Shop Empty as Brighton Says No to Apartheid
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| Excellent picket – as one forelorn Zionist flag droops in the distance |
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| A lively picket as the Zionists became increasingly downhearted after our Batsheva success last night |
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| A particularly disturbed Christian fundamentalist – with a ‘joke’ photo of myself – clearly she doesn’t appreciate that most people seeing her ‘artwork’ are even more repulsed by Israel! |
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| PSC stall did a roaring trade despite Zionist attack on it – they shout Shalom (peace) but Wage War! |
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| Christian Fundie Nut (apparently confusing BDS and BDSM!) |
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| Campaign Takes Off as People of Brighton say ‘No to Apartheid’ and Ethnic Cleansing |
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| A large number of Palestinian supporters turned up today |
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| The splendid isolation of Sodastream – not a customer in sight |
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| J-Big Banner – Not all Jews are Nationalist Zealots |
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| A number of Israeli Jews joined with J-Big to show that many Jews look to the anti-racist traditions of Jewish people |
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| Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods there to show that Boycotts are not anti-Semitic |
last night, the picket today of Sodastream was the biggest yet and shows that
the campaign is developing momentum.
Passers-by were extremely supportive and one Zionist,
who posed as a jogger, rushed up to the PSC stall and tried snatching and
grabbing the leaflets. He was arrested
by the Police as he resisted arrest and this is the first arrest that has taken place. It gives the lie to the claim that it is the
demonstrators who are violent and abusive.
Coupled with an attack on a woman demonstrator last night by the Zionists,
an assault on me last week and the consistent abuse by Zionist demonstrators,
with an absurd cartoon picture of me on one of the Christian fundamentalist
posters – by an admittedly very disturbed woman – it shows we are getting to
them.
coupled with a banner and people from Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods, we
outnumbered the Zionist demonstrators about 3-1.
Cruttenden, the solicitor who brought an injunction against protestors at the
EDO demonstration some years ago. That
injunction was overturned at trial and Cruttenden was severely criticised for
his behaviour by the judge at the trial.
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| manager surveys his shop |
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| Cruttenden deep in conversation with manager – completely undisturbed by customers |
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| Cruttenden -Solicitor Who Lost EDO Injunction (& £1m!) behind Police |
Even more heartlifting was the decision today by
Picturehouse Cinemas, which runs the Duke of York, Britain’s oldest cinema, to
replace all Sodastream products by ones which are locally sourced. All in all a great weekend!
Update:
Brighton & Hove UNISON Local Government, the largest union branch in Brighton & Hove Voted to Support the Boycott and Pickets of Sodastream this week
Further Update
And just to compound the good news, Brighton Quakers earlier this week also announced they were supporting the boycott of Sodastream!
Quakers call for boycott of Brighton store
Religious groups have called for their members to boycott goods sold in a Brighton store.
A new report published by a consortium of 22 organisations across
Europe says the EU should discourage businesses from economic,
commercial and investment links with Israeli settlements in the West
Bank.
The report, called Trading Away Peace: How Europe Helps Sustain
Illegal Israeli Settlements, highlights the SodaStream factory in the
industrial zone of Mishor Adumim, part of Maale Adumim, one of the
biggest settlements in the disputed region.
SodaStream recently opened its flagship Ecostream store in Western Road, Brighton.
Anti-Israel activists in the city say that the shop’s eco-image is a
mask which disguises the fact that it has set up a factory on land
confiscated from Palestinians west of the Jordan River.
Suzanne Ismail, spokeswoman for the Quaker Peace & Social Witness
Group, said Quakers in Britain have made a commitment to boycott goods
produced in the settlements and that would include SodaStream products.
She said: “I would encourage shoppers to ask questions about the
origin of Sodastream products sold in the Brighton Ecostream store or
anywhere else.”
A working paper published by SodaStream claimed that the report was
drafted to influence the EU to change its regulations with Israel on
settlements products.
It said: “It has no legal authority and contains numerous mistakes and
irregularities. “This report addresses so called human rights concerns
in the West Bank only, and totally ignores all the real human rights
issues in different countries around the world.
“This by itself proves that the report is biased and intends to delegitimise the state of Israel.”
A spokesman for SodaStream added: “This statement reflects a one-sided
position from the Quaker movement, we decline to comment further.”
