Huddled tightly into Parliament square, protest group called Na’amod organised a protest against the recent bombings and killings in Palestine as well as the UK government’s response. Na’amod as per their Instagram page are “a movement to end Jews community’s support for apartheid and the occupation” . This is a rare phenomenon reflecting not all Jews support Israel despite the religious ties to the country.

Despite heavy police presence and teeming rain, the crowd emerged in their numbers as they displayed many signs, banners and cards. Some of which read: “UK: stop supporting genocide in Gaza” and “Jews say no genocide in our name”. The protestors were then addressed by select speakers.

Yasmine Ahmed, UK director of human rights watch, spoke passionately about what she feels is a situation developing into “genocide”. As the rain got thicker and the sky grew ever darker, the tone of Yasmine’s speech followed. “What Hamas has done to innocent civilians is a war crime under a system of apartheid systemic discrimination. None of it justifies violence on either side”. Yasmine was keen to not show blind faith in Palestine acknowledging the tragedies happening either side of the Gaza strip.

Concluding the speech was a direct address to the UK government. Roared on by the boisterous crowd, Rishi Sunak was next to face criticism. “Rishi Sunak you will be remembered by history for not standing up. Your silence is complicity”. The crowd erupted into applause and began to disperse into the brisk London night as the protest drew to a close.