I am posting this here so that there will be a permanent gesture of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. I have attended 4 demonstrations, each Saturday since the current campaign of genocide & ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state began. I will continue to turn up in the streets until at the very least there is a cease fire (of course the battle for Palestinian freedom will not have been won, but at least the killing will end). I have chosen to incorporate the phrase ‘From the River to the Sea (Palestine will be free)’ into my picture to show solidarity with Palestinian people & to exercise my freedom of speech – our suppressive government & media are trying to stop people from saying this. Of course it goes without saying that I condemn all forms of racism & what is going on right now is neither an excuse for Anti-Semitic or Islamophobic racism. ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free’ is not, in my opinion, Anti-Semitic.

I have written to my MP on the crisis in Gaza who gave me a very comprehensive reply, but unfortunately there was no response to my request to call for an immediate cease fire. Rishi Sunak & his government are of course allowing this genocide to go ahead, our country is in full support of Israel. The marches in street are not ‘Hate Marches’ as Suella Braverman says, we live in such a warped world where marching for peace, solidarity & ceasefire can be seen as ‘hate’. Oh those ‘freedom loving’ Tories who always go on about the sanctity of ‘freedom of speech’ – but not when that extends to hundreds of thousands of people marching in the streets and showing solidarity with people who are being KILLED every single day. We are living under a government who has no mandate to govern, has no democratic authority & worse – they are constantly trying to remove levers of democracy and freedom whilst in power. Keir Starmer’s Labour is also giving the green light for genocide. Bombing hospitals, schools, refugee camps, ambulances & homes (the list goes on and on) is not in any definition of the word ‘Self-defence’. Starmer is also silencing dissent of pro-Palestinian voices in the Labour party, at this point thought that is par for the course for this cowardly lickspittle, anything to appease the ruling classes & right wing media. Anything to silence the left. Anything to silence humanity.

Hamas attacked Israel on 07/10 & many civilians were killed & they are now holding hostages as well. These are war crimes, & there is never a justification for killing civilians. But, if there is no justification for the killing / harming of innocent civilians, then this cannot be used to justify the killing of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in response. Hamas did not come from nowhere, what is happening now did not simply begin on ’07/10′, the Israeli government & its Military the IDF keep the Palestinian people under a brutal system of apartheid & violence is part of everyday life for many Palestinians. Settler colonialism is never justified, it will always bring violence with it & should always be criticised and challenged. How, do we keep making the same mistakes again and again and again? The next big demonstration is on 11/11 – the government wants to stop this, as it is ‘disrespectful’ to do this on Armistice Day. Let’s remind ourselves of what ‘Armistice’ means (according to Wikipedia) :

‘An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the Latin arma, meaning “arms” (as in weapons) and -stitium, meaning “a stopping”.‘

So join the march in the streets on 11/11 & join the call for a ceasefire now, this is the perfect moment to call for peace & a stop to the violence. The pathetic calls for a ‘humanitarian pause’ by the cowardly Labour leadership are not enough, we must demand a ceasefire now.

We cannot stay silent in the face of genocide. We MUST not stay silent. Especially when we as a country are allowing the genocide to happen, the media & political classes in this country are spinning this situation into a confusing mess so that people will not learn the truth. What is going on right now is not a ‘war’ – it is a campaign of death & destruction, it is a relentless mission of ethnic cleansing and genocide. We all have to ask ourselves, are we okay with this? This IS being done in our names. There are ways to voice dissent & to show solidarity with the Palestinian PEOPLE (not that the media or politicians will ever refer to Palestinians as people), it is not hopeless.  Here are the ways which you can help:

#1 Join a demonstration or a march, there are so many happening all over the world, they are happening almost daily in some places. I understand that not everyone will be able to, or some may feel afraid, that’s why I have made this list of other things that will help!

#2 follow Palestinian social media accounts to see the truth of what is happening, LIKE & SHARE their content – this amplifies their voices & helps to break algorithms that are reportedly suppressing pro-Palestinian posts. This also stops the issue from becoming ‘yesterday’s news’ – we must not let the genocide be forgotten.

#3 Write to your MP & Call for a ceasefire – make it clear that you will not be voting for a party that supports genocide & ethnic cleansing.

#4 Boycott companies / products from companies that are either directly fuelling the Israeli War Machine, or are happy to set & shop in the apartheid state (thereby making profit & also contributing to the economy generally). There are so many, and it can be overwhelming, but you could just try boycotting one product at first. Famous examples are: Coca-Cola, HP, Puma, Israeli Produce (check labels!), McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Papa John’s, Dominoes.

#5 (I have not actually done this yet) Write to stores / restaurants that stock products (eg. Coca-Cola) supportive of the Israeli state & ask them to please not stock them.

#6 Talk to people, debate with people, argue the case for Palestinian people. Break the spell of mainstream media narratives.

#7 If you can afford to (If not, I believe all of the above will have an impact), donate to Palestinian aid foundations / charities (I also have not done this yet)

Please, do not stay silent on this issue. This is an important moment, please do not turn away from what is happening to the Palestinian people.

Updated (10/12/2023) – DeviantArt decided to remove my post because of ‘Hate Speech’ – please see evidence below.