A small group of supporters attended the demonstration which was posted about here, organised by Sam Westrop. We gave out leaflets to largely polite sightseers in Trafalgar Square. One young woman recoiled with distaste when she saw the words ‘Stop a nuclear Iran’. She was wearing a T Shirt emblazoned with a CND logo.
There were two leaflets in fact – although I had no problem with the ‘Stop a nuclear Iran’ one, which included criticism of the regime’s treatment of minorities, as well as information about its genocidal statements about Israel, I preferred the other – ‘No to Al Quds Day’. I think this is partly because, although I certainly don’t want to see a nuclear Iran, I have no idea how best to prevent/contain this threat.
But the Al Quds Day issue is both simpler and more local – the march will take place this Friday, in London. Judging by past form, it will be characterised by messages of hatred against Israel, and support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the repressive Iranian regime.
Counter-demonstrating against this hatefest shouldn’t be left to BIC, and should most certainly be compatible with support for Palestinian aspirations to statehood, just as counter-demonstrating against the EDL should be perfectly compatible with concerns about Islamism. This year Lauren Booth will be speaking once again – the Atzmon fan who thinks the PSC are Zionist appeasers.
In an ideal world shouldn’t anti-racists and anti-fascist groups be protesting against this kind of event?
