British Jews blockaded the Foreign Office on Tuesday calling for the Government to suspend all arms exports to Israel.
The organisation Na’amod UK (British Jews Against Occupation) staged a peaceful sit-in protest with tents and banners outside King Charles Street, Westminster in the early hours of Tuesday morning, demanding the Government "fund aid not arms" in Gaza.
Na’amod is a grassroots movement of more than 300 Jews in the UK that aims to mobilise the community in support of freedom and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis. The group has organised various demonstrations since October in solidarity with Palestinians, agitating for an immediate ceasefire, hostage deal, and end to the Israeli siege of Gaza.
A number of placards demanding the UK Gov take action were also unveiled during the protest (naamoduk)Sydney, a Na’amod activist who did not want to give their last name, said in an opening statement to attendees: “Today, we gather outside the Foreign Office as Jews in the UK who will not stand idly by while our Government is complicit in the slaughter and starvation of Palestinian civilians. We are here to demand that the UK restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and suspend the sale of arms to Israel.
“5% of the total population of Gaza have been killed or wounded since October, and 85% are now displaced. People are starving, cooking grass and animal feed to keep their children alive. As the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights has reminded us, we have known that a ceasefire cannot wait, and the UN Security Council has finally reached the same conclusion.
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“The wind is blowing in one clear direction, yet despite this, the UK remains slow to act. We are here to exhort the UK Government to hold Israel to account in word and action.”
One of the organisers of the action, James, who also did not want to give their last name, commented: “I am proud to have stood with fellow British Jews from Na’amod outside the Foreign Office today, calling for an immediate ceasefire, the restoration of funding to the UNRWA and an end to arms sales in Israel while they use UK weapons to commit war crimes.
Na’amod is a grassroots movement of more than 300 Jews in the UK (naamoduk)“The only way to respond to the injustice and horror of this indiscriminate killing, this forced starvation and ethnic cleansing, is to act. I would say to all Jews in the UK that you are welcome to join our movement and stand alongside us for freedom and justice for all – our community is growing larger every day.”
It comes after the Government allegedly received advice from its own lawyers warning that Israel is breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza. A letter sent to Foreign Secretary David Cameron last Wednesday, co-ordinated by Labour MP Zarah Sultana and signed by more than 130 cross-party parliamentarians, urged the Government to follow other countries' lead in halting all arms exports to Israel.
A YouGov poll published yesterday (Thursday) revealed a majority of Brits (58%) back such a ban. 71% of those intending to vote Labour at the next election supported an embargo, with only 9% opposed. Conservative voters were split 38% to 36% on the issue.
And four former Supreme Court Justices are now among the signatories of another 17-page letter to the Government warning that the UK is legally obliged to act in preventing the "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza, as per the International Court of Justice's January ruling. The letter argues that the ongoing sale of weapons and manufacturing systems to Israel "falls significantly short" of the Government's responsibilities under international law.
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