Tag: vigil

Good attendance at vigil


December 2025

UPDATED

A good attendance at the 106th vigil in Salisbury with around 40 of us there. We were joined by some by some passers-by which is always encouraging.

News about Gaza has been eclipsed by the continuing war in Ukraine and the appalling attack on Jews on Bondi Beach killing 15 people on Sunday 14th. The Australians say this is not a terrorist attack but the motives remain unclear.

Current Gaza situation

The Catholic Standard reports that ‘blanket bombing has ceased’ although there are still skirmishes and attacks. There is still insufficient aid reaching the strip they report. The UN reports that there is now a risk of flooding with the problem of large numbers living in tents and inadequate accommodation. Al Jazeera has warned of the problems of building collapse. Since many structures are badly damaged if not demolished completely, people are sheltering in dangerous conditions. There is a combination of rain and instability.

The latest death toll is 70,117. More medical facilities are becoming partly functional again the UN reports but nowhere near adequate for the needs of the people living there.

CBS say the talks are at ‘a critical moment’ with only one deceased hostage yet to be handed over to the Israelis. Around 500 have been killed in the last month or so seeking food and a report in Haaretz that IDF soldiers have been told by their commanders to shoot at unarmed [Palestinians] seeking food has been strongly denied by Benjamin Netanyahu and the Defense Secretary Israel Katz as a ‘blood libel’.

A statement by the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamin saying that the “Yellow Line is a new border line” is a matter of concern. The line with reports of it being fortified, swallows around half of Gaza and cordons off nearly all the arable and cultivable land leaving only sand and the coast for the Palestinians. Any chance of a viable state of Palestine seems remote if this becomes a permanent situation and will only act as a source of future conflict.

There is still no sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen, at any of the 106 vigils nor any mention of them in his weekly column in the Salisbury Journal. He is reported to be a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel lobbying organisation.

Picture from the vigil courtesy of Peter Gloyns

Video of the vigil

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‘They think it’s all over …’


Vigil 105 makes it clear it ‘ain’t over yet’

December 2025

The title comes from the 1966 World Cup and in that case the final goal sealed the match. Today, in Gaza the privation and death continue but at a lower level. Vigil 105 was well attended with around 30 including some visitors from Portsmouth. A video, produced by Peter Gloyns can be seen here. We continue because injustice continues, and Israel continues to oppress the Palestinians seemingly without let.

As we noted last week, attention has shifted back to Ukraine which is suffering a steady bombardment from Russia with no realistic or reasonable likelihood of peace on the horizon. From President Putin’s point of view, he seems to have the American ambassador Steve Witkoff where he wants him, the Europeans are too weak and divided to do anything so he can continue the war of attrition for some time to come.

Risk of illusion

The ‘ceasefire’ ‘in Gaza has now been in place for 2 months and since that time, 360 Palestinians have died, 70 of whom were children. Amnesty alleges that Israel is still committing genocide in Gaza but the international attention has diminished much to the relief of the Israeli government. It contends that the very term ‘ceasefire’ ‘risks creating a dangerous illusion that life in Gaza is returning to normal’.

Israel has created a ‘green zone’ which contains most of the arable land and any Palestinian entering it is likely to be shot. The Palestinians have been left with around 40% of their previous territory. The good news is that the number of trucks entering has increased although Unwra is still banned.

The plain fact is that misery still persists with little sign of a realistic end. Negotiations take place but without Palestinians being present. They are still being killed albeit at a lower rate. They share with Ukraine the fact of being a nuisance as far as President Trump and the Americans are concerned. The master deal maker – allegedly – wants the problem solved and ideally for the Palestinians to somehow disappear so the real estate development can start as though no one was there before. Negotiations take place between tyrants with those affected not present.

To note that the local Member of Parliament, Mr John Glen, has never attended a vigil nor referred to them in his weekly column in the local paper. He is reported to be a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel group. We discussed in a previous post the unedifying remarks by the other local MP, Mr Danny Kruger.

Church Times article

Readers might like read a piece in the Church Times by the Dean of Salisbury, The Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, DL who attends the vigil from time to time. A report of a talk given by the Dean can be seen here.

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Good attendance at vigil 104


Strong attendance at the latest vigil

November 2025

Despite the cold, around 35 attended the latest vigil and the level of attention was quite high. Most attention is focused on Ukraine and the situation there looks dire. With mass desertions from the army, the West and the US failing to provide adequate arms and intelligence, and a quite massive corruption scandal reaching almost to the top, Ukraine looks soon to be doomed. How long Zelensky can remain is moot. Here is a video of the vigil.

Both Gaza and Ukraine seem to symbolise the death of the post war new world order. These tragic events were not supposed to happen. But Russia has gratuitously attacked a sovereign nation and the combination of support from China and India is able to gradually destroy Ukraine, piece by piece.

Europe is divided and ineffective. As ever it is the ordinary people who suffer deprivation and death. The creation of the United Nations and the agreeing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 was supposed to usher in a world where the atrocities of WWII were never to be repeated. As we reported in our previous post, a supposed civilised nation which boasts western values, is engaged in barbaric torture and mistreatment of the Palestinian people including women and children. Another country – a member of the Security Council no less – attacks another nation, uses torture and abducts children. There is a new world order, just not the one intended in 1942.

Photo: Peter Gloyns

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Impact of Trump’s Peace Deal on Gaza’s Aid Crisis


Uncertain ‘peace’ in Gaza. 103rd vigil takes place

November 2025

Cold, wet, dark and miserable was the setting for our 103rd vigil with around 25 in attendance. Gaza has dropped out of the news now that there is supposed to be a peace deal and attention has switched to the terrible events in Ukraine. Drone and rocket attacks are increasing in intensity with little sign of an end despite another of President Trump’s one-sided peace deals which has to be agreed by this Thursday.

Both Gaza and Ukraine demonstrate similar characteristics namely, Trump’s seeming admiration for tyrants and bullies. The Gaza peace process looks precarious and one report suggests 310 Palestinians have been killed in the past 6 weeks. Aid is still only entering in small quantities.

One major effect of the peace deal is a significant drop off in aid. One charity has reported a 51% fall in contributions and another used to sent $5000 per week now can only send $2000. Other charities report similar falls.

Other reports to emerge in recent weeks concern the appalling conditions Palestinians are held in. Some are in an underground prison never to see daylight for months at a time. The prison in question is Rakefet.

Sources: BBC, B’Tselem, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Guardian.

A video of the vigil thanks to Peter Gloyns.

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Large crowd attends 100th vigil


Around 90 attend the 100th vigil

November 2025

It is astonishing to report that around 90 people attended the silent vigil in Salisbury’s market place. There have been a few occasions over the past 2 years when we have considered stopping, usually after a ceasefire or peace initiative when some might have believed that the killing was over. The recent ceasefire was no exception with a huge amount of fanfare from President Trump supported by a degree of pressure on Israel to stop. Well, it hasn’t lasted with over 100 killed on Tuesday and the creation of a semi-permanent line being established taking yet more territory from Gaza. Hamas have returned the remaining live hostages and Israel has released 250 prisoners and 1,700 ‘detainees’.

There are arguments about the remaining dead hostages with Hamas claiming that they are finding it difficult to locate them in the rubble. As Israel will not allow foreign journalists into Gaza, truth is hard to determine but it would seem probable that Hamas’s account is likely.

We put detainees in inverted commas because the hostages taken by Hamas on their violent raid on October 7th two years ago received, rightly, considerable coverage and few will be unaware of the numbers killed or taken. Media coverage has consistently used the word ‘hostage’ for those taken by Hamas. Those taken by Israel – in considerably larger numbers and who were subject to horrific treatment and torture – are referred to as ‘detainees’. British media has continued with this fiction since the conflict began.

The death toll in Gaza is nearly 69,000.

That such large numbers turn out on a Saturday evening is a testimony to the strongly held convictions about many aspects of the conflict. Whilst acknowledging the brutal nature of Hamas and the horrific attack on October 7th, the destruction of Gaza, the imposition of a food and medicine blockade and the wanton killing of women and children has profoundly shocked many. The British government’s continued support for Israel – directly and covertly – has also produced great anger.

UK arms sales reached a record level in June and the notion that the UK has ‘robust’ measures to control such sales is in tatters according to Campaign Against the Arms Trade. Exact details are impossible to determine as the licensing is vague and because of secrecy. The plain fact is that we continue to supply arms and overfly Gaza despite the appalling carnage that has taken place there.

One hundred vigils and no sign of the local MP Mr John Glen at any of them nor any mention in his weekly piece in the Salisbury Journal. Mr Glen is thought to be a member of Conservative Friends of Israel.

A short video is available here thanks to Peter Gloyns. We shall be back (sadly) on November 8th.

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Letter published on the vigil


A letter was published this week in the Salisbury Journal on line

October 2025

“There is a group of people in Salisbury who have given their time to spend 97 Saturdays [actually 98] in a row standing outside the library at 5 pm calling for peace for all those in the Middle East, particularly for the people in Gaza. I am proud of these, mainly elderly, citizens for standing quietly and with dignity, to bear witness to the horrifying events we have seen every day on TV and on our phones and to call for it to stop.

“Last week at the Vigil, I heard a passer-by ask why it was all old people standing there? Perhaps it’s

because they are a generation who lived closer to World War 2 with parents who were directly affected by the senseless horror of war. Perhaps they can imagine what it means when UNICEF reports that ‘an average of 28 children are killed in Gaza every day, the equivalent of an entire classroom’. Perhaps they just have more wisdom than the rest of us and know “hate breeds hate”, as one of their posters reads.

“This is not a demonstration but rather a silent vigil. As one of the group says, “silence is more powerful than words”. There are no chants and no arguments. As the weeks have passed, more people attend, and sometimes there have been more than 50 people there. Now the world waits as we hope the fragile ceasefire will hold. I think that the group will continue to bear witness to the actions on all sides. We hope for a just peace and safety for all.

“The group would love to have more younger members. Growing our numbers is still important even with the ceasefire, as the situation is not resolved. Our government must take notice that UK citizens want it to fulfil its pledge to support a viable Palestinian State.

“On November 1, the 100th Peace Vigil will take place. Will you join us outside the library at 5 pm and give 30 minutes of your time?“

Sarah Nicholson Barbour

See Facebook page: Sarum Concern for Israel / Palestine

See Instagram: @salisburypeacevigils

The letter was published in the print edition on 23 October.

There is a really good YouTube video of a discussion of the current situation with Daniel Levy and a journalist from Declassified UK. Levy points to many failings in the current process including the point that any idea of a Palestine state is just an exercise in creating a kind of Bantustan: the homeland for black people creating by the then South African state as part of their Apartheid policy. This is of a piece with the Apartheid policy operating in Israel and recognising that they are operating a colonial enterprise. He enjoins us not to be distracted from the real issues and the need for accountability to take place. Politicians are all too keen to say ‘move on’ these days. He doesn’t think much of Tony Blair’s mooted role in nation building.

A letter critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza written by Jewish people has been published. They say the ‘unconscionable actions by Israel amount to genocide’.

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Vigils continue


Vigils continue. A very fragile ceasefire in place

October 2025

We held the 98th vigil yesterday (18th October) even though there is a ceasefire in place. We have debated during the last two vigils whether to carry on but the feeling is that the peace deal will not last. In the last few days and hours, 9 more have died in Gaza bringing the total to 67,967 of whom 20,179 are children. Injuries are put at 170,179 since the conflict began. There have been sporadic clashes between the IDF and Hamas the truth of which is impossible to discern. Ben-Gvir the security minister for Israel is quoted as saying to the prime minister ‘order the IDF to fully resume combat in the Gaza strip with maximum force. An air attack on Rafah took place today while this was being typed. No independent journalists have been allowed into the territory.

All the hostages have been returned but Hamas are having difficulty (they claim) in locating all of the deceased hostages under the rubble. Two more were returned today.

At present, the prospects do not look promising. Hamas has not disarmed and there was footage of executions taking place in the street. These were claimed to be members of gangs allegedly armed and funded by Israel, operating in Gaza.

Massive aid convoys have been held up on the Egyptian border.

[Below] mourner at the grave of one of the returned hostages (picture: Haaretz)

A video of the vigil can be viewed here. For those interested here is a link to all the videos produced by Peter Gloyns for whom we are grateful for permission to post them.

A copy of the report on the UK’s role in arming Israel published by CAAT is available here.

Sources: Independent, CNN, Al Jazeera, Haaretz.

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97th vigil


The 97th vigil in Salisbury – peace at last in the region?

October 2025

This vigil, the 97th, took place after ceasefire and hostage release deal was agreed a few days ago. The remaining hostages will be released very soon – maybe tomorrow (Sunday) – and a significant number of Palestinians will be released from Israel jails. The bombing appears to have stopped and thousands are returning to what’s left of their homes in north Gaza. The IDF has pulled back and now occupies less of Gaza than recently.

With the ceasefire underway and negotiations continuing concerning the 20 point plan initiated by the Americans, we wondered, as we said in our last post, whether to continue. A kind of answer was delivered at this vigil when well over 40 attended with a number of new faces, and 29 cars and other vehicles, sounded their horns in recognition.

A video of the vigil is available here produced by Peter Gloyns to whom we are grateful.

Needless to say we wish the process well and hope the negotiations bear fruit. We would like nothing more than to stay home on a Saturday evening. Will it last? The first thing to note is that it was forced on both sides by the Trump administration and their shift in tone followed the bombing of Qatar where they have their major Middle Eastern base.

Peace will last if both sides see it as being in their best interests to do so. It is not clear that is the case and there are extreme positions on each side. Israel has suffered in the conflict with a rising deficit, low growth of around 1% and a large exodus of skilled people. Since the tech sector is a major part of their economy, this is of concern. Foreign direct investment is falling and the shekel is weak. It is close to becoming a pariah state as witnessed at the UN with the hall emptying when Netanyahu arrived to speak. Despite this, the resolve to destroy Hamas and prevent a Palestinian state is a powerful force.

Hamas has been seriously weakened and Iran is not at present able to offer the same level of support to the various terrorist groups in the region.

We will continue with the vigils in the hope that the ceasefire continues. At present there seems no prospect of a Palestinian state.

The Salisbury MP, Mr John Glen, has never appeared at these vigils nor mentioned them in his weekly column in the local paper. He is listed as being a member of the well funded Conservative Friends of Israel group.

Image: The South African

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Vigil today?


October 2025

With the peace deal in place, we wondered if it was necessary or appropriate to hold a vigil today 11th October. Surely, it might be argued, the fighting has stopped and the IDF has withdrawn from parts of Gaza. Might this be an end to the 2 years of hostilities and some kind of peace can now take place? Can we not be optimistic rather than hold a vigil for a cause which is now history?

Of course we can hope that this is a lasting end to the violence. With President Trump essentially twisting the Israeli government’s arms, there will be a stop to the ceaseless bombing and parking loaded people carriers next to apartment blocks and blowing them up.

But, will it last? Israel has no intention of allowing a Palestinian state. Elements in the Knesset want Gaza to be flattened and its inhabitants to be sent elsewhere. Settlers will continue with their nightly violence and killing of Arab and Palestinians living in the West Bank. Will Trump stay engaged in the coming months to ensure the two sides stay on course? Will Hamas quietly put down their guns and stop sending rockets over to Israel? Aid is to be allowed in but will that continue? And we must keep in mind that Gaza is one vast prison with no port, no boats allowed into the Mediterranean and with no airfield. All access in and out tightly controlled by Israel with queues sometimes lasting hours for no apparent reason. And Gaza is now a wasteland with water treatment plants destroyed, hospitals reduced to rubble, and agricultural land made infertile.

These are huge barriers to be overcome and overcome they might with goodwill. But is there goodwill? Or do the hatreds run too deep?

So while we welcome the ceasefire and hope that it will be sustained if only because of sustained and outside pressure, whether it will last is not at all uncertain.

We will be holding a vigil today, 11th starting at 5pm as usual.

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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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