Ten Conservative councillors walked out of the Dorset Council chamber on Thursday, rather than hear a public deputation requesting that the Dorset Pension Fund take investments out of companies supporting the Israeli war effort in Gaza.
The Dorset Echo reported: Green Councillor “Clare Sutton, speaking after the meeting, said she could only interpret the choice of those who left the council chamber during the session on Gaza as support for the Israeli leader’s decision to bomb children and hospitals.
“’Ethics aside what about free speech and respecting others’ opinions?’ she said.”
Clare later added on social media: “Prior to [the deputation on Gaza], we’d all voted in favour of adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Those rights include Freedom of Expression (article 13). But 10 councillors did not respect that right in relation to Dorset residents standing up for the citizens of Gaza. Shall we call that, erm, ‘inconsistent’?”
Photo: Jaber Jehad Badwan on Wikimedia Commons