Report on picket of Marks & Spencer
Janie Nicholson | 05.02.2004 23:17 | Anti-racism | Repression | London
Report on this week's picket of M&S in support of the Palestinian Intifada and against M&S' support for Zionism.
The picket against Marks and Spencer’s support for the Zionist regime in Israel was a strong and militant one this week. There could have been a few more of us (so next week bring a friend, or ten) but not one of our 30 or so picketers was inactive for a minute of the two-hour demonstration. We leafletted, petitioned, shouted slogans, made and listened to speeches, did a bit of street theatre and talked to many sympathetic members of the public.
While our target over the last four years has always been M&S and our aim to expose its support for Israel, since last summer we have ourselves been the subject of a demonstration. Betar (the youth wing of Likud, Israel’s ruling party) come to Oxford Street each week to demonstrate against us. Their main activists use their megaphone to pour out a stream of abuse against us, targeting our religion or politics or just us as individuals. And the more we ignore them, the more upset they are – they make no secret of their aim to clear us off the streets, either by intimidation, or by causing public disorder such that the police will do the clearing for them. So far, all their tactics have failed. We are staying, and we will grow stronger! We owe it to the valiant fighters of the Intifada who face far, far worse every single day not to be daunted or worn down.
It does have to be said, however, that the Zionists were out in force tonight. Most of the new people on their picket were teenagers who appeared to have been shipped in en masse from some youth association, having been told that our demo ‘supported suicide bombers’ and denied the holocaust. Some of the less committed ones were a bit non-plussed when they realised the reality was different. And although we certainly wouldn’t go in for the same kind of con-trick to get people onto our pickets, we do need to take steps to up our numbers. We don’t want there to be any days when there are more of them visible on the street than there are of us.
So, if you are against Zionist brutality and abhor British chainstores handing their money over to support it, join us on a Thursday night outside the Marble Arch M&S from 6-8pm. We will be there every week.
Palestine will be free. Victory to the Intifada.
While our target over the last four years has always been M&S and our aim to expose its support for Israel, since last summer we have ourselves been the subject of a demonstration. Betar (the youth wing of Likud, Israel’s ruling party) come to Oxford Street each week to demonstrate against us. Their main activists use their megaphone to pour out a stream of abuse against us, targeting our religion or politics or just us as individuals. And the more we ignore them, the more upset they are – they make no secret of their aim to clear us off the streets, either by intimidation, or by causing public disorder such that the police will do the clearing for them. So far, all their tactics have failed. We are staying, and we will grow stronger! We owe it to the valiant fighters of the Intifada who face far, far worse every single day not to be daunted or worn down.
It does have to be said, however, that the Zionists were out in force tonight. Most of the new people on their picket were teenagers who appeared to have been shipped in en masse from some youth association, having been told that our demo ‘supported suicide bombers’ and denied the holocaust. Some of the less committed ones were a bit non-plussed when they realised the reality was different. And although we certainly wouldn’t go in for the same kind of con-trick to get people onto our pickets, we do need to take steps to up our numbers. We don’t want there to be any days when there are more of them visible on the street than there are of us.
So, if you are against Zionist brutality and abhor British chainstores handing their money over to support it, join us on a Thursday night outside the Marble Arch M&S from 6-8pm. We will be there every week.
Palestine will be free. Victory to the Intifada.
Janie Nicholson
e-mail:
victoryintifada@hotmail.com