London protests arms honest equipping Israel – Center East Monitor

Scores of individuals staged a protest exterior the Worldwide Armoured Autos Expo hosted at Twickenham Rugby Stadium yesterday.

The professional-Palestine protest attracted a mixture of teams, together with the native Quakers, the Richmond and Kingston Palestine Solidarity Marketing campaign (PSC), Jewish Community for Palestine, and a few Buddhists, all got here to indicate their opposition to the arms firms in attendance, which recurrently promote weapons to Israel.

The native PSC mentioned that Israeli arms firm Elbit Programs, and Caterpillar, an organization which stands accused of promoting bulldozers to the Israeli military, can be attending the occasion, which runs from 24-27 January.

“It is completely stunning. I reside about six yards away from the stadium, and each sport that comes on screaming previous our home. It is a household ambiance, it is a carnival ambiance; what a stadium must be about,” mentioned Member of PSC’s Government Iyas Al Qasem.

“We hear about all these fantastic actions that the stadium must be internet hosting, however we do not hear about it after they’re internet hosting conferences about promoting arms to the world’s most heinous human rights abusers.”

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Jewish Community for Palestine activist David described the occasion as completely inappropriate for Twickenham stadium, and mentioned his organisation was there to advertise the pro-Palestine Jewish voice. He mentioned: “The explanation Jewish Community for Palestine is right here is as a result of it is necessary that there is a Jewish voice.”

“There’s numerous Jewish people and organisations that hate what is going on on in Israel. The racism, the theft of land, property, Palestinian lives and the theft of the Jewish identification.”

Esher Quakers group mentioned the arms honest stood towards their longstanding “peace testimony”, which says weapons and violent options to battle usually are not the best way.

“We have been prompted by the native PSC, who organised this, and we’re fellow travellers. We [also] consider what they’re demonstrating towards – the glorification of army {hardware} – is unsuitable,” says Fred.

“Sport is supposed to be friendship and crossing borders. It is meant to be inclusive, however but army weaponry is about energy and oppressing individuals,” fellow Quaker Mona mentioned.

The Worldwide Armoured Automobile honest boasts audio system from army and arms firms, and consists of seminars about the advantages of armoured automobiles, keynote speeches from the British army, and the impression of local weather change on the armed forces, and possibilities to community with potential clients.

The Worldwide Armoured Automobile honest’s organisers didn’t reply to MEMO‘s request for remark.