Month: September 2025

Ninety fifth vigil


95th vigil well attended. Nearly 66,000 dead in Gaza

Video added 28th.

Over 45 came to the 95th vigil and a number of passers-by stopped to ask what it was about or take photos. It has been a momentous week with speeches in the UN General Assembly. Mahmoud Abbas was not allowed to attend in person because the US would not give him a visa. President Trump berated the UN in all manner of ways. Perhaps the most surprising event was the almost complete walk out by delegates when Benjamin Netanyahu arrived to speak. The UK and the US did not leave.

A video of the vigil can be seen here thanks to Peter Gloyns for producing it.

Netanyahu condemned the recent decision by Britain and others to recognise a Palestinian state as ‘sheer madness, it’s insane and we won’t do it’ adding that recognition by several other countries is “disgraceful. The speech was transmitted to residents of Gaza through massive loudspeakers.

An Istanbul news outlet reports that at least 65,926 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. A ministry statement said that 77 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 265 people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 167,783 in the Israeli onslaught. “Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

The BBC has reported that the Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan has been closed with no reason given. It is the only crossing which leaves Palestinians stranded.

Journalists banned from Gaza.

Israel does not want the world to report on the events in Gaza and has banned international journalists from going there. Only Palestinian journalists can report and more of them have been killed or murdered there than in any other conflict. Three news organisations [BBC, Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France Presse] have produced a short video, narrated by David Dimbleby, arguing for access by the world’s press. Israel is wont to claim that footage and reporting of their activities and claims of genocide and starvation are ‘Hamas lies’ and similar remarks. Allowing journalists to report would allow the world to see for themselves. This 2 minute video is recommended.

No sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen nor any mention in his weekly column in the Salisbury Journal of the previous 94 vigils held in his constituency. He is reported to be a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel group, thought to be the largest lobby group in Parliament.

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Recognising Palestine: Britain’s responsibility


Britain finally recognises its historic responsibility

September 2025

Last week, Sir Keir Starmer finally agreed to the UK recognising the state of Palestine a decision which has angered Israel itself and the USA or at least President Trump. In all the debates, panel discussions, broadcast interviews and statements by politicians, the historic role played by Britain, when it was a world power, has barely been mentioned. It is almost a though there is a blanket of embarrassment which is placed over the events in the region similar in many ways to the silence around the atrocities of slavery and the acquisition, and subsequent attempts to retain, our Empire. All sides refer to the events of October 7th, which, terrible though they were, were just one act in a drama that goes back to the Great War.

In an article in the New Statesman: Britain has a historic responsibility to aid the establishment of a Palestinian state by William Dalrymple in the ‘Another Voice’ column (19 – 25 September) he discusses our grim historic role which has had direct and lasting effects today. Most are familiar with the Balfour Declaration of 1917 which supported the national home for Jewish people in Palestine. How the existing population was to be treated was left vague. The British then disarmed the indigenous people and arrested their leaders and sent them to prison camps in the Seychelles and Cyprus. He recounts how the infamous black and tans were brought into quell the local population.

Considerable violence was inflicted on the Palestinian people with thousands of houses destroyed and thousands interned in concentration camps enduring violent interrogation and torture. Those between the ages of seven and 16 were flogged he says. Over 30 Arabs were executed. Such was the damage done to the Palestinian leadership that when the British pulled out in 1948, they were in no position to cope with the next phase of their misery when the Jews arrived who unleashed further violence in the Nakba.

The British have a special responsibility he argues to see the establishment of a Palestinian state who have suffered as a direct result of our actions over a century ago. Yet this violent history and mistreatment, murder and displacement of hundreds of thousands seem to be of no consequence in the reporting and interviews in our media. Instead, there is a relentless focus on the massacre on October 7th almost as though it came out of the blue.

Today (25 September) the American Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was interviewed on Channel 4 news. It was not made clear to viewers that Huckabee is a Christian Zionist and says that on religious principle that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people and frequently guiding Christian pilgrimages to Israel since the 1980s. Neither was it explained that he has denied the existence of a Palestinian people and supports settlement activity on the West Bank and Gaza strip. On his organised trips he avoided Bethlehem as it was mostly occupied by Palestinians. He focused all his comments on the violence committed by Hamas. He had no answer to Matt Frei’s options for the Palestinians of either displacement, genocide or apartheid living as second class citizens in Israel. He repeated the canard that bombing was targeted on terrorists and that Hamas were using human shields.

Dalrymple ends his piece: ‘We must continue to believe in freedom and justice and dignity and decency and human rights. To dream of a world where Palestinians are not burned alive in their tents or herded like cattle from refugee camp to refugee camp to their final slaughter. We must dream of a Palestinian state alongside Israel where Palestinians can live in safety and without fear. And we must work to make sure that our dreams of an actual Palestine will one day soon become a reality’.

Over 65,400 have died in Gaza since hostilities started.

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Palestinian state recognised


UK recognises the state of Palestine

September 2025

Today, 21 September, the UK government announces that it is to recognise the state of Palestine. It has joined the majority of countries around the world and joins Canada and Australia who did the same today. The decision has come after months of hesitation and was delayed until after the visit to the UK by President Trump who does not agree with it. To an extent, the government’s hand was forced. The disproportionate response to the horrific attack by Hamas on October 7th with the destruction of huge parts of Gaza, a death toll now over 65,000 many or whom are women and children and the deliberate introduction of siege conditions leading to more deaths by starvation, has left the government little option but to take action. Public opinion has also been a factor and the images of emaciated children have horrified many.

Britain’s decision is more than symbolic since the 1917 Balfour Declaration was instrumental in the creation of the state of Israel. The declaration was vague however since although it recognised that Arabs and Palestinians already lived there and said ‘nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine‘ it made no provision for protecting their claims or rights.

Some argue this is symbolic since with American support and ever increasing violence by settlers in the West Bank, the prospects of an actual state on the ground are receding. Some suggest that this means the conditions for statehood as set out in the 1933 Montevideo convention are not achievable. The Israeli government has rejected the decision saying ‘it categorically rejects the one-sided declaration of a Palestinian state by the UK and some other countries.’ It claims the decision does not promote peace. A spokesman for the British Board of Deputies interviewed on the BBC was critical of the decision and said it would cause deep dismay across the Jewish community in the UK. It says it is a reward for Hamas violence.

Implications

What are the implications? It will take some while for the implications to percolate through the claims and counter claims of the various political interests. It will enable the Palestinians to open an Embassy in the UK which will improve their status. It will enjoy diplomatic rights which will be significant. Up until recently, the Israelis have enjoyed almost uncritical support from governments but its continued violence in the West Bank and Gaza is seeing that support melt away.

It is unlikely to bring a peace deal any closer. Wars end because a kind of exhaustion sets in and the population goes weary of war-time restrictions and the loss of soldiers. This shows no sign of applying in Israel. Seemingly limitless weapons supplies from America and a huge military advantage in weapons and materiel mean any exhaustion is a long way off. IDF deaths are modest 464 [Jewish News Syndicate, 18 September]. The far right members of the Knesset such as Bezalel Smotrich see Gaza as a ‘property bonanza’ and claim the ‘demolition phase is over’.

Recognition will make it harder for the UK government to continue its support of Israel – open and covert – with RAF overflights for example, and ignore the plight of the Palestinians. It may even see some more robust reporting from the BBC whose lamentable performance has slowly begun to change.

Amnesty has said it is a ‘hollow gesture’ and without meaningful action to end the genocide, end violence in the West Bank and ending the Apartheid system against the Palestinian people. Real action needs to be taken to end arms sales and divest from companies which continue to sell arms to Israel. A report by CAAT sets out the details of arms export to Israel.

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94th vigil


Ninety fourth vigil in Salisbury

September 2025

The latest vigil attracted around 25 attendees, lower than recently but passer-by interest was encouraging. Only one person in a car blasting his horn and made a disobliging gesture. Over 65,200 are now dead as a result of IDF bombing but the recently launched ground offensive in Gaza City is likely to see a rise in that number.

Tomorrow (Sunday) may see the British government come out with its long awaited support for a Palestinian state the subject of discussion with President Trump at his recent 2 day visit to the UK last week. We may amend this post tomorrow in the light of that.

Al Jazeera report that starvation deaths are now at 440 including 147 children.

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UN Council report declares genocide in Gaza


Report finds that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and elsewhere

September 2026

A report by the UN Independent International Committee of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel (COI), has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in those areas according to the 1948 Convention. The UN itself has not made a declaration but it is being urged to do so. The COI investigation has taken 2 years. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has condemned the report saying “it categorically rejected the report and called for the COI to be abolished. Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, called the report a scandalous and fake “libellous rant” that had been authored by “Hamas proxies”. Israel has declined to cooperate with the COI, accusing it of having a political agenda“. A summary of the report is available here.

The COI finds that 4 of the five genocidal acts have been committed by Israel namely killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part and imposing measures intended to prevent births. It finds that Israel has failed to investigate genocidal acts and to prosecute perpetrators.

Israel has imposed a siege, blocked humanitarian aid and has systematically destroyed health care and educational systems. Today (17th September) as part of its latest ground offensive, it has attacked the last remaining functioning hospital in Gaza. Independent journalists are not allowed into the territory.

Treatment of women

Perhaps the most distressing aspect of the report is the atrocious treatment of women captured by the IDF. This has not so far as we are aware been reported before. It is worth quoting the passage on this aspect (warning: a distressing read):

Notably, the Israeli security forces also sexually harassed and publicly shamed Palestinian women. For example, some Palestinian women were forced to strip to their underwear and remove their veils in public and in front of the community. The Commission has found that Israeli security forces have deliberately humiliated and mocked Palestinian women based on their gender and ethnicity. The evidence analysed by the Commission showed a clear gender and racial bias by the perpetrators, who intentionally target Palestinian women and attempt to humiliate and degrade them publicly. Moreover, from the perspective of Palestinian culture, sexual harassment and public shaming of women are potentially extremely harmful, carrying serious implications for the women whose privacy is publicly exposed. Additionally, female Palestinian detainees were severely mistreated and humiliated during their detention. The Commission has reported that female detainees were subjected to repeated, prolonged and invasive strip searches, both before and after interrogations. One woman was strip searched in her cell every three hours during her four-day detention, the guards forcing her to remove all her clothes even though she was menstruating. Women were forced to remove all clothes, including the veil, in front of male and female soldiers. They were beaten and harassed while called “ugly” and subjected to sexual insults, such as “bitch” and “whore“. (para 70).

Sport and culture

The continuing death toll in Gaza, now put at 65,000, and the increasing level of violence by settlers in the West Bank is forcing countries to reassess their relations with Israel. We have previously reported the abandonment of the final stage of the Vuelta due to protesters. There are moves by Spain, Ireland and others to withdraw from Eurovision. There are signs of Israel becoming more isolated because of its activities.

Referring to this increasing isolation, Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech yesterday that Israel would become a kind of Sparta. This is a revealing comment since the Greek state did indeed win a famous victory in the Pelopennesian War but it was democratic Athens which eventually survived and became a beacon for global civilisation. Sparta pursued its militaristic and isolationist policy but was overcome by the Helots and disappeared from history.

The 94th vigil will take place on Saturday 20th at 5pm in Salisbury market by HSBC.

Sources: Haaretz, Guardian, Neos Cosmos,

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Sport and rights


Major cycle races affected by protesters. Last stage of Vuelta abandoned

September 2025

La Vuelta a Espana is the tour of Spain cycle race and a major event in the cycling season. It follows the Tour de France and the tour of Italy, the Giro d’Italia. These are keenly watched by millions of fans and the teams are sponsored by commercial enterprises and countries. The last stage of the Vuelta had to be abandoned last week because of street violence. Cycling is fairly unique since races take place on ordinary streets and members of the public can see the cyclists close to.

The problem is one of the teams is sponsored by Israel Premier Tech and its presence is causing major headaches. There are threats to next year’s Tour de France which starts in Barcelona (there is an increasing tendency for these tours to start outside the home country). Indeed, the Giro started in Israel in 2018.

There is hardly any need to explain the problems with the war in Gaza, set to intensify with the attacks on Gaza city, leading to the deaths of over 64,000 Palestinians. Although the sponsor is a commercial firm, the website makes clear the deep involvement of the Israeli government and Netanyahu himself. It is a national team.

The boss of IPT, Sylvan Adams, is hard line in his approach to Gaza and is quoted as saying ‘Israel should finish the job in Gaza’. He calls the protesters ‘terrorists’.

It is a major problem for race organisers since policing the roadside for three weeks is all but impossible. They are reluctant to ban or uninvite IPT because they are worried about being accused of being anti-Semitic. IPT is also extremely wealthy. Tour de France winner Chris Froome is on the team. The risk of disruption is high as we saw in Madrid. If the war in Gaza continues, protests are likely to grow and become more frequent.

It raises the question of sport and politics since countries like Israel are closely involved in teams as a means to promote themselves. Arab nations are spending billions engaged in the same thing. In the communist era, states like East Germany and Russia used sport to promote their ideology. The close involvement is a problem in times of war however. The involvement of IPT is only likely to intensify protests: there were two crashes in the Vuelta and two riders had to retire. The whole question of sport and politics is clearly an increasing issue especially as money is so important to success.

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Human rights under threat


Many politicians lining up to weaken rights

September 2025

We have posted over the years of this site’s existence the near constant attacks on human rights, the act itself and more recently, the European Convention (ECHR) which is generating a lot of anger at present. Many of the attacks came from news outlets who were concerned about privacy issues in the light of their various hacking* activities. The attacks have morphed in recent years with greater emphasis on the ECHR and a widespread desire among politicians to leave it. The impetus for this latest surge follows the attempt to deport immigrants to Rwanda which was stopped at the last minute by the European Court from flying from an airfield a mile or two from where this is being typed. The policy was abandoned by Labour when it came into power.

This post draws heavily on an article in the Observer (14 September) by Rachel Sylvester entitled: Misinformation and myth: the UK’s phoney war on human rights. The article begins with the well worn disinformation stories the latest being the chicken nugget debacle. Immigration, asylum seekers, hotels and the boat crossings are making the political waves at present and a wide range of politicians are seizing on the unrest to make political hay. They include Nigel Farage (Reform), Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch (Conservative). Locally, Danny Kruger MP for East Wiltshire, is a vocal opponent [Kruger switched from Conservative to Reform while this post was being written].

Chicken nuggets debacle

Chicken nuggets? The story was that an Albanian criminal could not be deported because his son disliked eating chicken nuggets. There was no such ruling. A senior judge made it abundantly clear that an aversion to chicken nuggets could never be enough to avoid deportation. The false story was latched onto by the politicians mentioned above. Since two are members of their political parties and one wants to become one, it is disappointing to observe that they keen to perpetuate myths.

The fury over the boat crossings has led to many politicians wanting to leave the ECHR despite the fact, the article notes, Strasbourg has only ruled against the UK three times in 45 years. In all the invective against the ECHR, its positive effects are seldom reported: Hillsborough being a prime example [Correction: 20 September. It was the HRA which was significant with this inquiry]. But in areas of the country where immigration is a particular problem, leaving the ECHR is a ‘test of ideological purity’ (ibid). It is also part of the Brexit story since many believed that when we left the EU we would leave the European Court as well.

Few friends

The court seems to have few friends however. Politicians who should know better, such as Richard Hermer the Attorney General, are talking in terms of ‘reform’. Reform might be all right but when reform = weaken it’s not all right. There seems to be a lack of stout defence of the act by politicians. Such is the ascendancy of Nigel Farage that it appears politicians of all stripes are desperate to ape his remarks or even try and outdo him. The Human Rights Act has made a significant difference to people’s lives in way many may not be aware of. It would be a huge loss to the country if as a result of hysteria over immigration, we were to lose some important rights.

*There is an ITV drama on this to air shortly.

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Spot the difference


The different responses by police to protests

September 2025

At the beginning of the month, a protest march concerning Palestine Action which was peaceful and attended by large numbers of elderly people, resulted in over 800 arrests. No police officers were reported to be injured.

On Saturday, 110,000 attended a rally in London where the police struggled to restrain the violence, where bloodthirsty, threatening and violent statements were made by Elon Musk and others and 26 police officers were injured. There were 28 arrests.

800 v. 28

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Ninety third vigil


Over 40 attended our latest vigil

September 2025

We still meet on Saturday outside the Library in the centre of Salisbury to promote the idea of peace in the Middle East. The carnage continues. The death toll stands at an estimated 64,871 of which over 19,000 are children. It is thought that 422 have died of starvation. There is no viable peace negotiation currently underway.

Israel recently attacked a building in Qatar saying it was occupied by Hamas individuals who carried out the 9 October massacre. The attack is contrary to international law and the Qataris are furious. Israel informed the US before the attack as they have a major base in that country. The attack seems to indicate a boldness by the Israelis supported as they are by the US.

One attendee at the vigil was wearing this shirt to emphasise that the conflict has its roots in 1948 Nakba where around 750,000 – 1 million Arabs and Palestinians were displaced or lost their lives in the campaign by the IDF to displace them. Current media attention is on the 7 October massacre by Hamas and not on the events in 1948.

A video of the vigil can be viewed here thanks to Peter Gloyns for producing it.

No sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen nor any mention of the vigil in his weekly Salisbury Journal column. He is reported to be a member of Conservative Friends of Israel.

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Minutes and newsletter


Minutes for our September meeting

September 2025

We are pleased to attach our minutes and newsletter for this month which has reports by members on the death penalty, the vexed issue of immigration and our increasing concerns about the erosion of rights in the UK. There are also details of forthcoming meetings and activities (so far planned). Thanks to group member Lesley for preparing these.

Minutes September (Word)Download

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