Trafalgar Square: Gaza 1417 remembrance die-in

ISM London

16 January 2010

1417 is not just a number: it’s the men, women and children who died during Israel’s 23-day assault in 2008-2009.

This event marked the anniversary of the atrocities committed in Gaza and called for the state of Israel to be brought to justice for its illegal actions and for those responsible to face trial for war crimes.

Heavy rain meant that instead of staging a “Die-in”, with people lying on the ground to represent those killed in the attack, those present decided to observe a minute’s silence for the victims. Approximatly 200 people participated with each being given the name of one of the dead to hold aloft. After a perfectly observed silence, three speakers with direct connections to the attack on Gaza addressed the crowd – Sameh Habeeb, a Gazan journalist; Natalie Abou Shakrah, a Gaza survivor; and Manal Timraz, who lost fifteen members of her family in the attack, eleven of whom were children.

Manal Timraz’s speech proved to be one of the most emotional moments of the day. People in the crowd had tears in their eyes as she told the crowd: “When I saw you all holding the names of the victims I was looking around for the names of my family members… the youngest was 2 and the eldest of the children was just twelve. Can you imagine…these are children who were not allowed to grow up.”

“Equality for all citizens on the historic land of Palestine, no matter what religion or gender or race or colour or ethnicity, justice through accountability. Just like people of conscience managed to isolate the apartheid state in South Africa we can isolate the apartheid state of Israel.” Natalie Abou Shakra.

“But we are not only here to commemorate the dead. We are here to highlight the injustice of Israel’s brutal occupation, besiegement and oppression of Gaza and its population. We – civil society – will not accept Israel’s crimes and war mongering, and we will not accept our government’s continued sponsoring of Israel’s terror tactics.” One of the event organisers said in speech.

After the speeches, some participants initiated their own die in with some lying on the ground covered in fake blood with others burning the Israeli flag in protest against the Israel state, with many others joining in chanting and calling for Freedom for Palestine.