The annual Al Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) march in London as usual attracted controversy, with various groups coming out to protest against it. In 2009 these included Iranian democrats, royalists and socialists as well as far right groups including the English Defence League and March For England, but there seemed to be few organised Zionists on the streets.
Al Quds Day was initiated by Ayatollah Khomeini when he became Supreme Leader of Iran in 1989 as a day on the last Friday of Ramadan (the London march is on the following Sunday) to oppose the Israeli occupation and control of Jerusalem, and at least one of the groups involved in organising the event is said to received funding from the Iranian authorities – which accounts for the Iranian protesters.
The march starts under the main banner ‘Justice for the Murdered Children of Gaza’
The march has become a wider protest calling for freedom for Palestine and an end to the Israeli occupation of land which for many centuries was Palestine. For many of the marchers this also means support for those fighting against Israeli occupation, both in Palestine and Lebanon.
A few of the marchers carried Hezbollah flags, the flag of both the Lebanese Shia political party and its military wing. The military wing had been proscribed in the UK in 2008, but it was only in 2019 that this ban was extended to cover the political wing, making carrying the flag an offence. You can see a few of these yellow flags in my pictures. There are also some placards supporting Hezbollah and Hamas for their resistance to Israel.
Demonstrators against the march were gathering earlier at Piccadilly CircusThey included Iranians as well as right wing football supporters
In 2009 the march was carefully policed to keep the marchers and protesters against the march from coming into contact and I saw some from both groups being stopped and searched in the area around Marble Arch where the march gathered.
Neturei Karta marchers
People come to the march in coaches from mosques around the country and many come as families. Although there were separate men’s and women’s blocs the organisers announced that those who wanted to march as families were welcome to do so, and many, particularly the younger marchers, took advantage of this.
Rabbi Ahron Cohen who spoke at the rally at the end of the march
At the front of the march were Muslim clerics and two Neturei Karta Jewish leaders. These ultra-orthodox Jews are anti-Zionist and believe that Jews are forbidden from establishing a Jewish state until the arrival of the Messiah and support the peaceful dismantling of the state of Israel to become a part of Palestine.
The main counter-protest came at Piccadilly Circus, with most of those taking part encircled around ‘Eros’ by a double line of police. They protested noisily as the march went by but most of the marchers followed the advice of the march stewards and ignored them. Some held up their posters and there were minor scuffles when a few marchers tried to leave the march and approach them.
As well as shouting insults at the Muslims, the counter-protesters were also making threats, gestures and shouting at the photographers, and I was glad not to be too close although the police bodies between made taking pictures difficult.
Police had also told the march organisers that they could not march to Trafalgar Square but must end with a rally in the much smaller area of Waterloo Place, which became extremely crowded. I left after listening to the first few speakers.
DSEi Arms Fair & Sotheby’s 2: On Monday 7th September 2015 I went to the protests outside the world’s largest arms fair which was takes place in East London every two years and on my way home went to a protest in Battersea Park at Sotheby’s international car auction calling on the company to reinstate two sacked cleaners.
DSEi Arms Fair protest Israeli Arms Sales
Excel London, Royal Victoria Dock
Protesters stopped a lorry going to the DSEi arms fair with a military vehicle for around 2 hours
Protests were taking place on the first of six days outside the world’s largest arms fair, sponsored by the UK government at the Excel Centre. Occupy Democracy had set up a protest camp close to the East Entrance to the Excel Centre.
The theme of this day’s protest organised by the Stop The Arms Fair Coalition and Occupy Democracy and supported by Campaign Against The Arms Trade and a broad coalition of protest groups was ‘Stop Arming Israel’.
Israel also has a large arms industry and they were selling their arms at the fair which were said to be ‘battle-tested’, having been used against the Palestinian people in Gaza as well as in Syria.
When I arrived protesters were setting up a couple of stalls, one to ‘sell’ mock Israeli arms – with arms dealers D. Eath and C. Arnage, who were later joined by two enthusiastic sales representatives apparently from a proudly Israeli firm ‘Killing Machines Unlimited.’
Sales reps from the (fictional) Israeli company ‘Killing Machines ‘R’ Us’
Excel had fenced in the roundabout at the gates, claiming they owned it, so that protesters were unable to camp there. Later it was found that it belonged to Newham Council and that they had not given permission for the fence, but it did provide a good place to put up a huge banner with the message ‘Stop Arming Israel.
When a large low-loader arrived carrying a military vehicle protesters rushed into the road to block it and one in an orange jumpsuit and Tony Blair mask locked on to it. Others jumped up on to it. A woman who used a white-board marker to write ‘ARMS TESTED ON CHILDREN’ was arrested for ‘criminal damage’ although the slogan would easily wipe off without trace.
‘Tony Blair’ locked on. Protesters still hope to see him tried for war crimes onver the invasion of Iraq
After around 45 minutes police warned the protesters they might be arrested unless they moved away and most did, but then began a Dabke Arab folk dance workshop in front of the lorry. The police then called for reinforcements and when they arrived they pushed the protesters off the road, allowing the bemused Hungarian driver to move on.
Police come and warn the protesters on the lorry, asking them to leaveThe Dabke dance workshop in front of the lorry. Police watch but don’t danceEventually police lose patience and a large group come and push or drag eveyone from the road, watched by the photographers
In 2026 the UK still sells arms to Israel which are being used in the genocide of the Palestinian people and some of those protesting against this have been given long prison sentences as ‘terrorists’.
A line of police stopped the protesters at the entrance to the auction site
Barbara and Percy, two cleaners at Sotheby’s in New Bond Street had been sacked after they took part in a protest calling for proper sick pay, holiday pay and pensions, and their trade union, the United Voices of the World had organised a number of protests including this one to demand their reinstatement.
Along with members of the UVW the protest was supported by Class War, SOAS Unison and Unite the Resistance and I met them outside Battersea Park Station from where they marched to the Sotheby’s auction site, Battersea Evolution inside Battersea Park, where police prevented them from entering.
Although they were some distance from the actual auction, the noisy protest could clearly be heard there, as one of those present at it, the mother of UVW General Secretary Petross Elia, came to tell us across the gates.
The protest continued for some time and I was tired and left before the end, missing a a spectacular performance of fire breathing by one of the protesters.
The campaign by the UVW eventually resulted in all outsourced workers there including cleaners, security guards and caterers becoming the first group of outsourced workers in the private sector to receive occupational sick pay – at a significantly enhanced rate to statutory sick pay.
Police Prevent Peaceful Protest: On Thursday 30the July 2026 Defend Our Juries had arranged a static peaceful protest on the wide pavement in front of Westminster Magistrates Court on Marylebone Road. It was to begin at noon with an hour of speeches, music and poetry.
I arrived at the starting time to find several surrounding roads full of police vans and squads of police standing waiting while others were in the crowd making arrests.
There was a large crowd present, perhaps around a thousand demonstrating against the government ban on Palestine Action. They included many who had been arrested at previous events for holding signs in support of Palestine Action.
Over 1500 of these arrestees had earlier received letters from the court stating that their cases would be dealt with on this day – but most at least had been told they need not attend. Clearly magistrates cannot hear that many cases in a day and the intention had been to simply rubber-stamp the great majority without allowing those arrested to make any defence.
Defend Our Juries had in fact been told that because of administrative problems, the ‘non-hearing‘ of these cases would not be going ahead on this day. But they had decided to go ahead with the protest and after the hour of entertainment had invited all those charged – if they wanted – to come up the the small platform they were bringing and make a further statement of their support for Palestine Action and their intention to encourage others also support the banned group.
Most of those previously arrested had been charged under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, but by making the intended statement would also be in breach of Sections 11 and 12 which carry more serious penalties – and would lead to a jury trial. Defend Our Juries were clearly intending to ramp up their challenge to the authorities in what they called a ‘Graduation Day’ ceremony.
Before I arrived police had already seized the platform and the public address system as well as several protesters – including one who who had been testing the sound system. Perhaps they will now argue that ‘1.2.3.4 …testing‘ is now a terrorist chant.
The Court of Appeal had surprised many by overruling the High Court’s decision that the ban was unlawful. It was was pushed through Parliament by combining them with a genuinely terrorist organisation, and would probably have met with considerable opposition otherwise. As the protest was taking place on Thursday the Supreme Court announced it would hear a further appeal in September which could quash the ban. Andy Burnham could end this nonsense now.
Rastafari, Vedanta & De Beers: Pictures from protests I covered on Friday 1st August 2014.
August 1st is Emancipation Day, celebrating the effective date of the abolition of slavery across the British Empire in 1834, and 2014 also marked the centenary of the foundation of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) by Marcus Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey in Jamaica in 1914.
In Brixton I photographed a rally by Rastafaris preparing to march to Parliament to demand reparations for the slave trade. I left to go to Lincoln Inn’s Fields to a protest outside the AGM of mining group Vedanta, responsible for killings and environmental destruction in various countries around the world.
Finally in Piccadilly campaigners were outside De Beers asking people to boycott diamonds cut and polished in Israel which fund war crimes against Palestinians.
Rastafari Demand Reparations For Slave Trade
Windrush Square, Brixton
On the centenary of the foundation by Marcus Garvey of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Rastafaris met at Brixton to march to Parliament demanding reparations for the descendants of those taken from Africa by the Atlantic Slave Trade.
Demands for international reparations have been increasingly made in recent years, some for huge sums. As I wrote:
“In 2004, a group of Jamaican Rastafari movement groups argued that European countries, particularly Britain, should pay £72.5 billion to resettle 500,000 Jamaican Rastafarians in Africa, but the British government rejected their claim. Other claims have been lodged in 2007 by Guyana, in 2011 by Antigua and Barbuda.”
No government has yet agreed to any financial reparations to the descendants of slaves or the countries affected. The British Government at the time of abolition paid out huge sums over many years to the owners of slaves – equivalent to 40% of the national budget – and this payment was only completed in 2015. Among those who have received payments were powerful British families, including current business and political elites in the United Kingdom.
The event go off to a slow start with drumming and dances and then some speeches. It was still continuing when I left to go elsewhere and I missed the march which only began an hour and a half later.
The protest on the opposite side of the road from the Vedanta AGM was organised by Foil Vedanta who say:
“Vedanta Resources is a FTSE 250 British-Indian mining company guilty of thousands of deaths, environmental devastation, anti union action, corruption and disdain for life on earth. They have become one of the most hated and contentious companies in the world.”
MP John McDonnell was among the protesters
A number of the protesters had bought shares in the company so that they could go into the AGM and ask questions while others continued the protest outside.
As well as protesting Foil Vedanta have also carried out a great deal of research into the activities of Vedanta and is subsidiary companies. These include Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia which has poisoned thousands of people causing ongoing birth deformities in major pollution spills in 2006 and 2010. They had claimed to be unable to pay their fines or their tax bill while actually making around around $500 million/year.
Protests against Vedanta here where the company is listed and on a much larger scale in India and elsewhere where they operate have so far stopped Vedanta from destroying the Niyamgiri mountain in Odisha, sacred to the indigenous Dongria Kondh. The protests in London led the company to decide to de-list in 2018. They have also attempted unsuccessfully to de-list from Indian stock exchanges.
Protesters lined the front of the shop both here in Piccadilly and around the corner in Old Bond Street
Protesters at De Beers in Piccadilly asked people to boycott diamonds cut and polished in Israel which contribute around a billion dollars every year to the Israeli military and security industries and fund Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.
Barclays & Solidarity with Gaza: On Saturday 19th May 2018 I photographed a monthly vigil calling on Barclays Bank to end its funding for climate chaos and then went on to another branch of Barclays on Tottenham Court Road for the start of a rolling pictures against businesses along Oxford Street against other businesses which are major supporters of the Israeli state.
Barclays Stop Funding Climate Chaos
Piccadilly Circus
I met the Dharma Action Network for Climate Engagement (DANCE) in Golden Square Soho and walked with them as they processed to the Piccadilly Circus branch of Barclays Bank in a monthly vigil to call on the bank to Stop Funding Climate Chaos.
Three of the group then sat down to meditate in the centre of the floor of the bank with their placards, and another from the group told bank staff what they were intending to do, while others meditated on the pavement outside the bank and some of the group handed out leaflets.
The called on Barclays to ‘Listen to the Earth!’ and stop investing huge amounts – $12billion in the previous 3 years – into coal, oil and gas exploration which will lead to global warming, melting ice caps, bleaching coral reefs, causing forest fires and more intense storms.
They also pointed out the human rights abuses connected with their investments in Colombian coal mines and more and urged Barclays to switch their investments into renewables.
I left DANCE protesting at the Piccadilly Barclays and went to Tottenham Court Road, where the Revolutionary Communist Group had set up a street stall outside the Barclays close to Oxford Street.
‘Boycott Israel’ poster showing Ahed Tamimi slapping an Israeli soldier
A few days earlier the world had been shocked by the news of Israeli army snipers shooting unarmed protesters in Gaza, killing 58 and seriously wtargetounding over 2700.
Most were several hundred yards from the separation wall, posing no threat to Israel and many were shot in the back or legs as they ran away. Among those deliberately targeted by the snipers were medics treating the wounded and clearly identified journalists wearing distinctive blue press vests.
The snipers were thought to have been using special ammunition made in the UK which expands inside the body to cause greater damage.
After a short protest outside Barclays with a speech explaining how it supports the Israeli government and handing out leaflets, the group moved on to make similar short protests outside other major supporters of the Israeli state on Oxford St including Carphone Warehouse, Boots, ZARA and H&M, calling for shoppers to boycott them and to take part in the global BDS campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
Eid Milad-Un-Nabi & End the Siege of Gaza: On Saturday 5th April 2008 was a rather frustrating day for me. I struggled to get to Tooting for the procession honouring the birthday of the Prophet as rail services to the west of London came to a halt. I finally made it but left as the procession neared its end. Thankfully the tube was working to take me into central London to view some exhibitions and photograph a protest at Downing Street calling for an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza.
Milad 2008 – Eid Milad-Un-Nabi
Procession and Community Day, Tooting
As usual I’d planned my journey into London carefully, intending to arrive in Tooting well before the start of the procession but a cable fire stopped all services into Waterloo with trains piling up back along the lines. Mine “came to a halt in Feltham, then crept forward slowly to Twickenham where it expired completely. Ten minutes later another service took me the few hundred yards further to St Margarets, where I abandoned rail and jumped onto a passing bus to Richmond.”
Then as I commented “Should you ever want a slow and frustrating ride through some of the more obscure southwest London suburbs I recommend the 493 route, which even includes a ride past Wimbledon Park and the world’s most famous tennis club before taking you past the dog track and on to Tooting.”
A full 50 stops and over an hour later I jumped off the bus and ran the last mile or so towards where the procession was to start on Tooting Bec Road, meeting the procession a few hundred yards from its start. Back in 2008 I wrote “half a mile” but I’ve just measured it and my run was at least double that. The Tooting Sunni Muslim Association’s procession for Eid Milad-Un-Nabi had started ‘promptly’ only around 20 minutes late so I hadn’t missed too much.
The Juloos to honour the birthday of the Prophet was part of an all-day community event and as well as the Muslims there were other local community representatives taking part including the Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Mrs. Claire Clay.
The previous year I’d gone on after the procession to the celebrations at Tooting Leisure Centre, including the impressive whirling dervishes – who I photographed again there in 2009. But in 2008 there were exhibitions I wanted to see in London – and a protest at Downing Street, so I left as the procession turned into Garratt Lane and took the tube from Tooting Broadway.
A demonstration on a wet Saturday afternoon at Downing St
In September 2007 the Israeli government had imposed a siege which was preventing vital medicines and other supplies from entering Gaza. This was a collective punishment against the population, illegal under international law and had by April 2008 already resulted in a number of deaths.
It was one of a series of protests organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on a rather smaller scale than the hundreds of thousands in some more recent demonstrations, but sharing similar aims. It called on the British government to end the arms trade with Israel, and to press Israel to abide by international law, end its illegal occupation and allow the return of refugees.
During the protest one young man with a Palestinian flag crossed the road and stood in front of the gates of Downing Street holding it. It was the police reaction to this – and their attempts to stop me photographing it that made up most of my report in 2008.
The man picks his flag up from the wet pavement and the officer shouts at him, telling him to put the f***ing flag down
Police pulled him to one side and questioned him, telling him that the SOCPA had made it a crime to protest there. They pulled his flag from his hands and dropped it on the pavement, and when he picked it up an officer swore at him, dragged it out of his hands and dropped it on the pavement again. He was then told he was being stopped and searched under the Terrorism Act 2000, though waving a flag is clearly not terrorism.
Clearly I was a already a good distance away when the officer on the left edge of this picture ordered me to move away
At this point an officer stood in front of me to stop me taking photographs. I told him I was press but he insisted I move further ways as I was “interfering with the actions of the police.” Clearly I wasn’t and I made this clear to him before moving back as ordered.
A woman officer came up and held her hand in front of my lens. I told her that this was illegal and a senior officer in the Met had told a colleague that he would consider it “a sacking offence” and she hurriedly moved off across the road and away from the area. Unfortunately I failed to get a good picture of her or to take her number.
I went back across the road to continue photographing the protest. Police officers at the protest on the other side of the road were approached by the event organisers about the man being held but denied any connection with the officers on the other side of Whitehall. The officer did attempt to excuse their actions on possible grounds of security, but I didn’t feel he felt too happy about it. The man was still being held by police when I left the area.
Stop the War – Troops Out: The protest organised by Stop the War, CND and British Muslim Initiative on Saturday 15th March, 2008 was an impressive one, with around 50,000 marchers calling for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, no attack on Iran and a free Palestine, as well as many other groups drawing attention to other issues around the world including the genocide in Somalia.
Tony Benn
It began with a rally in Trafalgar Square where speakers included Tony Benn and Bruce Kent and then took a roundabout route across Westminster Bridge and then back over the Thames on Lambeth Bridge and up Millbank to Parliament Square. Those at the rear of the march were still passing the corner of the square when those at the front arrived back there.
It was an event that included many issues still relevant now, particularly over Iran and Palestine, but also on direct action, with a reminder of the then upcoming trial of the Raytheon 9, anti-war activists who had entered the Raytheon factory in Derry in August 2006 after learning that Raytheon missiles were being used by Israel in their 2006 invasion of Lebanon.
Occupying the offices for eight hours before they were arrested they destroyed computers and documents, and six were tried for criminal damage and affray in May 2008. One man was found guilty of stealing two computer disks but they were all acquitted on all other charges.
The police took a great deal of interest in the protest, with FIT teams who photograph protesters (and journalists, particularly photographers) took an unusual interest in anarchist protesters from Class War, the Anarchist Federation and FITwatch who use their banner to try to prevent the police taking photographs and video.
I missed seeing four of the FITwatch protesters arrested, apparently for intimidating the police. As I commented, “Since a couple of weeks ago one of their photographers and his minder had been seen taking flight and seeking refuge up the steps of the National Gallery when pursued by a polite and always well behaved woman with a shopping trolley and free cakes – much to the amusement of other police present – intimidating the FIT doesn’t seem too difficult.“
But this – like the many large pro-Palestine protests since ‘September 7th’ – was an entirely peaceful protest, calling for peace in many areas around the world and for an end to UK involvement in wars and oppression.
It was a lively protest, with samba band, sound systes, street theatre and dancing. People laid flowers at Nelson Mandela’s statue and Brian Haw – still permanently camped in Parliament Square despite the attempts to remove him by passing SOCPA – joined the protest.
And like all of these marches it also included many Jewish marchers including the Neturei Karta ultra-orthodox anti-Zionists.
Gaza, Freedom, Syria & Gay Tourism: Saturday 18th January 2014 was the fifth anniversary of the end of the 2008/9 Israeli massacre in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead in which around 1,400 people, many unarmed civilians were killed. I also photographed a rather unorganised protest by Anonymous against privatisation, cuts, environmental and other issues, a peace vigil by Syria Peace & Justice and finally Queer Strike and ‘No Pinkwashing’ picketing a beach-themed LGBT tourism event promoting Israel as a tourist destination.
Gaza Massacre 5th Anniversary
Israeli Embassy, Kensington
Around 500 people had come to a protest on Kensington High Street opposite the private road leading to the Israeli embassy. The attacks on Gaza in 2008-9, Operation Cast Lead, had shocked the civilised world, though the 1400 largely civilian deaths were on a small scale compared to the current ongoing genocide when over 70,000 have died, with deaths continuing daily since the so-called ceasefire.
As well as continuing Israeli attacks children and old people are now dying in Gaza due to the freezing conditions and inadequate shelter because of the destruction of buildings and the continuing Israeli restrictions preventing much of the humanitarian aid and critical supplies needed to keep people safe, alive and well.
The hundreds who came to the protest in 2014 kept up a noisy barrage of chanting calling for justice for the victims of Israel’s massacre and against the ongoing siege on Gaza for around an hour before a series of speeches.
Among those at the protest were many Palestinians as well as Jews some of whom had been leading the call for a boycott of Israeli goods. It was supported by a wide range of groups and on My London Diary I gave the following list : “Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, British Muslim Initiative, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the War Coalition, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Friends of Al-Aqsa UK, Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine, War on Want, Unite the Union, Public and Commercial Services Union, Amos Trust and ICAHD UK.”
This protest had been called by Anonymous supporters following their large protest on Novemeber 5th, but fewer than a couple of hundred had arrived. Some had instead gone to the Gaza protest, and like me will have arrived rather late for this event.
They were in one corner of Trafalgar Square and people took turns to speak at an open microphone. As well as those in ‘Anonymous’ masks I recognised many who had taken part in Occupy London.
Charlie X at the protest
Eventually someone suggested that they march to Parliament. For once the police facilitated this, suggesting they could walk along the southbound carriageway of Whitehall, and shepherding them across the traffic lights to do so. It “had been organised as a peaceful and family-friendly event, and this was the case, as they marched past Downing St with nothing more than a few shouts and rude gestures and on to Parliament Square.”
When they arrived outside Parliament “it became obvious that this was a protest without leaders, and with no real idea where they were going or what to do.” People – including some police made a number of suggestions but eventually they decided to stop in Parliament Square for a rally.
They were still on the roadway, but after a couple of minutes agreed to police suggestions that they move onto the pavement so that traffic could flow again.
There were then a few speeches followed by some discussion about what they should do next.
One suggestion was that they should stay where they were and party in Parliament Square and it seemed likely that they would do so.
I decided it was time to leave and walked back up Whitehall past a small crowd of police vans. The police were obviously taking no chances and I think probably outnumbered the protesters, although most simply sat in their vans.
Back in Trafalgar Square I found a small group from Syria Peace & Justice holding a peace vigil “calling for immediate humanitarian ceasefires and the release of all political prisoners and an inclusive Syrian-led peace process.”
The Geneva 2 peace talks were to start the following week and they said that the agenda was being “being set by major foreign powers like the US and Russia” and that only the Syrian government and a Turkey based Syrian group had been invited.
They demanded “an inclusive Syrian-led peace process that includes strong representation from Syrian women, Syrian civil society organisations and various moderate Syrian opposition groups.”
Queer Strike, Women of Colour, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, and people from the ‘No Pinkwashing’ campaign had come to picket an event promoting Israel as a tourist destination for LGBT people.
A security man objects as the protesters block the arcade entrance briefly for photographs
The Gay Star Beach Party LGBT tourism event claimed Tel Aviv to be “one of the best gay cities in the world” and together with the Israeli Tourism Board they were trying to persuade gay people to holiday there.
The protesters say that this is “pinkwashing”, an attempt to divert attention from human rights crimes against Palestinians, using opposition to homophobia to legitimise Israel and undermine support for Palestine. They called on those going to the event to boycott it and not go to Israel until it ends human rights abuses, recognises the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and complies with international law.
They handed out a card with five reasons for LGBT tourists to boycott Israel:
- the military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since 1967, with over 100 illegal Israeli settlements on land stolen from Palestinians;
- the violence against Palestinian children, hundreds of whom are arrested each year and held in military detention without access to lawyers, mainly for alleged stone-throwing;
- the inhuman siege of Gaza, blocking import of food, fuel and medical supplies and preventing the repair of many homes destroyed in the 2008-9 invasion by Israel;
- the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes and land which began in 19438 and still continues, creating millions of refugees;
the apartheid system of roads reserved for Jewish Israelis, the apartheid wall and the many check points involving long waits and searches for Palestinians.
The protesters also highlighted Israel’s racist treatment of African people, There had been protests the previous week in Tel Aviv by 30,000 African asylum seekers and refugees demanding that all African refugees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and detention centres be freed and for recognition of their rights as asylum seekers and refugees.
12 Days of Christmas -some of my favourite pictures from those I made in September 2025.
September was a very month for me in London and I found it impossible to stick to just one picture per event as I have done for most of these ’12 Days of Christmnas ‘posts.
London, UK. 3 Sept 2025. A small group led by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) braved bad weather to march from Stratford Station to the Excel Centre raising awareness in Newham about the worlds largest Arms Fair, DSEI, which begins on 9th September with arms dealers from around the world including Israel selling weapons used for killing and oppression. Protests began there on Monday and continue daily until the fair ends on the 12th. Peter Marshall.London, UK. 6 Sept 2025. Hundreds of thousands marched in London demanding an immediate end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza where the IDF is targeting hospitals and people queueing for food and killing 100 people a day as the people starve. They demand all arms sales to Israel end, condemn Israeli plans to force Palestinians into a concentration camp and marched to defend the right to protest and for an end to government support of Israel. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 6 Sept 2025. Hundreds of thousands marched in London demanding an immediate end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza where the IDF is targeting hospitals and people queueing for food and killing 100 people a day as the people starve. They demand all arms sales to Israel end, condemn Israeli plans to force Palestinians into a concentration camp and marched to defend the right to protest and for an end to government support of Israel. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 6 Sep2025. Over a thousand campaigners had signed up to defy the ban on supporting Palestine Action and Parliament Square was filled with people sitting and standing with the message “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” despite a warning they would be arrested under the Terrorism Act. At 1pm police surrounded the square and a couple of squads began arresting individuals, surrounded by crowds calling ‘Shame’ and worse and making the arrests slow and difficult. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 6 Sep2025. A man is arrested. Over a thousand campaigners had signed up to defy the ban on supporting Palestine Action and Parliament Square was filled with people sitting and standing with the message “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” despite a warning they would be arrested under the Terrorism Act. At 1pm police surrounded the square and a couple of squads began arresting individuals, surrounded by crowds calling ‘Shame’ and worse and making the arrests slow and difficult. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 6 Sep2025. Over 30 poilicw go into the crowd to arrest one elderly woman among the over a thousand campaigners had signed up to defy the ban on supporting Palestine Action. Parliament Square was filled with people sitting and standing with the message “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” despite a warning they would be arrested under the Terrorism Act. At 1pm police surrounded the square and a couple of squads began arresting individuals, surrounded by crowds calling ‘Shame’ and worse and making the arrests slow and difficult. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 9 Sep 2025. ‘War Crimes, Sex Crimes, Cut for the Same Cloth’. Despite the Underground strike, hundreds protested at the opening day of the world’s largest arms fair calling for a mass blocade against Britain’s complicity in genocide. Britain’s arms trade profits from the slaughter of Palestinians and other civilians around the world and Israel had a pavilion at the DSEI arms fair, selling weapons that have been ‘battle-tested’ in Gaza. Police cleared the area at lunchtime. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 9 Sep 2025. HOW MANY DEATHS WILL IT TAKE TILL THEY KNOW THAT TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED!! People protest as police clear the area. Despite the Underground strike, hundreds protested at the opening day of the world’s largest arms fair calling for a mass blocade against Britain’s complicity in genocide. Britain’s arms trade profits from the slaughter of Palestinians and other civilians around the world and Israel has a pavilion at the DSEI arms fair, selling weapons that have been ‘battle-tested’ in Gaza. Peter Marshall.London, UK. 13 Sept 2025. Around 20,000 marched march through London in opposition to the larger extreme right march also taking place. They opposed the protests against refugees and asylum seekers calling for fair and humane treatment for all who arrive in the UK and for an end to racism and Islamophobia. From a rally in Russell Square they marched led by Women Against the Far Right to Whitehall. Peter Marshall.London, UK. 17 Sep 2025. Dump Trump. Thousands marched through London against the state visit to the UK by Trump in a protest by the Stop Trump Coalition uniting many groups. Many carried placards and posters ridiculing Trump and denouncing him as a fascist and dictator. They say the UK should not be pandering to Trump but opposing his dangerous and divisive actions including climate denial and support for genocide in Gaza. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 20 Sept 2025. Bog Off Bezos! Thousands came to the ‘Make Them Pay’ march, part of a global week of action on climate justice backed by an alliance of trade unions and campaigning organisations representing millions of workers, citizens and communities across Britain. They say ‘Billionaires have broken Britain – Make THEM pay to fix it.’ They demand the government tax the super-rich, protect workers not billionaires and make polluters pay. Peter Marshall.
12 Days of Christmas -some of my favourite pictures from those I made in June 2025.
London, UK. 4 June 2025. Campaigners form a red line for Palestine around Parliament across both bridges and on both sides of the river during Prime Minister’s Questions to demand the government imposes a full arms embargo and sanctions on Israel immediately. Palestinians are starving and Israel has opened fire on people queueing for the very limited food being left for them by the GHF food aid system which Israel is using as a weapon. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. Billionaires Kill. Several thousand march from the BBC to Whitehall against the government spending more on arms while cutting public services, the NHS and benefits for the disabled – they say is a blueprint for arms manufacturers to print money based on a false narrative. They demand Welfare not Warfare and call for taxes on the rich, cutting down tax avoidance and evasion and an end to cuts. Peter MarshallLondon, UK. 14 June 2025. Hundreds of cyclists rode through London in various states of undress, “as bare as you dare” to raise awareness of issues such as safety of cyclists on the road, reducing oil dependence and saving the planet. The annual London naked ride is one of many in cities around the world and provokes a great deal of interest and hilarity in those, mainly tourists, on the streets of the city. Peter Marshall.London, UK. 14 June 2025. Americans in the UK at the US Embassy in Nine Elms take part in the second Global Day of action by Democrats against Trump at over 1400 locations across the USA and worldwide. They came to show their opposition to Trump-era ineptitude and begin to rebuild American democracy on the day that Trump has organised a four-mile military parade in Washington, D.C. to honour himself. Peter Marshall.London, UK. 21 June 2025. Starmer – what a joke. Many thousands including many Jews march to Whitehall calling an end to the war crime of deliberate starvation of Palestinians in Gaza and demanding a ceasefire there and in the war against Iran. The want action to end the genocide and murder of children. They demand the UK ends all arms sales to Israel and call for a ceasefire and negotiations on both Palestine and Iran with the release of all hostages and prisoners. Peter Marshall.London, UK, 28 June 2025. People march from Islington Green to a rally at Highbury Fields to demand Barclays end funding which supports Israeli genocide in Gaza and continuing apartheid in Palestine as well as environmental destruction by fossil fuel use. Barclays underwrites Israeli ‘was bonds’ and provides billions to support illegal settlements and arms sales to Israel, Palestine Solidarity Campaign was joined by others including CAAT, London Mining Network. Peter Marshall.London, UK. 28 June 2025. Unite Against Fascism held a rally in Whitehall against the cynical attempt by the far right Football Lads Alliance to spread racism and bigotry on the streets of London by a march and rally “against grooming gangs, knife crime and the sexualisation of children” despite many on the far right having been convicted as sex offenders against children. Police kept the two rallies several hundred yards apart. Peter Marshall.
