On Saturday 20th April, local campaigners came together and lined the streets of Colchester standing in solidarity, fighting for a ceasefire in Gaza and a stop to the supply of weapons to Israel. 

The peaceful protest began at the Crouch Street Square at 11:30 am with an estimated 250-300 protestors standing in solidarity and eager to raise awareness of what is happening in Gaza currently. The 1-mile route took the campaigners through the busy streets of the High Street and concluded at the historic Castle Park where prominent speakers delivered speeches Including Kate Hudson from Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi from Jewish Voice for Labour and Terina Hine from the Stop War Coalition.  Despite the poor weather conditions, Lauren from Colchester Action for Palestine felt “the atmosphere of the March was brilliant, we made a big impact by not only the amount of people who joined the March but also the noise we made”.  

Spectators filled the streets at key locations such as Colchester Head Street and the High Street with a variety of reactions; lots of people clapped and chanted alongside the protesters while others tried to block the procession or resorted to aggression but protest organizer, Lauren was clear that the counter protests would not “stop our calls for justice!”.  

Leading up to the protest, ‘Colchester Action for Palestine’ has been meeting weekly for 28 weeks (about 6 and a half months) since the conflict in Gaza has began. The group has been planning a range of activities such as banner making, making risk assessments, planning communications and outreach. The action group are keen to raise awareness among the general public about the ways in which the British Government is involved in the conflict.