Reproduced below is the text of the leaflet being handed out on the protest.
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Victory to the Intifada
Join the picket of Marks and Spencer on Oxford Street at Marble Arch
Every Thursday 6-8pm
Public Meeting on the Palestine and Iraq
Saturday 8 May, 12-5pm
The Old Theatre, Houghton St, London School of Economics, WC2. Nearest Tube: Holborn
Boycotting Israeli goods is essential to undermining the Zionist regime but there is one company that MUST
be particularly targeted, just as Barclays was a focus against apartheid South Africa. That company should
be a British one to highlight the links to this country and our responsibility. That company IS Marks &
Spencer - the biggest British corporate sponsor of Israel. Marks & Spencer is not just interested in trading
with Israel for profit like other companies, it IS and ALWAYS has been an unequivocal supporter of Zionism
- 'aiding the economic development of Israel is one of our main objectives" said Lord Sieff the M&S chairman
(1999). The boycott Marks & Spencer campaign has been active nationally since the beginning of the
second Intifada. It continues... Support Palestine! Support the picket!
ZIONISTS AND FASCISTS ATTACK PICKETS!
Recently a counter demonstration to the M&S pickets has begun by an alliance of Zionist extremists and
British fascists. Your support is needed more than ever to defeat these racists who spout lies about Palestine.
Join the pickets! Help defeat M&S's Israeli sponsorship AND their fascist backers!
BOYCOTT M&S: BOYCOTT ISRAELI APARTHEID
"The things a Palestinian has to endure, simply coming to work in the morning, ie a long and continuous nightmare that includes humiliation bordering on despair. The present model integrates apartheid."
(Former head of Israeli Security Service Shin Bet, Ami Aylaon. Ma'ariv 5/12/00)
FACT 42,000 Palestinian civilians have been seriously injured and over 3000 Palestinians have been killed since the Intifada began in September 2000 (www.palestinemonitor.org)
FACT Israel is targeting children: More than one in three of the injured are under 18. Over 600 children under 18 have been killed.
FACT Israel has violated international law (UN Resolutions 242 and 338) by blocking 4 million Palestinian refugees from returning to their homeland while promoting the influx of immigrants to settle in occupied Palestine from Europe, Russia and all over the world.
FACT Shelling and demolition have destroyed 3000 houses and damaged over 43,000. Israelis forces have bulldozed over 900,000 Palestinian olive and fruit trees and 15,000 acres of Palestinian farmland.
Why Boycott M&S? Because M&S...
• supports Israel with £233 million in trade each year (Jerusalem Report, 5 June 2000).
• sells goods produced In the illegally occupied territories.
• were key diplomatic allies for Zionism in the 1920s-40s, working closely Chaim Weizmann*
• M&S Chairman Israel Sieff advocated ethnic cleansing: "large sections of the Arab population of Palestine should be transplanted to Iraq and other Middle-Eastern Arab States" (Jewish Chronicle, 21/09/1941)
• sees "aiding the economic development of Israel" as "one of its fundamental objectives" (Lord Marcus Sieff, long-time M&S Chairman, Management: The M&S Way, 1999).
• "was prominent, even essential, from the 1960s to the 1980s ... partly because of its strong links with Zionism; and partly for its success In getting Israeli goods to the British marketplace" (Barry Kosmin).
• received the Jubilee Award, Israel's highest tribute, from Israeli PM Netanyahu in 1998.
• was honoured in 2000 by the Israeli Ambassador to Britain in a ceremony in London.
• "are as close to Israel as we have ever been" (M&S Spokesperson. Jewish Chronicle, 2000)
Our concern is not with M&S' Jewish roots but with its historic and continuing support for Zionism.
THEY SUPPORT APARTHEID. DON'T SUPPORT THEM!
Get Active, Get Involved,
victoryintifada@hotmail.com or 020 7837 1688 Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!
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* "There is a country which happens to be called Palestine, a country without a people, and on the other hand there exists the Jewish people, and it has no country. What else is necessary, then, but to fit the gem into the ring, to unite this people with this country?"
Chaim Weizmann, future first Israeli President, 1914
"The British told us that there are some hundred thousand blacks [in Palestine], and for those there is no value."
Chaim Weizmann, confiding in a friend, 1917
Finally, in traversing St James Park on the way home, I couldn't resist shooting the ducks against the reflections of the setting sun.
In International Solidarity,
Alex Eisenstein
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Comments
Hide the following 6 comments
who ae the REAL FASCISTS and RACISTS?
07.05.2004 22:10
It is the (unholy) alliance of Communists (those who would tell you that Stalin's
murderous rule or Castro's brutal regime are paragons of virtue and sweetness) and
the Islamofascist scum who want the whole world to kneel to their False prophet
or face the sword (or bomb) of the Jihadi beast. These elements, the dregs of society in
the civilised world, these apologists for suicide bombings, roadside shootings,
massacres of women and children simply because of their religion (or because they are not
muslim), these are the"indymedia" the VTI the vile racists on our streets and not the Jews
fighting for their right to live in peace in their tiny homeland. The Arab terrorists
and their apologists big myth is that it is all about land- really?
Well the Arabs have 22 states and 500 times the land of Israel. They claim it is about poverty- really? Well the Arabs have 78% of the World's oil but instead of using their
vast riches for good they spend their money on terrorism and their campaign for Genocide of the Jewish people living in their tiny homeland Israel. The only democracy in a region of tyranny. The light of freedom in a sea of darkness, opression, sexism and racism.
Victory to the intifada- the morons cry, what does it mean? It means victory to the Jihadi scum, to the suicide bomber and sniper- but more than that it means wiping Israel off the map and replacing it with another Arab tyrannical regime- similar to that ruled previously by that other Indymedia hero- Saddam Hussein- the "democratically elected " ruler of Iraq. As democratic as Assad the murderor and pillager of Lebanon, or Mubarak the thief of Egypt or Arafat the Egyptian murderor occupying Israeli land..
Sorry guys there will be no victory. Your evil, like its ancestor- Nazism- will be vanquished. Israel is here forever, the PLO and the fakestinians are living on borrowed time. Victory to Israel. Justice for the Jewish people.
Arab tyranny will end!
Yehuda Haivri
who ae the REAL FASCISTS and RACISTS?
07.05.2004 22:11
It is the (unholy) alliance of Communists (those who would tell you that Stalin's
murderous rule or Castro's brutal regime are paragons of virtue and sweetness) and
the Islamofascist scum who want the whole world to kneel to their False prophet
or face the sword (or bomb) of the Jihadi beast. These elements, the dregs of society in
the civilised world, these apologists for suicide bombings, roadside shootings,
massacres of women and children simply because of their religion (or because they are not
muslim), these are the"indymedia" the VTI the vile racists on our streets and not the Jews
fighting for their right to live in peace in their tiny homeland. The Arab terrorists
and their apologists big myth is that it is all about land- really?
Well the Arabs have 22 states and 500 times the land of Israel. They claim it is about poverty- really? Well the Arabs have 78% of the World's oil but instead of using their
vast riches for good they spend their money on terrorism and their campaign for Genocide of the Jewish people living in their tiny homeland Israel. The only democracy in a region of tyranny. The light of freedom in a sea of darkness, opression, sexism and racism.
Victory to the intifada- the morons cry, what does it mean? It means victory to the Jihadi scum, to the suicide bomber and sniper- but more than that it means wiping Israel off the map and replacing it with another Arab tyrannical regime- similar to that ruled previously by that other Indymedia hero- Saddam Hussein- the "democratically elected " ruler of Iraq. As democratic as Assad the murderor and pillager of Lebanon, or Mubarak the thief of Egypt or Arafat the Egyptian murderor occupying Israeli land..
Sorry guys there will be no victory. Your evil, like its ancestor- Nazism- will be vanquished. Israel is here forever, the PLO and the fakestinians are living on borrowed time. Victory to Israel. Justice for the Jewish people.
Arab tyranny will end!
Yehuda Haivri
Israel
08.05.2004 15:55
murderous rule or Castro's brutal regime are paragons of virtue and sweetness) and
the Islamofascist scum who want the whole world to kneel to their False prophet
or face the sword (or bomb) of the Jihadi beast."
Firstly, most communists in the UK reject Stalinism and Castroism(?). They see them as bureaucratic degenerate states, and not true communism in any sense. And I think your comment about Arabs living in this country is simply racist and doesn't justify your argument at all.
"These elements, the dregs of society in
the civilised world, these apologists for suicide bombings, roadside shootings,
massacres of women and children simply because of their religion (or because they are not
muslim), these are the"indymedia" the VTI the vile racists on our streets and not the Jews
fighting for their right to live in peace in their tiny homeland."
Their tiny 'homeland' was home to other people just 60 years ago. Over 1,000,000 Palestinians were kicked off their land simply because of nationalist Zionism. They are not apologists, they just recognise the situation that these people are put into, and sympathise.
The Arab terrorists
and their apologists big myth is that it is all about land- really?
Well the Arabs have 22 states and 500 times the land of Israel. They claim it is about poverty- really? Well the Arabs have 78% of the World's oil but instead of using their
vast riches for good they spend their money on terrorism and their campaign for Genocide of the Jewish people living in their tiny homeland Israel. The only democracy in a region of tyranny. The light of freedom in a sea of darkness, opression, sexism and racism.
You are continuing to divide it between Jews and Arabs, which makes you look very stupid. We are talking about Israel and the Palestinians. To say "well, they have 22 states" is pathetic. It's not a battle to see who can have more countries! YOU are making this a racial issue.
"Victory to the intifada- the morons cry, what does it mean? It means victory to the Jihadi scum, to the suicide bomber and sniper- but more than that it means wiping Israel off the map and replacing it with another Arab tyrannical regime- similar to that ruled previously by that other Indymedia hero- Saddam Hussein- the "democratically elected " ruler of Iraq."
He wasn't democratically elected. He was a brutal killer. Aided, just like Israel is now, by the US/UK etc. Do you really think that people on Indymedia sympathise with Saddam Hussein? And no - Victory to the Intifida doesnt mean victory to the "Jihadi scum". It means victory to an oppressed people over a US-watchdog who took people's land, and also deny them of hardly any life whatsoever. It is supporting a resistance.
"As democratic as Assad the murderor and pillager of Lebanon, or Mubarak the thief of Egypt or Arafat the Egyptian murderor occupying Israeli land..
Sorry guys there will be no victory. Your evil, like its ancestor- Nazism"
If you look at Israel, it acts more Nazi-like than anyone. Israel looked to the liquiation of the Warsaw ghetto by the Nazis as a good way of getting rid of Sabra and Shatilla in Southern Lebanon. It believes in a 'homeland' for a 'race', your words, not mine. Isn't that dangerously similar to Hitler?
Israel is here forever, the PLO and the fakestinians are living on borrowed time. Victory to Israel. Justice for the Jewish people.
Arab tyranny will end!
You are very racist by the way.
Anti-Patriot
not all leftists are anti-Israel
08.05.2004 21:00
Look ppl, you attend demonstrations, you organise protests and marches, you create organisations and write articles, but ask yourself, have you really thought it through? Have you read books on the subject other than the anti-Israel propaganda books? After all, if its all false, you should be able to read a proper book on the conflict and refute everything as pro-Israel propaganda. Have you read the claims of the opposing side? Do you know the real issues?
Consider a few things.
The creator of the Palestinian movement, the Mufti of Jerusalem, was a murderous anti-semitic gangster, who murdered peaceful Arabs who sold land to Jews in order to make money (thus restricting supply, thus pushing up prices, so he and his rich landowner friends could continue making huge extortionate amounts of money on their land, selling it to Jews), who was a British imperialist puppet, put in power by Britain and given all his undemocratic power by British imperialists, who then susequently allied himself with fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in the 30s, who during the war travelled around the fascist states, organised SS divisions in the Balkans, instigated the slaughter of 400,000 Jews by asking the Nazis to not allow the Hungarian Jews to escape, but instead to send them to Polish death camps, who organised a pro-Nazi coup in Iraq, and who had persuaded Hitler to invade the Arab world after Russia, place him at its head, and wipe out the Jews.
Consider that in 1948 the Arabs openly said they would exterminate and massacre the Jews, and admitted that they had started the war, and that they expelled about 900,000 Jews from their lands, who had lived there for thousands of years, who had to be absorbed by poor but hard-working Israel.
OPEN YOUR CLOSED MINDS.
ojijoaisd
ok
08.05.2004 21:27
The reason that many people on the left support the struggle of the Palestinians is because they are oppressed. And as socialists/anarchists or whatever, we should stand with the oppressed. Now you can go back thousands of years (like Zionists tend to do) and say that 'god' promised Jews this land etc etc, or you can look at the situation in the last 50 years. People WERE kicked off their land, 1,000,000 at least, Palestinians DO live in tiny enclaves, without rights, under military occupation. THousands are killed yearly.
People on the left shouldn't side with Fascists, Power-seeking Muslims etc. But they should side AGAINST US-Imperialism. And Israel is one of those murdering countries who are supported with $3 billion aid yearly, mostly military. Palestinians have rocks, Israelis have US-made tanks and helicopters.
...
Why being Anti Zionist/Anti Israel is NOT Antisemitic
01.07.2004 13:15
JEWISH ORGANISATIONS OPPOSED TO THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION:
•
Jews Against the Occupation
A Jewish Voice of Opposition to the War on Palestinians
Jewish Friends
of Palestine
An Online Initiative of Jewish Activists for a Free Palestine ~www.jewishfriendspalestine.org
There are many more similar organisations… see
for a more comprehensive list.
ISRAELI HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS:
Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
B’tselem is an independent organisation and acts primarily to change Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories and ensure that its government, which rules the Occupied Territories, protects the human rights of residents there and complies with its obligations under international law.
ISRAELI MEDIA:
PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS:
ZIONIST & ISRAELI PERSECUTION OF JEWISH PEOPLE:
“51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis” by LENNI BRENNER
The killings in the 1950’s of members of the oldest Jewish community in Iraq by Zionists who wanted to force greater Jewish immigration to Israel, is also documented in;
Chapter 5 of “The Gun and The Olive Branch” by DAVID HIRST.
(available for reading on request from members of the M&S picket)
ZIONIST ORGANISATIONS WHICH CLAIM JUDAISM = ZIONISM:
WORLD ZIONIST ORGANISATION
Betar Ideology – Extracts:
“The building of Betar is founded upon the principles of discipline. Our aim is to make Betar such a world organism which, at a sign from the center, will be able simultaneously to move tens of thousands of hands in the cities of all countries.”
“Discipline is the subordination of a mass to one leader; that leader must subordinate himself to his superior, the superior to somebody higher than himself, etc.”
“The salvation of Israel will dawn at the moment when the Jewish Nation will learn how to act together and in unison, preferably as a "machine".”
“We all know, we often deplore the fact that to the average Jews manners of appearance are of no consequence whatsoever, this is not a "trifle" it is an important problem of self-respect. A man must care of his bodily cleanliness not because he fears his fellow men, but simply by reason of self-respect.” (notice the anti-semitic notion that the average diasporic Jew is “unclean”.)
“Woman is a born "organizer". Since ancient times, she has always played the organizing part in every family. The man was the "conqueror", the "attainer"; he was a hunter; it was his job to find edible "stuff" for the table, garments to cover the body…There is also the type of empty headed, flapperish girl; but nonetheless, every one of the latter too has this inclination to orderliness, to quiet systematization. Betarian education will have to seek the way in which to train a refined citizeness for the Jewish State.”
I would like to emphasise just how much this campaign against Israeli occupation and Zionism acts in favour of the Jewish people, as well as the many Palestinian people who are living under occupation.
Firstly, Zionism, or the creation of a Jewish national state (Eretz Yisrael) in Palestine, requires not only the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, but the so-called 'ingathering of the exiles' of Jews from around the world. It is a situation of ethnic 'push' AND 'pull'.
On many occasions, the Zionists have collaborated with Anti-semitic policies in other countries (UK, USA, Nazi Germany etc) to justify the creation of their 'Jewish state'.
The collaboration between Zionists and Nazis is documented in the following:
1) 'The Role of Zionism in the Holocaust' by Rabbi Gedalya Liebermann
(see
2) BOOK: '51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis' by Lenni Brenner
In the 1950's, when Jewish immigration into Israel was at a low, a Zionist group called 'The Movement' went into Iraq and terrorised the oldest Babylonian Jewish community in the world. This forced Jewish immigration into Israel and was initially blamed on Arab extremists, yet was later exposed to be the action of a Zionist organisation. This is documented in the following:
1) 'The Jews of Iraq' by Naeim Gilad
(see
This article gives the testimony of one Iraqi Jew who fled to Israel after the Zionists terrorised his community, only to discover firstly, a 2-tier society in Israel whereby Oriental Jews were treated as second-class citizens to European Jews, and secondly, the true antisemitic and racist nature of the Zionism.
2) BOOK: 'The Gun and the Olive Branch' by David Hirst, Chapter 5
The Jewish people are just being used as pawns by the collaboration between the US, UK and Israeli governments in their occupationalist 'war on terrorism'. The Israeli govermenent illegally occupies Palestinian land, knowing full well that oppressed people will resist occupation, yet still encourages Jewish immigration to Israel. It does not give a damn about the welfare of the Jewish people - every suicide bombing is used as an excuse to collectively punish, bulldoze, and occupy Palestinian land. It murders and elderly Hamas leader in a wheelchair, in the knowledge that this will aggravate more violence, hence another excuse to build the apartheid 'safety' wall.
As a group of socialists/communists/anarchists/jews/christians/muslims etc., I think people who support the pickets would see the reason to fight for the right of Jews (and Muslims & Christians) to live in whichever country they wish, and see fighting antisemitism accross the world as more important than using it as an excuse to build a Jewish State.
I would like to leave you with an extract of Betar Ideology (Betar is the Zionist youth wing of the Likud party, who support the counter-pickets), and with a list of Jewish organisations who are opposed to Zionism and to Israeli occupation.
Betar Ideology (quote):
“The building of Betar is founded upon the principles of discipline. Our aim is to make Betar such a world organism which, at a sign from the center, will be able simultaneously to move tens of thousands of hands in the cities of all countries.”
“Discipline is the subordination of a mass to one leader; that leader must subordinate himself to his superior, the superior to somebody higher than himself, etc.”
“The salvation of Israel will dawn at the moment when the Jewish Nation will learn how to act together and in unison, preferably as a "machine".”
“We all know, we often deplore the fact that to the average Jew manners of appearance are of no consequence whatsoever, this is not a "trifle" it is an important problem of self-respect. A man must care of his bodily cleanliness not because he fears his fellow men, but simply by reason of self-respect.” (notice the anti-semitic notion that the average diasporic Jew is “unclean”.)
see
Jewish Organisations who are against Zionism/Israeli occupation:
1) Jews United Against Zionism:
2) Jews Against Zionism:
3) Jews Not Zionists:
4) Jews Against the Occupation:
5) Aron's Israel Peace Weblog:
6) Jews Against the Occupation - A Jewish Voice of Opposition to the War on Palestinians
7) Jewish Voice for Peace:
8) Jewish Friends of Palestine: www.jewishfriendspalestine.org
Sorry if I have missed any out. See
In Solidarity with Jews and Palestinians, and all internationally oppressed people.
Palestine supporter