Na’amod is Hebrew for “We will stand”, and is the name taken by a movement of UK Jews who have been campaigning since 2018 against support for apartheid and occupation, and calling for peace through dignity, freedom and democracy for Palestinians and Israelis.
They see the dehumanisation of Palestinians as an affront to religious teachings such as b’tselem Elohim (we are all created in God’s image).
On Friday evening, more than a hundred Na’amod supporters gathered opposite Downing Street with a loud message for Foreign Secretary David Lammy who had just visited the Middle East. The protest was called in solidarity with Jewish protesters who that morning had tied themselves to the British Consulate in Jerusalem calling for a UK arms embargo on Israel. Such an embargo, they claim, would be an act of solidarity with ordinary Israeli people, as a huge symbolic step towards ending support for occupation and genocide, and helping to bring peace and stability to the region.
The protest ended with songs and prayers.
