Council of Christians and Jews
South East London Branch
Tuesday 12th May 2020 at 8.00 pm
Online Meeting from 7.50 pm via 
“Protest and Direct Action”
Joanna Blackman – activist in the swords to ploughshares movement
Daniel Sonnabend – author of ‘We Fight Fascists: The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post War Britain’
Chaired by Rev Bernhard Schunemann, Chair of CCJ SE London Branch.
There will be the opportunity to ask our guests questions through the Zoom platform.
Background:
“Swords into Ploughshares” / “Why civil disobedience is essential to confront injustice”
In 1980, eight US citizens entered a military site, where the nose cones for nuclear warheads were being manufactured and hammered on the nose cones, enacting the biblical prophecies of Isaiah and Micah to “beat swords into ploughshares”. Since then, there have been over 100 “ploughshares actions” in the US, Australasia and northern Europe, characterised by a commitment to nonviolence, confronting everyday complicity in injustice and taking personal responsibility for disarmament work.
In 1996, Jo Blackman was a member of a women’s group who disarmed a Hawk jet which was due to be sold to Indonesia and would likely have been used in the regime’s occupation of East Timor. After completing their mission, the group informed the manufacturer of their action and were subsequently charged with £1.5million of “criminal damage” and remanded for six months before becoming the first ploughshares action to result in an acquittal at trial.
More recently, Jo has been involved with Extinction Rebellion. She will share with us some of her ploughshares experience and why she believes that civil disobedience is essential to confront government inaction in the face of the climate emergency.
‘We Fight Fascists: The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post War Britain’
In 1946 many Jewish soldiers returned to their homes in England imagining that they had fought and defeated the forces of fascism in Europe. Yet in London they found a revived fascist movement stirring up agitation against Jews and communists. Many felt that the government, the police and even the Jewish establishment were ignoring the threat; and that they had to take matters into their own hands. Forty-three Jewish servicemen met together and set up a group that organised, infiltrated meetings, and broke up street demonstrations to stop the rebirth of the far right. The group included returned war heroes; women who went undercover; and young Jews, such as hairdresser Vidal Sassoon, seeking adventure. From 1947, the 43 Group grew into a powerful troop that could muster hundreds of activists at short notice.
The history of the 43 Group is not just a gripping story of a forgotten moment in Britain’s postwar history; it is also a timely lesson in one way of confronting extremism.
Arrangements for our Online Meeting:
E: stephenweil6@gmail.com tel 020 8299 4141
Pre-registration is open to CCJ Members and guests, guests of the speakers, and guests of churches and synagogues across the UK.
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