Israel 'Nazi' protest at council meeting: Unionist with decades of experience says he has never seen anything quite like it

Alderman Derek Hussey gave a first-hand account of what happened in Londonderry’s Guildhall on Wednesday evening to the News Letter, and has described the banner which demonstrators unfurled in the middle of the meeting as “absolutely disgraceful given the history of the Jewish people”.

It called for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled, but each letter ‘S’ has been replaced by a Germanic rune of the kind used on the uniforms of the Nazi SS: the implication being that Israel is behaving the same way the Nazis did.

The banner in question has made appearances at previous Palestine protests in Londonderry; late last month it was seen hanging from the city walls.​

The video feed of the meeting showed councillors talking about bank branch closures and the local swimming baths when the meeting was disrupted.

UUP man Mr Hussey first became a councillor in 1989, and was also an MLA for West Tyrone from 1998 to 2007.

He estimated there were in excess of 50 protestors, of which “several” were masked.

“We were in the middle of council business and all of a sudden a large group of people entered the public gallery,” he told the News Letter.

“More worryingly” another group entered via a side door (which requires a pass to get through). It was this group which was carrying the banner, which was unfurled right behind the Sinn Fein mayor and the chief executive.

Mr Hussey says the moment that happened proceedings should have been suspended, but weren’t.

Instead a vote took place to suspend the standing orders (which govern the conduct of meetings) so that a protestor could address the council.

Catherine Hutton, the Londonderry branch representative of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Network, then addressed the meeting, and in the process she criticised the ‘SS’ banner and distanced her group from it, saying “we do not agree with anti-semitic symbols”.

There was also a minute’s silence held for all children who had been killed in the conflict to date; something which all councillors, Mr Hussey included, took part in.

But while some councillors opted to stand, others adhered to custom and stayed seated.

Mr Hussey said one man in particular began to harangue him because of this.

“He was on about ‘did I not care about children?’ and ‘had I children of my own?’,” said Mr Hussey.

“He was also threatening in that he said any occasion he’d come across me he’d be shaming me and accosting me in that sort of fashion.

“I do know one thing for certain: sorry folks, I’ll not be intimidated.”

Four DUP councillors left the chamber as a result of the behaviour of protestors, and ultimately the meeting was adjourned.

Mr Hussey said an investigation by the council is now warranted, and when asked if he’d ever seen such scenes before, he said: “Not on this scale.

“Obviously way, way back in the old Strabane days we would have had protests and bin liners being held up in front of people, and all this sort of stuff.

“But not on this level, and not in such a personal intimidatory style. It did feel threatening.”

​The News Letter asked if no security guards had been on duty at the Guildhall to prevent any of this.

The council replied that “the Guildhall is a public building that is open to all,” adding that it “keeps the operations of all its facilities under regular review”.

Asked why the meeting was not suspended as soon as protestors invaded the floor and unfurled their banner, the council said: “The council suspended standing orders and a spokesperson for a group was invited to address elected members that were attending the meeting. The meeting was subsequently adjourned.”

The PSNI has said it is investigating “to establish if any offences have been committed”.

The Hamas-controlled Gazan health ministry says over 14,500 people have now died in the siege of Gaza.

The UN has not verified its figures, but says they are “reliable”.

When the meeting reconvened yesterday to finish off outstanding business, People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said that at the Wednesday session, councillors had talked in detail about the “genocide” unfolding in the Middle East.

“And what did I wake up to today? Complaints about the protest! I consider it a complete and utter attempt to deflect away from the actual content of the discussion,” he said.