St Anne's Gate, St John's Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, 1938 - Salmon Postcard

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A damp vigil

A reduced number at the latest vigil, No 128, held in the wet

May 2026

Well it still goes on. There was a report on the Channel 4 news ostensibly about a ceasefire in Lebanon followed by footage of bomb damage from the latest raids. Surreal. One wonders if there ever will be a ceasefire so belligerent are the various parties and so deep the hatreds. Things could be better if the US curbed its seemingly unconditional supply of weapons and support for Israel.

In his latest book Israel, What Went Wrong (Fern Press, 2026) the Jewish academic Omer Bartov writes:

“By what bitter cunning of history have we come to the point that not even eight decades after the Jewish state was established in 1948 – the same year in the genocide convention was adopted by the United Nations in direct response the Nazi extermination of European Jewry – Israel engages for two years in a genocidal undertaking with almost total impunity from the very international legal regime set up after World War II to prevent and punish this crime?”

Eurovision

The Eurovision song contest was held on Saturday and Israel came second to Bulgaria the winners. Five countries boycotted the contest because of Israel’s presence and there have been protests in Vienna. Coming second to Bulgaria it represents a triumph for the country despite the protests. Ireland did not to participate and RTÉ said in December that it felt Ireland’s participation would be “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”. It also said it was deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and by Israel’s barring of international journalists from the territory. At least 235 journalists have been killed there making it the most dangerous place in the world for them to work.

It is nonetheless troubling that the Israeli entrant could perform so well with reports that the voting was ‘nail-biting’ with a chance that Israel could have won. This despite the terrible events going on in the region. The European Broadcasting Union insists the contest is not political. Last year, there were reports of aggressive marketing by Israel to help secure its second place.

Most media have simply reported the results with discussions about the merits of the performances. So we are indebted to the New York Times who have investigated the Israeli contestant and reveal that the country has invested heavily to the tune of $1 million to promote him. The full story is worth a read and reveals the extent they went to achieve their success. Further details in this Al Jazeera story. Looking at the BBC coverage for example, there is no hint of this activity leaving readers or viewers none the wiser about what happened. The British entrant got the dreaded ‘nul point’ for a second year.

Around 20 attended the vigil on Saturday, down from recent ones but People in the Park kept many away as did the weather. As ever, no sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen who is a proud supporter of Conservative Friends of Israel.

Sources: Politico, Irish Times, International Federation of Journalists, NY Times.

Photo from the vigil courtesy of Peter Gloyns

Recent posts

• A damp vigil
• Steady erosion of rights continues
• Minutes and newsletter
• 78th anniversary of the Nakba
• Risks to our rights steadily increasing

Minutes and newsletter

Contains a number of interesting items about human rights today

May 2026

We are pleased to attach our latest minutes and newsletter. We do not publish a newsletter as such but the minutes double as one. They contain pieces about immigration, the death penalty and the slowly deteriorating state of rights in the UK. Towards the end you will find details of forthcoming activities if you were interested in making contact.

Latest posts:

• Steady erosion of rights continues
• Minutes and newsletter
• 78th anniversary of the Nakba
• Risks to our rights steadily increasing
• Global Trends in Refugees and Asylum Seekers 2024

Live set starting to come together for Saturday. If you're near Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury this Saturday at 2.30pm, do come along - playing some new stuff for the first time and it will be great to say hi to you.

Mean time, look at this old BBC1 globe 😀

#salisbury #electronicmusic

Salisbury vigil #127 well attended

Good turnout for the latest vigil. High level of recognition from passers-by

Excellent turnout to today’s vigil with around 35 coming. There was also a fairly steady flow of car horns from passing motorists. A larger number than usual of people stopped to take note – nearly a hundred – which is encouraging. In a few days it is Nakba Day, which commemorates the expulsion and death of at least 700,000 Arabs and Palestinians following the establishing of Jewish state in 1948 at the end of the British mandate. Prior to that event and the violence which took place in 1948/49, Jews and Palestinians lived side by side in the area together with other communities.

It is important to remember the events of 1948 which cast a shadow over what is happening today. In the photo below you’ll notice a key which has symbolic importance. When people were evicted from their homes by Israeli forces or the Hagana, they kept their keys in the hope of returning one day. It never happened as most of the settlements were destroyed. Much of our media focus on the terrible events of October 7th and ignore the considerably more massive events of an earlier era.

Nakba event

There will be an event run by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London on 16 May, see the Salisbury CND site for further details and background. Following the terrible events and attacks in Golders Green, there have been calls for a ban on marches such as this.

Being able to protest is an important right we have and governments of all persuasions have been keen to limit or control them. Labour has introduced further legislation and controls and left to their own devices would probably cancel this one. They are aided by some elements of the media labelling them ‘hate’ or ‘terror’ marches.

Once again we must note the absence of the local MP Mr John Glen at this or any of the previous 126 vigils. In a letter to the Salisbury Journal, which provides him with a column each week, he said he was a ‘proud member’ of the Conservative Friends of Israel lobby organisation in Westminster. Labour and LibDem MPs are also members of their respective friends groups making it the largest such lobby organisation.

A video of the vigil can be seen here, courtesy of Peter Gloyns (and the photo).

We shall be at People in the Park next Saturday 16th, so if you are interested in joining us or saying ‘hello’ that would be a good opportunity to do so.

Previous posts:

• Clothing and the abuse of rights
• Latest Death Penalty report
• Salisbury vigil #127 well attended
• Violence, politicians, marches
• 125 and counting …

Holy Trinity Chapel, Salisbury Cathedral

August 2025

#FensterFreitag #Salisbury #Wiltshire #England #UK #GB #SalisburyCathedral #Cathedral #Windows #Trinity #HolyTrinity #HolyTrinityChapel #Altar #Kirche #Church #Gotik #gothic #gothicArchitecture