A group of pro-Palestine organizations in the UK organized a vigil outside the Israeli embassy in London against the Israeli forced eviction of Palestinian inhabitants of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Occupied Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) Friends of al Aqsa (FOA) Muslim Association in Britain (MAB) CND Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Stop the War coalition organized a protest in solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Jarrah in Occupied Jerusalem. The protest took place outside the Israeli embassy in London on Friday evening.
The protest was quickly organized after the process of ethnic cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah intensified and the Salhiyeh family home was demolished on the 18th January in the middle of the night. Hundreds attended the protest and speakers of each organization delivered speeches.
The PFB’s speaker Salem Nusseibah presented a staunch rejection of British complicity in his speech: “It is upon us to say no to our government’s policy to say no to Boris Johnson no to the United States’ policy no to Biden’s policy no to Trump’s policy no to neo-colonialism”.
Shabbir Lakka of Stop the War followed he began his speech by outlining that the forced demolitions and evictions in Sheikh Jarrah are “called ethnic cleansing”. He pointed out that ethnic cleansing is central to Zionism and that “it was a process begun by the British and carries on today because the US enables it”.
A national officer from the NEU Louise Regan said in her statement: “it is disgraceful that the residents of Sheikh Jarrah are arrested injured and that their homes are destroyed” she went on to say “the National Education Union will continue to pressure on our government to hold Israel accountable for its actions”.
The chair of the PSC Kamel Hawwash was next to speak he highlighted his personal connection to the current ethnic cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah: “one of the homes threatened in Sheikh Jarrah is my cousin’s so it is a very personal issue. My cousin’s son has also been detained in prison without charge Mourad Aqiyah.” He also went on to call the destruction of the Salhiyeh family home “the most appalling act”.
The protest despite the cold weather and despite the rapid speed with which it was called was substantially attended. The protestors made their support for Sheikh Jarrah clear with lively chants and its speakers strongly emphasized their condemnations of the demolitions and of British past and present complicity.
