Please come out and support the Palestinians in their hour of need this Saturday. Bring your Trade union banners!

The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is extreme. Israel’s total siege, cutting off water, food and power, combined with the relentless bombing campaign of this densely populated urban prison has caused 5.700 deaths, many more serious injuries and immense suffering. The world is looking on with horror and demands the immediate end of this terror, urgent humanitarian aid, the release of the hostages, an end to the occupation and a serious international initiative to bring lasting peace with justice for the Palestinians.

  1.  Sheffield rally outside City Hall at 12 noon Saturday 28th October

Barker’s Pool / City Hall.  Rally once more for Palestine – spread the word. “Ceasefire now!   Stop the Genocide!” Last Saturday thousands turned out for our rally and march in Sheffield and we had an amazing response from the public. We can’t march every Saturday so this one will be a static rally in Barkers Pool. But let’s make it even bigger and give a clear message to Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer to oppose the slaughter that’s taking place in Gaza.

  1. Sheffield coach to London demo – depart 8am Saturday 28th October

Last week 300,000 marched in solidarity with Palestine in London. SPCIA is organising a coach to take the Sheffield banner and make a visible show of support from our city. Please bring cash to purchase Palestine flags and badges on the bus.

The coach will leave from outside The Hubs Paternoster row Sheffield S1 2QQ at 8am prompt, assembling on the Embankment at 12noon. The bus will be returning around 4pm at an agreed point.

Link for tickets for Saturday’s demo https://buytickets.at/palestine solidarity campaign/1045401

Return tickets cost £25 waged but if you can please pay the solidarity price of £35 by making the donation of £10. We have a limited number of tickets for unwaged and students at £10

  1.    Statement from a number of Sheffield Labour Councillors attached

9 Muslim Labour Councillors in Sheffield have issued a powerful statement opposing the war on Gaza.

  1. Sheffield Palestine Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid newsletter below

Latest newsletter is below. You can sign up to receive these direct in your mailbox. Sign the pledge to stand with Palestine and help us make Sheffield an Israeli Apartheid Free Zone.

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In this edition:

ITEM 1: Call to Action – get involved

ITEM 2: In brief – what Sheffield  and surrounding towns have done so far

ITEM 3: Send emergency relief to Gaza – Sheffield and the
nearby towns act together, plus why it’s needed

ITEM 4: Hear the latest from Musheir

ITEM 5: A Call from Gaza to avoid Western media bias:
plus alternative sources of reliable information

ITEM 6: A message from the West Bank

ITEM 7: Voices of Sheffield children standing with Palestine

ITEM 8: Join the movement to make Sheffield an Israeli
Apartheid-Free City

ITEM 1:

Saturday October 28th:

  • Saturday 28th October at 12.00 noon. Barker’s Pool / City Hall.  Rally once more for Palestine  – spread the word. ” Ceasefire now!   Stop the Genocide!”
  • On the same day, Saturday 28th, a coach will go from Sheffield to London,  representing us at another major national rally in Londoncalling for an immediate ceasefire.  Book a seat here, cost £25.or £35 solidarity ticket price to cover costs and subsidise some seats. We have a limited number of seats at £10 for unwaged and students.

Wednesday November 1st:

  • Rally at Sheffield Town Hall at 1.00pm.
  • The Council will be holding its full meeting ( i.e. all Councillors), including those who decided to fly the Israeli flag. Importantly, those who opposed it (Green Party) will be there too.
  • We demand that our Council speaks for all of Sheffield and does not act as a mouthpiece for the Government and Labour “opposition”. Every Councillor must make their position clear.
  • More information to follow.

Put pressure on those we have elected. The UK Government and all MPs have a legal and moral duty to speak and act within International law. Please take these actions now:

  • Use this  e-action set up by Medical Aid for Palestinians to tell MPs to act now to protect Palestinians from Israeli atrocities.
  •  Use this e-action set up by PSC to tell all our MPs to sign EDM 1685, and make what are very basic demands of a ceasefire, protection of civilians in Gaza and full humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.  (Olivia Blake and Clive Betts have signed.)
  • Write your own letter to your Councillors.
NOTE:  In all we say, do and write on placards, on rallies and elsewhere, take care to protect yourself and the solidarity movement.
CHECK OUR NEWSLETTER  AND THIS WEBSITE FOR NOTICES OF EMERGENCY RALLIES AND ACTIONS IN SHEFFIELD
ITEM 2:
Last Saturday, October 21st, Sheffield and neighbouring towns proudly stood with Palestine.
.
 So far, since October 7th,  we have held four rallies, united for a common cause. We salute Black Lives Matter and Sheffield Youth for Palestine who organised their inclusive demonstration – underlining the central fact:  communites in Sheffield  are as one, shoulder to shoulder for justice for the people of Palestine, who are brutally oppressed from the river to the sea. We also welcome solidarity from friends and comrades from neighbouring towns and cities, e.g. from Rotherham to Chesterfield.

Let’s give a glimpse of that unity across the rallies, including these groups and others: Palestinians of Sheffield, Black Lives Matter, Sheffield Youth for Palestine, Jewish citizens of Sheffield, our Sheffield Muslim brothers and sisters, Chile Solidarity groups, the Yemeni Community, Palestine Student Societies, the Sheffield Green Party, SYMAAG (South Yorkshire Migration, Asylum and Action group), Mums United, members of the home-schooling movement, Sheffield XR, Sheffield Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, Tadhamon Campaigning Choir, Stop the War Sheffield and Chesterfield,comrades from Rotherham Palestine support groups, Sheffield Trades Council, Kairos Sheffield, Sheffield Labour Friends of Palestine, Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign. (Pardon any accidental omissions and tell us about your group’s solidarity)

We urge all groups to join the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. (see end of  this newsletter)  Let’s make sure that never again will Sheffield fly the Israeli flag. This city belongs to ALL of us, not just to the Council.

NOTE: ONLY the Green Party has collectively opposed the flying of Israel’s flag and spoken at every rally. They have been joined by a small number of brave Labout Councillors, defying the Labour hierarchy.

Our representatives must speak for us, and not  be the voice of  the Conservative Government and the Labour “Opposition” .

ITEM 3:
What are we doing to support emergency relief in Gaza?

We are collecting donations for emergency aid. Please donate and circulate this information to friends and family.

Find out how you can help: click here

How is the money being spent?

In Gaza, Musheir continues to work with local volunteers purchasing what supplies he can in local shops to provide food parcels for destitute and homeless families (the support includes batteries to assist with pumping water and very limited access to electricity).

Our donations go exclusively to cover emergency relief.

Below: video evidence of why this is urgently needed.

Khan Younis last night.
ITEM 4:
Hear directly from Musheir in Gaza.
Find other short films and despatches from Gaza here on Musheir’s Facebook page.
Circulate these films as widely as possible.
Here in Sheffield: We salute Musheir, who – day after day – broadcasts reports of indiscriminate attacks on Khan Younis. This city is a mirror image of what’s happening across Gaza. The personal and political integrity of this work,  prioritising the truth about Palestinians facing genocide, is deeply  respected.
ITEM 5:
A call from Gaza  – avoid Western media bias.
Click here to see Musheir’s appeal to us, asking us to choose carefully what we watch and listen to.
Leaflets issued in the Sheffield Rally on October 21st offer alternative sources of reliable information other than the mainstream broadcast and print media.

If you did not manage to get a leaflet, please see the recommendations below, with QR codes for easy access.

We ask you to circulate this information widely.

Above: Electronic Intifada: Daily news, comment and analysis
Above: Mondoweiss – news and opinions on the Middle East, Palestine, Israel the USA
Above: Middle East Eye: news, opinion, videos and live reports.
Above: Al Jazeera – online world news site, with a section on the Middle East. Also on TV.
If you want to understand the Nakba, (1947-9)  which was the first wave of  the  ongoing 75 year-old ethnic cleansing of Palestine, we recommend “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Professor  Ilan Pappe, of Exeter University.
ITEM 6:
A message from  a friend in  the West Bank (anonymised for that person’s safety):
The West Bank nowadays is a concentration camp.  Villages and cities are closed: there is no way to move around.

98 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank since the 7th of October; 600 Palestinians have been forcibly removed from their communities.

Fear is everywhere.

My friend and his son were murdered  by Israeli settlers south of Nablus. He is a well-known activist. Farmers are unable to reach their olive fields to harvest the crops and now is the season  There is a huge fear because of the uncertainty of what will happen from day to day.

What actually terrifies me more is the absence of values in the western governments  regarding Israel….especially in the  EU, UK and USA. 

I believe strongly that we will heal from this and we will build Gaza again.
But how  will we make the Western governments believe in good values?”

ITEM 7:
The voices of children of Sheffield
Let’s end this newsletter by applauding the fact that even very young children of Sheffield are standing with Palestine.
This is just one of the touching poems read aloud by youngsters of Sheffield, courageous enough to address a massive assembly at the rally, supported by one of their tutors. We also thank the small girl who led  the chant of “Free Palestine” and the slightly older boy who did the same .
You are inspiring!
ITEM 8:
Join the movement to make Sheffield
an Israeli Apartheid-Free city
Use the QR code above, OR click here.

Please pass to your friends. Contact us on this email:

spcagainstisraeliapartheid@gmail.com

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