Plymouth PSC
About Plymouth PSC
A few people in Plymouth have asked about organisations, who PPSC are, who other groups are. I'll try and summarise.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) are a UK National campaigning organisation. As it says on their website "PSC brings people from all walks of life together to campaign for Palestinian rights and freedom". We encourage people to join the national organisation.
Plymouth Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PPSC) is the Plymouth branch of the PSC. We have members in Plymouth and surrounding areas. We are part of the National Organisation and organise events and hold meetings locally.
There are other national campaigning groups. Palestine Action, for example, is a direct action group, founded by ex members of the PSC, who have been very successful in carrying out direct action focusing mainly on the Israeli arms company Elbit, which has several factories in the UK and links with a number of other companies.
Since the start of the attacks on Gaza the PSC have organised a number of national marches in London. These marches have been jointly organised with other organisations including Friends of Al-Aqsa, the Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
We often collect money for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) which is an aid charity that provides medical aid to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon. Our stall usually has two collecting tins : one for our local campaign (PPSC), one for MAP.
Locally we have been holding rallies every Saturday since the 7th October 2023. We are often joined by other groups including the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), who have a weekly stall in town (the familiar red tent), the Socialist Party and Socialist Appeal, who have their own stalls. The PPSC are not affiliated with these groups, neither do we endorse them. Our members are free to belong to any political party. We do however welcome the support that individuals from these groups have given us, some of which has been vital to our events over the years and during this current crisis. They have also brought people to the rallies by publicising the events. As with the national marches, we are part of a coalition.
We also have members who are different faiths. The occupation of Palestine is often painted as a religious conflict. It is not. Although the majority of the Palestinian population are Muslim, it is also the home of Christianity. There were many Jews in Palestine before the advent of Zionism. So Palestinians can be of any faith or none. We've been joined on our rallies by many people; Atheists, Muslims, Jews, Christians. All are welcome.
Plymouth PSC don't have a formal membership and anyone is free to join our meetings and events. We hold monthly organisation meetings at Quaker House on Mutley Plain. Again, we are not affiliated with the Quakers, but we welcome their support.