Youth Demand took the calls for the UK Labour Party government to stop arming Israel onto the red carpet on Thursday 17 October – as they disrupted a London film premiere featuring Hollywood ‘star’ Andrew Garfield.
Andrew Garfield: stand with the Palestinian people
Two Youth Demand supporters disrupted the red carpet at the film premiere for We Live in Time held at London’s Southbank Theatre, demanding a two-way arms embargo on Israel. One accessed the red carpet, standing in front of the crowd while holding aloft a Palestine flag emblazoned with the words ‘STOP ARMING ISRAEL’:
The other was apprehended by security before they could gain access. No arrests were made.
Taking action at the Andrew Garfield premiere was Starr Thomas, 20, a student from South London. They said:
Our political system is rotten. The only way to achieve justice is through direct action so I will continue putting my body on the line and using my voice. We cannot have business as usual during a genocide.
The UK government are facilitating genocide. Britain is a death machine and I refuse to follow the rules of a state that profits off of mass death, and stays silent while babies are being blown to pieces.
Israel has come under fire for burning displaced Palestinian to death by targeting civilian hospitals with bombs. Shocking images of student Shaban Al-Dalu being burnt alive whilst still attached to an IV unit in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital have been prominent in the media.
As the Canary previously reported, Shaban was sheltering in a tent in the compound of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital with his parents and five siblings when an Israeli bomb hit, one of many such attacks. A fireball engulfed him whilst he was still attached to a drip and the images of this atrocity have gone viral around the world.
Shaban was days away from his 20th birthday. He had been supporting his family with a crowdfunding page. His mother also died in the attack.
Stop arming Israel: Youth Demand
A spokesperson for Youth Demand said of the Andrew Garfield premiere protest that “Israel is annexing Gaza. They genocide the population, they bulldoze cities, and then they move in. The only way to stop this is to stop arming Israel”.
Co-starring with Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield recently spoke out in support of Palestinians experiencing genocide at present. He said in a recent interview:
We should be putting our energy toward something that actually matters. Maybe the lives of, I don’t know, Palestinians in Gaza right now… Maybe that’s where we put our hearts and our energy in, and anyone suffering, anyone oppressed, anyone that is suffering under the weight of the horrors of our world right now, anyone who doesn’t have a choice in living lives of dignity
Youth Demand are one of the groups supporting the nonviolent demonstration ‘POLITICS IS BROKEN – THE UMBRELLA MARCH‘ due to be held on 2 November, forming part of the PSC march.
Featured image via Youth Demand
