102nd vigil attracts strong attendance

November 2025

It almost doesn’t seem possible that for 102 weeks a group of people turn out of a Saturday evening to hold a silent vigil against the violence and death in the middle east most particularly in Gaza. Over 40 did so this Saturday (15th November) even with a number of the ‘stalwarts’ away for various reasons but their places taken by new people. A video can be viewed here.

Media attention has shifted away from Gaza for the moment and more attention is being paid to the violence in the West Bank. This has increased to frightening levels and news programmes showed settler gangs roaming Arab and Palestinian villages, destroying cars and houses at will. A BBC report showed an attack on a Bedouin village and business. There is little sign of police or IDF protection and previous footage shows them just standing by whilst the violence continued. Bizarrely, any Palestinian who protested would themselves be arrested. The attack on a dairy shows the same kind of tactic used in Gaza where the basic facilities of life – water, electricity, hospitals and food supplies – were consistently attacked and destroyed. President Herzog has said that this violence must end.

It is important to emphasise that many Israelis are appalled at this increased level of violence and intimidation. We are now into the season where olive are harvested and this has become a flashpoint in the West Bank in recent years as extremist Israeli settlers regularly threaten and physically harm Palestinian harvesters. This year, “the situation on the ground is out of control,” Anton Goodman of Rabbis for Human Rights said on a Haaretz Podcast.

“We have never seen anything like this,” Goodman emphasized, noting that in the past, “We’ve seen settler attacks, and we’ve seen unnecessary army aggression and restrictions, but we’ve never seen such a peak moment of violence affecting so many communities.”

By not clamping down on the gangs and standing by while the violence is carried out, Israel has created a problem for itself. Emboldened and supported by the hard liners, it is difficult now to rein in their activities.

Sources: BBC, AP, Haaretz

Video and image from the vigil courtesy of Peter Gloyns.

Next vigil on Saturday 22 November at 17:00 by the Library.

Previous posts:

• Good attendance at vigil
• Minutes and Newsletter, December
• UK Human Rights Report: Current Threats and Government Actions
• Analysing the Shift in UK Migration Figures: What It Means
• Death penalty report

Around 35 attended the 101st vigil in Salisbury and the recognition by passers by was higher than usual.

November 2025

News about Gaza has dropped down the agenda in recent weeks with concerns about prisoners mistakenly being let out of gaol tending to occupy the news agenda. Endless speculation about the budget is also taking up space and the terrible events in Sudan rightly receiving attention. The ceasefire in Gaza and the imminent arrival of the peace force (if Washington is to be believed) has dropped off the agenda. No war, no news.

This could prove to be a big mistake. Pressure is growing on the Israeli government to allow foreign journalists into Gaza especially as one reason given was their safety. Many journalists have died, around 245, the largest death toll in a conflict. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has accused the IDF of deliberately targeting journalists who have struggled against great odds to get their stories out. No sign yet that Israel will agree although they did allow limited access to reporters, including the BBC, last week and a brief report was broadcast. The visit was tightly controlled, reporters were not allowed to speak to any Palestinians, and an IDF officer was allowed to speak without being questioned or challenged. Nevertheless, the scenes of total devastation were horrific.

“We survived the war, we may not survive the ceasefire” Sara Awad, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza recently

Will the ceasefire lead to a lasting peace? It is unlikely. Firstly, the territory is still being bombed. There are differing reports about the death toll since the 10 October with Haaretz reporting 38 and Al Jazeera 238. The video above says 245. There is no likelihood of a Palestinian state. West Bank violence continues unabated. Some reports suggest little has changed in terms of food supplies into Gaza.

It is one of the reasons we are continuing with our vigils: to take our eye off the ball at this stage would be a mistake. Much as our government would like protests to stop and the police are busy arresting protestors, awareness of the genocide in the area is greater than ever. This is denied by Israel and an argument against this can be read here. The complicity of our government in the carnage is a story yet to be told and will be the subject of future posts.

A video of the 101st vigil is available thanks to Peter Gloyns for producing it is such quick time. We shall be back next week on 15th. Other information on the Salisbury CND site.

Previous posts:

• Good attendance at vigil
• Minutes and Newsletter, December
• UK Human Rights Report: Current Threats and Government Actions
• Analysing the Shift in UK Migration Figures: What It Means
• Death penalty report

Does International Law mean anything any more?

October 2025

Last week, the International Court of Justice (the principal judicial organ of the United Nations), in an advisory opinion, declared Israel to be in breach international law in preventing aid from being sent to Gasza. And this week, Danny Kruger MP, on behalf of Reform UK, declared that the requirement in the UK’s ministerial code to acknowledge international law in their decision-making would be dropped by any future Reform UK government. On the first point, the Israeli government of course denied the charges and the second is unlikely to happen, but they raise the question “How far is international law able to be enforced?”

Readers may recall, at the time of the Brexit negotiations, a particularly awkward point was resolved by evidently breaking international law. The then minister, one Brandon Lewis, claimed that it only broke international law “in a specific and limited way”, for which he received much ridicule, but is such a response arguable or merely dismissive?

International law is a vague concept, in that much of it is not regulated. Those aspects that are enshrined in treaties are binding (but only among signatory states), while some are no more than statements of principle (think migration). The case of Benjamin Netanyahu and the International Criminal Court reveals some of the problems – countries that have signed up to the Court are obliged to arrest him if he come under their jurisdiction, but he can move at will among non-signatory countries, and some signatories may consider it too much of a hot potato to intercept him. In his trips to Washington for example, he has to fly an inefficient route to avoid needing to overfly an unfriendly state.

So, is the law becoming meaningless? The current United States administration is set on removing and authority from the United Nations, which has largely been the means by which the laws have been enforced, and the collegiality that once existed on e.g. climate change, has largely gone. Even the EU has its own laws constantly flouted by member states (which are punished, but don’t care). But appeals are still made to the UN and other international arbitrators, in the absence of any better option.

Clearly, our expectations of governments’ probity have been too high. The ICJ’s judgements are binding, but they have no powers of enforcement and are dependent on the Security Council for any action (and the Council is subject to veto by any of the 5 permanent members).

Indifference

One might conclude that international law is like human rights law; important to have it, but, in the end, any state choosing to ignore its precepts will probably get away with it. What has changed maybe has been that states used to argue the their actions were within the law, whereas now they are indifferent as to how they are judged. It might be worth establishing a regime of specific sanctions for specific offences, which could be more plausibly mandatory. But, as Hobbes said, “Covenants without the sword are but words.”

AH

Danny Kruger is the MP for East Wiltshire who recently defected to Reform from the Conservatives.

Recent posts:

• Good attendance at vigil
• Minutes and Newsletter, December
• UK Human Rights Report: Current Threats and Government Actions
• Analysing the Shift in UK Migration Figures: What It Means
• Death penalty report

Vigil took place at a difficult moment

October 2025

The vigil took place two days after the killing of two Jewish men and the injury of three others at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue at Crumpsell, Greater Manchester. The terrorist act was carried out by Jihad Al-Shamie. The attack shocked the nation and the Prime Minister had to fly back from a security conference in Copenhagen to attend a COBRA* meeting. It has brought to light the degree of anti-Semitism that Jews are experiencing with many receiving threats and abuse. It later emerged that one of the dead was shot by a police marksman when a bullet went through the door of the synagogue. Synagogues have to have considerable security to protect people attending. The levels of abuse have increased since the October 7th attack in Israel.

Here is a video of the vigil.

The attack sparked a debate concerning events such as this vigil and the national demonstration planned in London in support of Palestine and an end to the war in Gaza. There were many who argued that such events should be postponed in view of the Manchester killing. Others argued that the war continues in Gaza and over 50 more were killed on the day of the Manchester attack.

The other key event was a proposed peace plan agreed between Presidents Trump and Netanyahu following the latter’s trip to Washington last week. The plan has 20 points but it was not discussed with any Palestinian present. Hamas are reported to be considering the plan and indirect talks are planned on Sunday 5th in Cairo to discuss it. The plan made no mention of a Palestinian state.

Haaretz reports the death toll in Gaza has reached 67,000. More have died of starvation. Over 30 attended the vigil.

* A COBRA meeting is a gathering of senior government officials and other key figures to discuss and respond to a national emergency.  These meetings are convened when there is a situation that requires immediate and coordinated action from multiple government departments and agencies. It stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A and refers to the location where the meetings are held.