Wales Palestine Newswire Archive

Saturday 9 August 2014: 69 years since the US obliterated up to 100,000 innocent lives in Nagasaki and a day since the slaughter Israel has been visiting on the innocents in Gaza resumed.

Four of us met at 10.30 and set up an anti-nuclear stall to remember Nagasaki. From 1.30pm we began to chalk outlines, names and ages of a few of the children killed over the past month by Israel in Gaza, and at 2pm we were joined by 40-50 others to protest the ongoing attacks. The gathering culminated in an occupation of Barclays Bank in protest at its links with the arms trade and investments in Israeli companies.

The second Gaza solidarity action in Wrexham this week was held outside Barclays Bank today to protest Barclays' investments in the arms trade and in Israel. See also this Indymedia report and photos from last Thursday. Barclays is the single largest global investor in the arms trade and the only high street bank with significant direct investments in Israeli companies. Based on the breadth of Barclays arms investments, it seems safe to assume that Barclays makes a financial profit for every death in Gaza. On that basis, we stood at the entrance to the bank and read out the entire list of names published by Al Jazeera of those killed by Israel in the Gaza strip since July 7th, adding after each one: "Barclays Bank profited from this death."

As Israel continues to shower death and destruction on the oppressed Palestinians in occupied Gaza, it's hard to know what to do, how to resist. My inbox is full of forwarded Stop the War Coalition emails advertising their disingenuously entitled Gaza Emergency Appeal, highlighted in red 'emergency' lettering at the top of their website. Clicking through reveals that the emergency in the StWC camp is funding their own activities and keeping their London office staffed.

Protesting at the Israeli Embassy is a great idea if you live within striking distance or feel motivated to make the journey, with or without the help of Stop the War's 'Gaza Emergency' fund. If not, how about something closer to home? Every High Street has a Barclays...

The Wrexham Peace Day Group has co-ordinated local peace days in September for the past few years. In 2012 the group worked with St Christopher's school to put together a day of peace education and activities that was attended by over 300 children aged 7-19 from ten different schools, followed by two days for peace in the middle of town. Another schools day is planned for this year on Friday 20 September with a day in town on Saturday 21.

Thanks to generous offers of time and skills, we've also been able to offer sessions on peace related themes in schools during the summer term this year. A couple of weeks ago, children in two primary and two high schools learned about nuclear weapons and the peace movement in sessions delivered by Julia Herzog from Faslane Peace Camp; over the next couple of weeks, Camilla Cancantata from Footloose will work with children from two schools to create music for peace, while Fiona Collins will tell peace stories from different cultures to children in three more schools. This week and next, however, the focus is on Palestine, with Ann Farr of EAPPI and Rod Cox of CAPE speaking to local children about their work.

This exhibition of children's artwork from Gaza has been in Wrexham since the end of April and is currently on display at St Christopher's Community School. It will be moving to Oswestry, Shropshire in July.

See it at Hermon arts space on Saturdays 13 and 20 July and hear Rod Cox speak about the artwork and the lives of the children who created it on Friday 19 July at the same venue.

In the final week of the 'Loss of Innocence' Exhibition of Children's Art from Gaza at Wrexham Cathedral, Rod Cox came to speak about how he collected this artwork in early 2009 as part of the Aid Convoy in the wake of the 'Operation Cast Lead' bombardment of Gaza by Israel, about the children who created the artwork, their trauma, injuries, lost families, destroyed homes and shattered lives, as well as their hopes for a peaceful future free from fear.

The Exhibition has now moved on to the local Yale College of Further Education where it will be open for viewing by students and the public in the Learning Resource Centre (library) for the next two weeks. From 4 June it will move again to St. Christopher's School in Hightown.

Loss of Innocence

This is an exhibition of more than fifty pieces of children's artwork “some funny, some tragic, many beautiful” collected by Rod Cox during a visit to Gaza with the Aid Convoy early in 2009 in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, a sustained attack by Israel which, according to Red Crescent spokesperson Dr. Khalil Abu Foul, "did not just have 1500 killed, or 5000 wounded. It has traumatised the entire population, all 1.5 million." The exhibition is going to be in Wrexham for the next few weeks, starting with the Cathedral until 17 May.