Nearly 100 people gathered at the Sheffield Railway Station to demand the freedom of Palestinians on Tuesday afternoon, as the conflict between Palestine and Israel worsens.
Julie Pearn, Chair of the Sheffield Labour Friends of Palestine, said: “We are horrified by the bombing of Gaza, which has gone on incessantly. The poor people in Gaza are incarcerated and have been bombed almost every year.
“The children are traumatised, they have died in the hundreds. We demand an end to this outrage.
“We demand that of our politicians, we demand it of the international community and we come in our numbers to show Palestinians that although our politicians speak in support of Israeli apartheid, people care and support them and long for their freedom.”
Led by the Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign, or Sheffield PSC, many other co-organised campaigns that were in support of Palestine joined the protest today, chanting, “Palestine will be free.”
Description: As the chanting continued, bypassing cars sounded their horns to express approval for the campaign’s anti-apartheid messages and for the freedom of Palestine.
In response to the Sheffield City Council flying an Israeli flag on the town hall on Tuesday morning, Pearn said: “The City Council should be on the side of the oppressed, not the oppressor.”
On the same evening, a member of the campaign managed to climb the building and take down the Israeli flag, putting up a Palestinian flag in its place.
Paul Whimpeney, 75, member of the Sheffield PSC, said: “It’s amazing. Normally, when we have a meeting, when there’s not a big conflagration or uprising like this, we might only get 30 or 40 people, and they might all look a bit like me (chuckles), with grey hair or even no hair, etcetera.
“But clearly there’s lots of young people here, there’s a good mix of ages, so that pleases me that the issue is being thought about by a wide spectrum of people.”
Description: As Whimpeney said, not only were the campaigners present but also students in support of the muslim community voiced their demands at today’s rally.
Aesha, a 26-year-old Sheffield Hallam University student from Saudi Arabia, said: “I wish I could do so much more, but this is the least and only thing I can do, in addition to praying, of course.”
“I felt so humiliated that day. These people are being kicked out of their houses and killed. I think it’s humiliation, not only for them, but also for us as Muslims and for all humans who are looking for the right thing.”