Glasgow turns out to support Gaza and shame BBC

Buchanan Street, Glasgow

Yesterday saw a tremendous display of humanity in Glasgow as people gathered to denounce Israel's wicked bombardment of Gaza and the media's disgraceful coverage of it.

While the people of Gaza are being bombed and murdered, the BBC in particular is not only failing to report Israel's actions as the high crimes of a rampant occupier, it won't cover mass protests over those crimes and the misreporting of them even at its own front door. 

 

Condemning the appalling death toll, and expressing solidarity for the people of Gaza, many of those addressing the crowd highlighted the false 'Israel responds' narrative being repeated by state media.

Key points were raised about what never gets reported: that Israel has Gaza's 1.7 million people under enduring military lockdown, that the context of the Occupation is never presented, and that, alongside its daily killing and repressions in the West Bank, Israel have consistently violated the 2012 Hamas-agreed ceasefire by murdering Gaza's farmers, fishermen and other civilians, most notably children.

How, others wondered, can the so-called 'international community' stand aside and allow Israel to engage in such a barbaric act of collective punishment - an act declared illegal by the UN. 

A Jews for Justice for Palestinians speaker also reiterated their admirable message that 'Israel does not speak in our name'.

And, in deliberating on what can be practically done for Palestinians, strong opinion was registered that an independent Scotland with control over foreign policy offers a much more promising means of support than a UK state which embraces Israel and its US military sponsors.    



Afterwards, the entire crowd, in spontaneous mood, flowed down Buchanan Street for an inspiring march along the Clyde-side towards BBC Scotland HQ.

People from all walks joined in the swell of Palestinian colour, young and old, people of religions and none, families pushing babies in prams.

At one point the entire 'Squinty Bridge' and a long mass behind stopped, sat on the road and fell silent for Gaza.

At their glass-fronted offices, people announced in voluminous voice: 'BBC - shame on you'.

And, shamefully indeed, not a word or picture of
this event has been offered by the BBC.

What kind of 'public broadcaster', with an 'impartial' remit to 'inform', can be so fearful of reporting such strong humanitarian feeling?

Despite such blatant censoring, people are turning to - as this superb gathering in Glasgow showed - a much more highly-effective social media to organise, communicate and disseminate information.

So, while the brutality of Israel's war crimes and other apartheid oppression continues unabated, one hopes that Palestinians can, like us, take great encouragement from the kind of resilient protest and activism going on here and in cities all around the world.

Meanwhile, Gaza suffers.

Muhammad Hamad, 75, lost his wife, three sons, daughter-in-law and grand-daughter when his house was wiped-out by an Israeli bomb. Here's his painful words:

"I went into shock. The neighbours held me because I couldn't stand. I felt I was going to faint from the horror of it."

What horror, indeed.

What horrors our leaders are allowing to continue with their sanctimonious words about a 'peace process' and the need to ensure Israel's 'security'. And what consequential horrors are being hidden from public view by a shameless state media repeating those distortions on Palestinian 'militants', Israel's 'rocket-preventing mission' and the great fiction of the West's 'benign brokering'? 

As Glasgow's and other outpourings for Gaza have shown, the capacity for rejecting such propaganda is growing, as is the heroic resistance of suffering Palestinians to their criminal occupiers.      

*Thanks to John Pacetta of
Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign
for the above images.