Is Gaza protest needed in St Albans? (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Is Gaza protest needed in St Albans?

12:21pm Tuesday 20th January 2009 in

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WHILE cutting my teeth as a reporter I used to love covering protests and demonstrations.

People were so emotional, so angry and vociferous. Without wanting to sound unsympathetic, as a journalist, you could not wish for better quotes. The article was always backed up by photographs which gave the reader a clearer picture than was possible to write.

The one that sticks in the mind most is that of Vauxhall workers when I worked on a newspaper in Luton.

Thousands of employees were on the verge of being made redundant as the Vauxhall plant – synonymous with the town for nearly a century – teetered on the brink of closure.

I remember being overawed by the passion of the tens of thousands who demonstrated. You could understand the workers protesting, but they were backed on the streets by people whose grandfather worked at the plant decades ago or by people who simply felt that Vauxhall had made the wrong decision in closing the plant, thus changing the town’s skyline forever.

A few years later I covered a pro and anti-fox hunting demonstration and, by comparison, they seemed pointless.

Not because the cause was any less worthy but because you could tell the “campaigners” were doing it to make themselves feel good, not necessarily because they believed in the cause.

Both protests were impeccably organised.

For example, on the anti-hunt march, boots were handed out to journalists who had worn shoes. Press from all corners of the earth seemed to have been invited, yet the protest itself did nothing and served nobody.

Meanwhile, the newspaper I was working for at the time was not invited to the Vauxhall demonstration – no news crews had been. No meeting point or time was discussed.

But it was all the town was talking about and was covered for weeks by national and local media.

Fast forward to January 17, 2009, and I found myself stuck in traffic in St Albans as “campaigners” “protested” about Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

Let me be clear – I, like most people, have been sickened by what I have seen while watching coverage of the conflict.

As I write this, a ceasefire has been announced, a welcome move, but a move that is sadly too late for hundreds of innocent people.

However, what those protesting hoped to achieve by demonstrating in our city’s civic centre on Saturday is unclear.

Did they want to raise awareness of those affected?

I think not. The conflict has been high up on the agenda of nearly every news organisation in the world.

Maybe they wanted further action from the British Government? I doubt it. Our Government has gone as far as it can in calling for a ceasefire.

Do they want to stop the war? Definitely. But I am fairly sure the protest in St Albans did not have any ramifications in Israel and I doubt Hamas would pay much attention.

So what was the reason?

Campaigner Peter Segal told our reporter: “We wanted to show people of St Albans a substantial number of people care about what’s going on in Gaza and we wanted to show their outrage.”

Does Mr Segal think that anyone not involved in the protest does not care or is any less outraged?

Apparently the demonstration, organised by the St Albans Stop The War Coalition was also open to Muslims, Jews and Christians.

By inviting all faiths I would assume it wanted to protest about the conflict in general, without apportioning blame.

But as I passed by I read such banners as: “Stop slaughter in Gaza from Israel terrorists”, “Stop the war on Gaza”, “Israeli terrorists” etc. If I was Jewish, I am not sure I would feel comfortable attending such an “open to all faiths” protest. As a result there was no mention of Hamas.

So what do these protests achieve?

Other than more animosity I am not sure.

Assaults on Jews in this country are rising. Security staff at Watford Synagogue have been on heightened alert and a synagogue in Willesden was targeted by arsonists last week.

I am not saying peaceful protests like that held in St Albans on Saturday are directly responsible.

However some of the banners on view would certainly stir the blood of young extremists from any faith angling for a fight.

The violence that marred the demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in London was probably started by those who think the Gaza strip is a nightclub in Soho, but when such protests for peace end in more violence on our streets, I see this as a clear indication of what certain campaigners want to see more of.

There is no suggestion of that being the case in St Albans, but there is also no suggestion of there being any reason for such a protest other than to make those involved feel good about themselves.

Meanwhile, placard-waving fanatics can join in stoking the flames burning inside young, impressionable people.

Protests used to be the way in which a democratic society would get together and get something done.

Demonstrations with a clearly-defined message and intention can serve a society so well. But now they seem to be organised at the drop of a hat when the only thing that can be achieved is more bad feeling.

Do we want such issues argued on our streets when we have no involvement? I do not. I just want the conflict to stop.