Thousands of people attended a pro-Palestine march through the centre of Edinburgh on Saturday. The national march for Palestine saw crowds of demonstrators gather at the foot of the Mound in the afternoon before setting off towards the Scottish Parliament.
Numerous Palestinian flags were on show, along with banners and placards, and many attendees wore keffiyehs. The marchers were accompanied by a group of drummers, and many chanted slogans including “free free Palestine” and “viva viva Palestina”.
March through the High Street to Holyrood
The column of marchers stretched along the High Street as they made their way to Holyrood, with traffic being held on adjoining roads while they passed. Onlookers on either side of the road filmed and took photos as they passed, with some joining in the chants.
Once the marchers reached the Scottish Parliament, they held a rally on the lawns facing the building, where a number of stalls had been set up, and they were addressed by various speakers. There was a small police presence, and officers intervened at one stage to escort a man away from the rally after he appeared to be making a number of attendees uncomfortable by filming them on a pair of smart glasses.
Attendees explain why they marched
Among those taking part in the rally was Julie Reid, 54, who travelled from Glasgow to take part. “I am here to protest the genocide that’s happening in Palestine,” she told the Press Association. “It’s still going on three years later, and I’m disappointed that not more (has) been done to prevent it.”
Ms Reid, who works at a school, said she hoped the march would help remind people about the situation in Palestine. “Keep talking about it. Just keep saying this is not OK.”
She was at the march with her friend Caroline MacLean, who said she wanted those in a position of power in the UK and elsewhere to “show a bit of humanity” and do something about the conflict. The 55-year-old said: “As a mother and a previous teacher, just seeing children being slaughtered and families being displaced, and just everybody’s just carrying on their life and these people are getting away with it. I think we all need to do something to try to stop this.”
Twenty-year-old Quinn Hill, a theatre and film student at Queen Margaret University, said she had taken part as she found the situation in Palestine “honestly heart-breaking”. “I just want to do my bit because I haven’t really done much, and I want to start doing (something),” she explained. “So I thought: no better place than to come here and maybe try.” Asked about what difference the rally could make, she replied that “even little things can have an impact”.
Jewish marcher speaks out
Among the marchers was Debora Fink, who was wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “Jews against the war in Gaza”. She told the Press Association that she was “driven” to take part in the event because as a Jewish woman she felt Israel’s actions were being done in her name. “I’m a secular Jew … (with) Jewish origins, Jewish identity, culturally Jewish,” she said. “And this is what drives me, because it’s being done in my name.”
The 59-year-old also said she felt accusations of anti-Semitism are used to “stifle criticism” of Israel’s actions, and that she wanted to “empower non-Jews to come out and support Palestine … because there are so many Jews that do it”.
