Sheffield Gaza campaigners race to get 5k signatures on petition

The Sheffield Palestine Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid has launched the petition to the council, calling on it to issue a statement of “unity and solidarity with Palestinians”, declare Sheffield “an Israeli apartheid-free zone” and welcome the International Court of Justice proceedings on genocide in Gaza.

The campaign says that the actions of the council are in marked contrast to its enthusiastic support for Ukraine and its ground-breaking decision in 1981 to declare the city an apartheid-free zone in support of the South African struggle.

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At its November meeting, the council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Campaigners welcomed that move but a spokesman said: “There has been no action or statement since in support of the Palestinians despite the very positive aspirations of the resolution and the continuing genocidal attack on Gaza.”

The council is already set to rule out a request to join the coalition at a meeting of the strategy and resources committee tomorrow (February 21).

The council’s legal advice says that it would not join the group as its aims are ones it “may not lawfully implement”.

Campaigners aim to force the council to have a full debate at its meeting on Wednesday, March 6. In order to achieve that they need to collect 5,000 signatures of people who live, work or study in Sheffield by Wednesday, February 28.

Ramadan

The figure for the online version of the petition has now passed 4,000. Supporters are also using a paper version.

Campaigners marched from Ellesmere Green to the city centre on Saturday. They halted at Tesco’s on Spital Hill to urge shoppers not to buy Israeli dates for Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting which begins in March, or Coca Cola, because they have a factory in an Israeli settlement in Palestine’s West Bank.

They are also urging supporters to contact their MPs ahead of an expected Commons vote tomorrow on an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire in the fighting in Gaza.

Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel left around 1,200 people dead, at least 29,100 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The petition is online here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sheffield-council-stand-with-palestine/

The full wording is: “Gaza is enduring barbaric genocidal attacks in which the victims are predominantly children and women. 30,000 have been killed so far, of whom 11,000 are children, thousands are buried in the rubble, presumed dead. The injured and those close to starvation face an unimaginable future and the final “safe” refuge of Rafah is now under attack

“In the West Bank, Palestinians are being expelled from their lands, hundreds killed and 7,000 held hostage in Israeli jails, without charge or trial.

Genocide

“This is the culmination of 75 years of policies designed to discriminate against, displace and ultimately remove all Palestinian people.

“As citizens standing up for justice, we call on Sheffield City Council to:

1) Welcome the work of the International Court of Justice as it proceeds to try Israel for genocide and issue a statement saying that they stand in “unity and solidarity” with Palestinians [as the Council did with Ukrainians]

2) Accept the Amnesty International designation: “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity” and declare Sheffield an “Israeli Apartheid Free Zone” [as the Council did in 1981 in relation to South Africa]

3) Have the above two issues debated in full council in the interests of democracy.”