Boycott Barclays Now!

by New Worker correspondent

Palestinian solidarity campaigners were outside Barclays Bank’s Annual General Meeting in London this week to call out their complicity with Israel's genocide in Gaza while others, inside the hall, disrupted the meeting to protest against the bankrolling of Israeli terror in Palestine.   
Barclays holds over two billion pounds-worth of shares and provides £6.1 billion in loans and underwriting to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology are being used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians.
This week, Israel has committed to intensifying its genocide in Gaza by sending yet more troops into the Palestinian enclave. An Israeli government minister has said Gaza is "to be entirely destroyed". We must respond by escalating our campaigning against corporations that enable Israel's atrocities. 
Barclays has an agreement with Israel to act as a 'primary dealer' for its government bonds. This means it directly helps Israel sell bonds to raise money to fund its genocide against the Palestinians. Barclays has underwritten at least £500 million of Israel government bonds since October 2023. 
In addition, Barclays provides investment and loans worth billions to arms companies supplying Israel with the weapons and military technology it uses in its crimes against Palestinians. There must be no business-as-usual for companies like Barclays while they enable Israel's genocide.  

Don’t bank on Barclays!

By Theo Russell
Last Saturday 70 people protested in support of the people of Gaza in Camden Town, north London, marching to Barclays Bank in Tottenham Court Road to call for the bank to end its financing of the Israeli war machine. For the second time the Zionists and their far right (EDL), and fascist (English Patriots, I was told) friends staged a counter-protest and this time outnumbered us about three to one.  Some pro-American Iranian monarchists were with the Zionists waving the old Iranian flag of the hated Shah who fled the country after he was overthrown in 1979. But the Palestine solidarity activists stood their ground and received lots of support from passers by - unlike the other side.
The Zionists almost certainly brought people from far and wide to target the Camden march, while there were eight other pro-Palestine marches in London alone, and 29 more across Britain, from the Isle of Wight to Orkney. It’s hard to believe the Zionists attempting to stage counter-protests in Orkney!
Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip has killed over 33,000 Palestinians, and displaced over 1.9 million – more than 85 per cent of Gaza’s population. Yet our political leaders still refuse to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Over the past six months the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has been leading massive demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinian Arabs in London and supporting local initiatives throughout the country. As Israel’s genocidal assault continues, we can’t stop now. We must keep taking action until the Palestinians achieve freedom.

Banking on Zionist apartheid

by New Worker correspondent

Don’t bank with Barclays. That was the message of the pickets outside Barclay’s bank in Clapham Junction last Saturday. Barclays is bankrolling Israel's genocidal assault on Palestinians. The bsmk holds over £1 billion in shares, and provides over £3 billion in loans and underwriting to 9 companies whose weapons, components, and military technology are being used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians.
This includes General Dynamics, which produces the gun systems that arm the fighter jets used by Israel to bombard Gaza, and Elbit Systems, which produces armoured drones, munitions and artillery weapons used by the Israeli military. By providing investment and financial services to these arms companies, Barclays is facilitating the provision of weapons and technology for Israel’s attacks on Palestinians. This is why Palestine solidarity campaigners are calling for a boycott of all Barclays services until the bank ends its grave complicity in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians.