On Saturday 2nd March, Naming the Dead returns to the arms company Elbit Systems in Filton, Bristol. For the last 3 weeks, banners extending to over 150m have been inscribed by members of the Bristol public with the names of over 10,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza.
Public writing events have taken place at College Green and at Castle Park, and last week the banners were carried by foot for 5 miles up the Gloucester Road, finishing at Elbit Systems. Nick Bilborough from the Hands Up Project, a charity which works with children in Gaza, read out a poem written by a child who was killed with all her family in the early months of the war.
This week the public writing will take place at the mosques of Bristol, on Friday 1st March, and then at Elbit Systems itself, on Saturday 2nd March. A public rally organised by BPA (Bristol Palestine Alliance) will be held at Elbit Systems, and those attending will attempt to deliver names of the dead to the company which perhaps carries most responsibility for the genocide. A shrine will be constructed to US airman Aaron Bushnell, who died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC, in protest against the genocide in Gaza.
There are plans for the banners to travel to Stroud and Newport in the coming weeks.
Notes for Editors:
- Naming the Dead is a Bristol-based group formed to honour, individually, those killed in the recent Gaza conflict. See https://namingthedead.org/
- Details and timings for Saturday’s rally can be found at BPA’s website or FB page.
- The Hands Up Project is a charity trust which connects children around the world with young people in Palestine https://www.handsupproject.org/
- Less than half of the names of those killed have so far been released. The list we have been using is based on the Gaza Ministry of Health figures
- Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest arms company, whose bombs, drones, and numerous other technologies are being used to attack Gaza. It has two offices in Bristol. The newest is a manufacturing hub, where weapons parts known to be used by the Israeli armed forces are manufactured. https://www.adsadvance.co.uk/elbit-systems-uk-opens-horizon-facility-in-bristol.html