This last weekend hundred from Sheffield took part in solidarity actions whether it was riding in the North East BIG RIDE, marching London as part of yet another fantastically attended national demonstration or sitting in Parliament Square declaring support for the proscribed Palestine Action.
Over 200 riders started from Tudor Sq in Sheffield and rode south through to Chesterfield and back, via Rother Valley, and on to Darnal, where they were met by a magnificent local rally. From there the riders came to SADACCA for a celebratory meal.
Meanwhile a coach of supporters from Rotherham, Sheffield and Chesterfield, went to London for the national demonstration; before the march they briefly joined six people from Sheffield and Grindleford who were determined to show that we would not be silenced by the government and would continue our support for thise who are trying to bring the genocide to halt by peaceful demonstration and action.
Once again showing the strength of the solidarity movement in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
Six arrested and detained in London
We sent the following news release to the media, following the arrest and detention of six people from Sheffield:
SIX people from Sheffield returned home yesterday after being arrested and detained for taking part in a peaceful protest in Parliament Square, London.
The protest, organised by national group Defend Our Juries, was part of the wider Lift The Ban campaign to end the ban on Palestine Action – a non-violent group recently designated as a terrorist organisation by the Labour Government in a move criticised by international human rights organisation Amnesty International, and the United Nations.
“More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli Occupation Forces since October 2023. For demanding that this slaughter stop, I am arrested,” said Jonathan Feldman, from Sheffield Jews Against Israeli Apartheid.
As Big Ben struck 1pm on Saturday, August 9, more than 1,000 people revealed hand-written signs that said “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” and sat peacefully outside parliament as police began making arrests, despite clear warnings from Amnesty International that any arrests would be a breach of international human rights law.
“We six from Sheffield and Grindleford, as well as 1,000 other people, are showing peaceful support for others who want the slaughter in Gaza to stop and whose only crime, if indeed it is a crime, is to interrupt the supply of weapons to Israel,” said Mr. Feldman
“For this, we are arrested while people complicit in genocide are able to go free.”
Palestine Action was proscribed on July 2, 2025 for taking direct action to disrupt the supply of arms to Israel – this included breaking into RAF Brize Norton and spray painting military aircraft. The ban means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Controversially, the vote against Palestine Action was bundled together with votes on two neo-Nazi groups – forcing MPs and Peers to vote for all of them to be proscribed or none of them. The move was described as “sneaky” by member of the House of Lords Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, and criticised by several MPs at the time.
More than 500 of the estimated 1,000 participants were arrested, according to the Met Police, and almost half of those arrested were over 60 years old.
Since the proscription, public support for Palestine Action has been increasing, with hundreds of arrests across the country of people holding signs.
“I oppose genocide. I do this for Shahd Abusalama. Over 30 of her family have been massacred by the Israeli military and the survivors are now facing starvation,” Hilary Brown, from Nether Edge, Sheffield said. “I do this for the Al Farra family. So many of the family have been massacred. And Keir Starmer and the UK Government are all complicit in this genocide.”
As she was being arrested and detained on Saturday, Steph Howlett, also from Nether Edge, Sheffield, said: “I am here to take a stand against the slaughter and starvation of thousands of innocent people in Gaza. I am acting on my conscience. I am not a terrorist.
“I am standing for justice, humanity and love.”
Sean Ashton, from Walkley, was also among those arrested and detained.
“I’m here to oppose the genocide in Gaza because the alternative, to be a bystander and just watch as men, women and children are starved and murdered, is unconscionable,” he said.
Izzy Price, from Heeley, said “My conscience dictates that I am here to oppose genocide!”
Alongside the Lift The Ban protests, a national demonstration in support of Palestine marched through London, ending outside Downing Street. According to the UK’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign, an estimated 300,000 people took to the streets of London, including delegations from across Yorkshire.
Next week, Saturday, August 16th, the Yorkshire March for Palestine will take place in Sheffield, starting at 2pm from the Sheffield Amphitheatre by the train station.
