As thousands gathered in Edinburgh today to protest the killing of more than 1000 Palestinians in Gaza, the vast majority of them civilians and many of them children, the people of Aberdeen also came together for the fourth week in a row in even greater numbers than last week.
Today's ceasefire has allowed the true scale of Palestinian deaths to come to light as more bodies, mainly women and children, have been pulled from the rubble of bombed buildings. Over 5,700 people have been wounded and tens of thousands have been left homeless by Israeli shelling.
The Aberdeen Youth Festival kindly turned off their music, as the crowd observed a minutes silence to mourn the dead and speakers again spoke of the terrible impact of the Israeli assault on Gaza, and the need for the world to wake up to the terrible wrongs that have been done to the Palestinian people, not only now in Gaza, but over the past 6 decades.
Ibrahim spoke again. He grew up in Gaza and some of his family still live there. He spoke about the history of the occupied territories, and condemned Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people. "All we want is for them to treat us with humanity, and give us our freedom," said Ibrahim.
Dame Anne Begg, MP, condemned the spiral of violence, "which is continuing to bring untold suffering to innocent people."
"The scale of the suffering in Gaza today must be fully and frankly acknowledged, because the life of a Palestinian child is worth no less that the life of an Israeli child," said Anne, calling for an immediate ceasefire, and end to the seven year economic blockade of Gaza which has contributed to death and destruction across the area.
Dame Anne will take a petition signed by the protesters and members of the Aberdeen public, calling for international pressure to be put on Israel to end the bombardment of Gaza, and present it to Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond.
However, there are Israeli politicians, academics and lawyers who have expressed very extreme views, and who have been only too happy to justify the Israeli assault on Gaza.
He concluded with a poem which made the point that freedom for Palestine will also mean liberation for Israel. It ended, "The day I rise from the ruins of your oppression, I promise you I will not rise alone. You too will rise with me. You will be liberated from your tyranny. And my freedom will bring your salvation."
Unite's Tommy Campbell reminded us that the downfall of South African apartheid was a result of ordinary people boycotting South African produce, campaigning and lobbying, and supporting Nelson Mandela and the ANC, when to the Thatcher government he was still a terrorist. He called on us to take forward a boycott of Israeli produce as a practical tactic to put pressure on Israel.
The protesters pledged to return next Saturday and for as long as it takes to win an end to the brutal massacre of the Gazan people.
With thanks to Renee Slater for the pics of the protest
