Category Archives: Uncategorized

Think before you vote in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections

Why we wont be voting for the “independent” candidate It’s the local elections this Thursday. CSSD doesn’t have any party political affiliations, and tries to ensure we welcome people with different preferences. We also know that many people are frustrated with political parties and prefer to vote for Independent candidates. Often there are no issuesContinue reading “Think before you vote in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections”

Nazi Meetings in Stroud? What?!

On Tuesday 19th March we learned that some people were trying to put on two Nazi meetings in Stroud, one to mark the “135th anniversary of Hitler’s birth”, and one to promote an antisemitic conspiracy theory used by Hitler to justify killing millions of Jews. This was shocking and distressing to many. On this webpage we provide detail about the Nazi Meetings, the group that organised them, the planned speaker, and some background context.

Nazi meetings cancelled – our statement

On Tuesday 19th March we learned that some people were trying to put on two Nazi meetings in Stroud, one to mark the “135th anniversary of Hitler’s birth”, and one to promote an antisemitic conspiracy theory used by Hitler to justify killing millions of Jews.

Shocked and horrified by this, local anti-racist groups took action, responding particularly to the distress felt by local Jewish people.

On Monday 25th the Nazi meeting organisers emailed their mailing list to say that they have cancelled the event.

No to Nazis in Stroud

Nazi meetings are being organised by Project Libertas to happen in Stroud on April 19th and 20th. This is not satire, this is a nightmare reality. Two meetings attacking Jews are being held in Stroud. It is shocking and unacceptable. This webpage provides an open letter for people interested in to working to stop Nazi meetings and to challenge any organising that promotes Nazi lies and ideology in Stroud – which people can add their names to in order to register their opposition and to sign up for updates.

Video and text of speeches made at our 2024 Holocaust Memorial Day event

On Sunday 28th January, Community Solidarity Stroud District held a series of events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. On this page you can find videos and text of speeches made at the different events.

Letter to the Stroud News and Journal on the protest before Katie Hopkins recent local performance

“Your anonymous correspondent’s recollections of Nazi Germany are important. But as our community prepares to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, their suggestion that the breaking of a single window at the back of a pub is somehow “Kristallnacht in well-heeled Whiteshill” is both dangerously wrong and highly offensive. 

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Community Solidarity’s demonstration promoting inclusivity, anti-racism, and tolerance

Last night, 11th January 2024, the Whilteshill and Ruscombe Community Solidarity group successfully organised a calm and peaceful demonstration to promote village values of inclusivity, anti-racism and tolerance. Here’s a short video featuring Whiteshill residents Helen Price and Adrian Lukes talking about why they organised the demonstration, and some photos from the event and links to social media posts you might like to share.

Take care what you share about the Israeli assault on Gaza

It was perhaps inevitable that the Israeli assault on Gaza would lead to a swathe of new conspiracy theories. Israel positions itself as the state of the Jewish people, and Jews are often the locus and subject of conspiracy theories. Israel, its enemies, and other actors with interests in the region are involved in a sharp information war.

So there are lots of unsubstantiated and sometimes implausible claims circulating about the “real truth” behind what is going on in Gaza, and about what “really” happened on 7th October. Some of these play into classic anti-Jewish stereotypes and narratives.