{"id":109725,"date":"2025-05-17T18:56:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T18:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/109725\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T18:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T18:56:09","slug":"over-500000-march-for-palestine-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/109725\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 500,000 march for Palestine in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tNews<\/a><\/p>\n

Around one in eight people were on their first national demonstration for Palestine <\/p>\n

By Socialist Worker journalists <\/b><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDownloading PDF. Please wait…<\/p>\n

Saturday 17 May 2025<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tIssue <\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

A sea of solidarity on the Palestine march in London (Picture: Guy Smallman)<\/p>\n

The size, vibrancy and political strength of the Palestine movement<\/a> was on show on Saturday as over 500,000 people flooded the streets of central London.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was the 27th national demonstration since Israel began its genocide in October 2023\u2014and one of the biggest. As the front of the march reached Downing Street, it stretched back across Waterloo Bridge and onto Westminster Bridge.<\/p>\n

Marchers have raged against Israel\u2019s genocide<\/a> for 19 months, but the Palestine movement continues to mobilise fresh forces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Socialist Worker\u2019s mass survey showed that one in eight demonstrators were on their first national demonstration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First time marcher Doaa told Socialist Worker, \u201cThey\u2019re trying to silence us, but they can\u2019t take away our voices as well as here.<\/p>\n

\u201cYemen, where I\u2019m from, is one of the only countries standing up and turning ships around. It is going through one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, and people are still trying to do something.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the countries should do the same as they are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marchers raged on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba<\/a>, when Zionist forces ethnically cleansed over 800,000 Palestinians to found the state of Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aleksandra, who came from Loughborough, told Socialist Worker, \u201cThis is my second London demonstration. We have vigils in Loughborough, but we need to see numbers out for the anniversary of the Nakba.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another marcher, Jamilla, told Socialist Worker. \u201cIt\u2019s so important that people know this didn\u2019t start on 7 October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMarches do make a difference. It\u2019s very empowering to see so many people of different backgrounds marching together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Palestine,\u201d Isabelle told Socialist Worker. \u201cMy father worked in Gaza, we lived in the West Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have lost to people I was at school with, people murdered by the Israeli Occupation Force. I brought my kids because we have to show that when something is wrong, you have to stand up to it and make your\u00a0voice\u00a0count.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos told Socialist Worker the government\u2019s \u201conly response is to slander and abuse these marches\u2014but they aren\u2019t succeeding\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The British state has tried to repress the Palestine movement. It is dragging leading figures from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stop The War through the courts and police interviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it is smearing the movement as a threat to Jewish people and Jewish places of worship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos told Socialist Worker, \u201cThey realise that the population is overwhelming against what is going on in Gaza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir only response is to slander and abuse these marches\u2014but they aren\u2019t succeeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son Peter added, \u201cIt is a lie that these marches are no-go areas for Jews\u2014we are always warmly welcomed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hatred of Keir Starmer ran through the demonstration. \u201cIt\u2019s disgusting,\u201d Iqbal told Socialist Worker. \u201cStarmer\u2019s a human rights lawyer. Tell me, where\u2019s the humanity in blowing people up?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no food, no water. There are no universities, no schools, no hospitals left. He\u2019s pulling the whole West into supporting this horrific genocide. It\u2019s unforgivable.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cEveryone says it\u2019s wrong apart from Western parliaments. The media sides with Israel, but some people tell the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe petitions, the demos, the posters\u2014we are doing the job that must be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protester Rosie from Hull agreed, \u201cI think the Western media has been appalling throughout.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"Palestinians <\/a><\/p>\n

Palestinian \u2018freedom struggle will win\u2019: interview with author Phil Marfleet<\/a><\/p>\n

Julia from Barking in east London, told Socialist Worker, \u201cLabour is saying things that belong in the mouths of Reform UK. To see Starmer and Labour politicians say that is disgusting and won\u2019t be tolerated\u2014we will stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banners from several unions formed a bloc on the march. Gary is from the Coventry and Northamptonshire branch of the CWU union. He told Socialist Worker, \u201cI\u2019m proud as a postal worker to show solidarity with those Israel is murdering.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrade unions should be on side of oppressed\u2014and I can think of no better example of modern oppression than the horrific genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery trade unionist worth their salt should be on this march.\u201d<\/p>\n

NEU education union rep Sheeran told Socialist Worker, \u201cIsrael will not stop until Gaza has been erased\u2014it is a war of extermination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government isn\u2019t listening to us, but we are going to use all our power to demand a boycott and an arms embargo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ewan, an NEU member who\u2019s part of the Disarm Education campaign group, argued union leaders have to mobilise more over Palestine. \u201cYou need to separate trade union leadership from rank and file membership,\u201d he told Socialist Worker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen trade union leaders make public statements, but that needs to translate into action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBlock parliament, block something, shut something down\u2014There must be an escalation of some kind.\u201d
Iqbal\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The size of the national demonstration shows the depth and breadth of the Palestine solidarity movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But after 19 months, many marchers are looking for ways to escalate action to break Britain\u2019s links with Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Protester Yala told Socialist Worker, \u201cI really admire when people target the companies that manufacture weapons for Israel. We have to be more disruptive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iqbal argued there needed to be \u201cmore big demos\u201d, but said the movement had to go further. \u201cBlock parliament, block something, shut something down,\u201d he said. \u201cThere must be an escalation of some kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another protester, Shama, argued for a renewed push for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). \u201cI believe we need more radical action, But every little bit counts,\u201d he told Socialist Worker.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf protesting didn\u2019t do anything, they wouldn\u2019t be trying so hard to suppress our protests so hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cRight now trans+ rights are under attack and I believe that\u2019s also something we have to band together for. People use queer rights as an excuse to be anti-Palestine\u2014it shows their ignorance.\u201d<\/p>\n

South London student Ravia said the issue was \u201ccohesion\u201d. \u201cThere\u2019s so many different groups that are working towards this change but it\u2019s quite fragmented,\u201d she told Socialist Worker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ravia said \u201cstrikes and trying to disrupt the economy\u201d could \u201cmake governments change their position. \u201cFundamentally, we have to make their support unprofitable,\u201d she argued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As hundreds of thousands filled Whitehall, left wing MP Apsana Begum spoke to the rally. She said, \u201cStarvation is being deployed as a weapon of war. 2.3 million Palestinians are being denied food and medical aid and strikes are raining down on schools and hospitals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything our government has done, and everything it has failed to do will haunt its legacy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"It<\/p>\n

It was one of the biggest of the national demonstrations for Palestine (Picture: Guy Smallman)<\/p>\n

Historian William Dalrymple said, \u201cFor 77 years, Palestinians have been terrorised into leaving their homes and farms. They have been driven from the valleys of the orange groves into the deserts of sand dunes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore weapons have left Britain for Israel under Keir Starmer\u2019s government than under the Tories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in the darkest night you dream the best. And our dreams are not just fantasies. We will unite against the racists and bigots in parliament until the enslavement of Palestine is ended.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe night will not last forever\u2014one day the sun will rise. There will be peace, freedom and dignity. We dream of a free\u00a0Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel is ramping up its genocide and looking to extend its occupation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The genocide is Gaza is driving a crisis of legitimacy for the West\u2019s rulers\u2014and that is opening up divisions for the movement to exploit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Western imperialism has destroyed Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other countries under the guise of \u201chumanitarian intervention\u201d. At the same time, it has held up Israel as a \u201ccivilised society\u201d and the \u201cone democracy\u201d in the Middle East.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But now our rulers\u2019 watchdog state stands exposed as a racist, genocidal project in the eyes of millions who had not marched before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Financial Times, the house journal of Britain\u2019s ruling class, wrote a damning editorial last week in a sign of the divisions at the top of society.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It said, \u201cThe US and European countries that tout Israel as an ally that shares their values have issued barely a word of condemnation. They should be ashamed of their silence, and stop enabling Netanyahu to act with impunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe longer it goes on, the more those who remain silent or cowed from speaking out will be complicit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The editorial writers of the FT hope that, through the mildest condemnations of genocide, Western states can regain their \u201clegitimacy\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the division it shows up are an opportunity\u2014the Palestine movement can exploit them to demand the British state severs its ties with Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That will take building the movement and linking it to the wider rage at Starmer\u2019s onslaught under the slogan \u201cwelfare not warfare\u201d. And we have to build mass action to stop the flow of arms that murder Palestinians.<\/p>\n

How many demonstrations have people been on?<\/p>\n

Socialist Worker carried out a mass survey asking people how many national demonstrations they have been on:\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  • First demonstration: 13 percent<\/li>\n
  • Between 2-5 demonstrations: 40 percent<\/li>\n
  • Between 6-10 demonstrations: 13 percent<\/li>\n
  • Between 11-15 demonstrations: 6 percent<\/li>\n
  • Between 16-20 demonstrations: 2 percent<\/li>\n
  • Between 21-26 demonstrations: 14 percent<\/li>\n
  • All demonstrations: 12 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News Around one in eight people were on their first national demonstration for Palestine By Socialist Worker journalists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,1814,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-109725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-palestine","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114524703231326767","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}