from the truth.

On Saturday 18 January, we organised a rally on Whitehall to call for a permanent end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Despite our long-standing record of peaceful demonstrations, the police, under political pressure from pro-Israel groups, banned our planned march to the BBC. In response, we announced plans for a rally and a peaceful protest against this anti-democratic ban.

Ahead of the rally, we publicly called on the police to rescind the restrictions they had imposed and allow our march to go ahead. We had also made clear that if they refused to do so we would hold a rally and protest against the ban as part of that rally. The police were fully aware of these statements and our intentions.

On the day, we were confronted with extremely heavy-handed and aggressive policing. With less than 24 hours’ notice, the police had imposed a series of complex restrictions preventing people from assembling at various points on Whitehall at various times of the day – notably an area at the centre of Whitehall from which rally participants were excluded for part of the day to allow space for a children’s marching band to proceed up and down. As a result, a number of people were arrested without warning, on flimsy pretexts including simply for inadvertently standing in this central area at the wrong time. We understand that a total of 77 people were arrested on the day, 66 of them for alleged violations of these orders.

At the end of the rally, it was announced from the stage that, as an act of protest against the police ban, a delegation of organisers and rally speakers – including an 87-year-old Jewish Holocaust survivor, politicians including MPs, and prominent cultural figures – would walk silently and peacefully towards the BBC. It was clearly stated that the delegation expected to be stopped by the police and that no attempt would be made to push through police lines – the delegation would simply leave the flowers they were carrying at the feet of the police and disperse in an orderly and dignified manner. They anticipated being stopped at the line of police that had been constructed at the top of Whitehall.

When the delegation reached this police line, they were not stopped as expected but were instead invited to proceed into Trafalgar Square by the police who said, ‘please filter through.’ When the delegation reached the other end of the square, they encountered a line of police which prevented them from going any further. They formally requested that the delegation – a maximum of 25 people – be allowed to proceed. The police officer in charge said he would need to ‘pass this up the line for a decision.’ While the delegation was awaiting that response, the police violently and for no apparent reason arrested the chief steward of the rally, Chris Nineham. At this point, the delegation laid their flowers as they had said they would do and dispersed, and Ben Jamal and Ismail Patel used a megaphone to call on the crowd that had gathered around them to do the same, which people then did. At no stage was there any organised breach of the conditions imposed by the police. There is a large amount of video evidence confirming all of these events.

This is a direct assault on freedom of assembly and democracy. The police’s actions, including their false statements after the event, are deeply troubling. We demand the immediate release of all those arrested and remain resolute in our campaign for freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Palestinian Forum in Britain

Friends of Al-Aqsa

Stop the War Coalition

Muslim Association of Britain

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament