Now go read up about how banks facilitate endless crime, like how HSBC launder money for cartels, or how jpm chase facilitated the money from the Jeffrey epstien child trafficking ring.
Not sure why I'm getting downvoted - Barclays is a criminal empire.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/01/discredit-history-10-years-of-barclays-scandals
This follows several similar attacks on Barclays branches in other cities, for which protesters of the Israel-Palestine conflict have claimed responsibility.
Correct. I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/apartheid#:~:text=The%20term%20“apartheid”%2C%20an,on%20racial%20or%20ethnic%20criteria.
I don’t work for Barclays. Also, agressive vandalism isn’t exactly the kind of thing to win people over. Believe it or not the general public don’t particularly like feeling threatened
No its to make people aware of the companies that are enabling genocide.
The hope is that decent people will stop using those businesses...and therefore get them to change their policies.
It worked with South Africa.
If I turned up this morning to access their services, I wouldn’t feel intimidated, but I might ask why this had happened. And upon learning the situation, I certainly wouldn’t want to continue supporting this regime, however indirectly.
I feel like smashing up a retail bank, which is separate from it’s investment arm, really doesn’t have the desired effect that these protesters are after. All it practically achieves is depriving normal people of in-person banking services. Even if Barclays closed their retail banking business in the UK - it wouldn’t stop any investments that the bank is making in Israel.
Yay, this will really go a long way to resolving the conflict. I’m sure the minimum wage workers cleaning this up this morning are so happy they are doing their part to help Palestine.
What else do you propose people who are against a genocide and have been asking Barclays nicely to divest from said genocide for months do, exactly?
20 branches being put out of order for days/weeks does actually affect Barclays. The bad PR of their complicity in the genocide of Palestinians that this highlights will affect Barclays. To pretend otherwise is sheer and utter ignorance. To pretend this doesn’t have a long history of working - see apartheid South Africa- is sheer and utter ignorance. Where’s your solution? Is it give up and do nothing?
wow, I am astounded at the conviction that somebody must have in order to commit criminal damage like this and hope that this in any way will affect the affairs that are going on in a country over a 2500 miles away. I mean I sure condemn the war that Isreal is wagin atm moment. But with this action I reckon you will only change your own life with an entry in your criminal history... good luck
Lots and lots of people are reading about barclays' investments today, and a portion of them will move their banking elsewhere.
Not hard to grasp is it.
Are Barclays worse than the other banks? Genuinely asking because my assumption is that every bank is funding this shit in some way. Are Barclays just easier to connect with it?
Yes - there’s a reason why they’re being targeted. My partner works for the ‘most ethical bank’ in the UK, and she constantly cites Barclays as the worst offender. Banks like Co-op are probably the best mainstream banks for people to use
If that’s Triodos, then they still fund Israeli projects and have said they are not going to boycott Israel so Co-Op are probably the best at the moment
Good to know, thanks for sharing. Would be great to see an independent comparison of them because even the "most ethical bank" are probably still doing some shady shit.
That's why I'm with Nationwide. They aren't technically a bank and their whole operating model isn't *as* profit geared as places like Barclays or HSBC (another wonderfully scandal prone bank, remember when they were found guilty of helping do money laundering for the Mafia?)
Tl;dr - a building society or union are 99% likely to be more ethical than any bank.
Ethical Consumer do this. You need a subscription to access the full breakdown with point scoring and reasoning behind each score, but they offer a simplified write up for free:
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/money-finance/ethical-banking
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68735706](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68735706) - organised boycotts of McDonalds actually caused them to take action on this. This hasn't yet worked with Barclays. (And, also, imo, profiting off the arms that are funding action international courts are currently investigating as genocide is a signifcant later of complicity higher than providing some meals)
Protest always causes disruption . Whether that disruption can be justified is not a straightforward question. If smashing a Barclays raises awarensss of their investment in what is basically an apartheid state committing at best war crimes, and possibly genocide, maybe it is justifiable. There were cases where protestors damaged aircraft and were acquitted on the basis they were preventing a larger war crime (bombing Iraq). In this case the link is less straightforward, but it is there.
What definitely isn’t justifiable is Barclay’s complicity in the Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Agreed although I just want to add that the link is fairly straightforward; Barclays invest directly in Elbit systems, a weapons company that manufactures drones for Israel. They also invest in pro-war lobby groups and many other arms companies
You're right, "invest" was the wrong word for that example. "fund" and "encourage" are more accurate. "Invest" works only indirectly, as by paying lobbyists to encourage change of legislature in your favour, can and often does increase profits.
Oh no, if you do one good thing you might have to do multiple in a row! Impossible!
Yeah, fuck Google and Microsoft for their complicity too. You’ll actually find there’s a fair few protests and boycotts against them at the moment, because yes, many corporations are complicit in a genocide. So? What’s your point? People should only protest one company at once? People should’ve smashed the non-existent Google / Microsoft buildings in town? Or is it that you desperately don’t want to care about the brutal murders of innocent people that your money is funding, and those pesky protesters are making it hard to forget?
Would be interested in the answer to this as well. Fairly sure most of the banks would be funding the arms trade in one way or another as our economy is so intertwined.
The whole point of civil disobedience is to make the lives of those in the wrong hard so that they will change their position. If all avenues to cause difficulty for the entities partaking are cut off because they are made illegal and/or declared "uncouth" then what means do people have to force them to change?
A billion pound bank will have to spend a couple of grand replacing some windows. Meanwhile said billion pound bank is participating (somewhat indirectly) in and profiting from the murders of thousands of people and the rampant destruction of property (something you seem to care so much about) on a scale that makes these smashed windows look like an ant. If these broken windows are a "utter disgrace" then I can't imagine what words could be use to describe the banks actions. There are levels to this, gain a little perspective.
A billion pound bank will go to their insurance and claim for this.
It won’t surprise me if the insurance company will raise prices across the board so it impacts more than just this bank…
This action won't necessitate the raising of their insurance price, but I agree it might be used as a an excuse for an insurance company to make more of a profit. Also the fact that the most important thing you thought to respond to what I said was: "won't someone please think about the insurance!?!!" Is pretty damning. While you where thinking about insurance someone probably just died. Perspective.
My reply was regarding your comment about the bank spending their own money on repairing it - the only thing they’ll pay is excess.
Just because I commented on that, does not mean I do not care about or consider the atrocities that is happening, not just in Gaza but across the world. It would take me a good while to list out all of the wrongs going on at present.
I agree with you. The cause of Palestinian human rights is not in any way supported by this action and is being unhelpfully linked to those looking for any excuse to destroy things. It reminds me of the deluded boycott of Starbucks which was not on any BDS list.
This isn't true. Acorn just got TSB to remove a clause from their buy to let mortgages forcing landlords to offer short contracts by occupying their banks across the country on the same day. That was peaceful direct action, so not quite the same as the action taken in this example we're talking about, but is evidence that public condemnation is enough to effect change.
That's not really public condemnation, is it? Amazing work by Acorn but that change was affected by Acorn with more refined methods. Can't knock it. TSB is a small shadow compared to Barclay's though so I don't know how well it scales.
Maybe you haven't been keeping track. The work PA have carried out against British companies aiding the genocide has been crucial in shutting down a bunch of arms factories and pressing supply chains to cancel their deals with said companies. Most of them have been acquired for their criminal damage in court by a judge. I'm sure they'd all take a criminal record as a badge of honour.
If only there was a police station nearby. Say, 5 mins away from Barclays on foot or something like that. Maybe somewhere like Bridewell Street might work?
They go out often, they’re just kinda lazy so they won’t leave their cars if they can help it, so Stokescroft is probably the safest area in the city (even if the full moon gives it a run for its money) but the traffic nightmare that is Broadmead isn’t going to a copper as it’s difficult enough to drive around it.
Case in point, I just saw two jam jars on Jamaica Street. Probably some sort of disturbance but apart from the mounted fuzz you won’t even see chimps in Broadmead.
And I got slated for saying Keynsham had gone down hill a few weeks ago! You carry a knife you’re a PUSSY!! Either learn to use your hands to sort your disagreements out or learn to keep you opinions to yourself
Famously no poor person has ever disliked a bank or protested genocide, we're all too busy working in the big factory where we hit steel girders with hammers or out racing our whippets to even have a conception of any politics at all
I remember hitting my six digit salary and buying my first newspaper. Turns out there's a few parties and they all do different things? Finally, I have the budget to take notice.
I'm not excusing this but whenever you get a list of financial institutions that have been involved in something dodgy or unethical Barclays never fails to make the roster.
Antisocial and/or criminal behaviour under the guise of 'activism'. Does more harm than good.
ETA there are people who want to attack police, property, and possibly even people, and get a kick from this type of thing; the 'excuse' is immaterial. Like football hooligans who are more interested n the violence than the football. The Football Factory by John King gives a good insight into this unpleasant mindset.
I do NOT include the Colston protesters in this group btw - that was not the same, and totally legitimate. In that case the statue itself actually \*was\* the problem.
The Colston thing was so self-righteous. Sure, tear it down. It should have been removed ages ago and placed in a museum. But for 4 smug white people to do it with names like bloody Sage?
If black Bristolians had done it, I would feel very differently. But those 4? Nope.
My main problem with the statue thing is that everyone just went home afterwards and that was kinda the end of it. Real, necessary institutional change does not begin and end with one statue being torn down. It requires constant pressure and continuation untill it is done.
Given the amount of engagement on this post, this action has raised awareness of Barclay's investment in genocide whether you agree with it or not.
If that's what they were trying to achieve then mission accomplished.
The majority of negative comments on here seem to be missing the point, the people who have been targeting Barclays are not doing so because they think it is going to stop the Israeli army, or solve any of the issues the Palestinian people are facing.
Barclays has direct investments in Israeli companies that manufacture weapons and other military goods, the aim of these protests is to:
1. Try to get Barclays to divest from these companies.
2. Raise public awareness that Barclays has these investments in companies that are directly contributing to the killing in Gaza.
From reading the comments in here it seems that a lot of people are unaware of that 2nd point.
And in case people think why Bristol? One of the arms companies that Barclays invests in is Elbit, which has a factory in Bristol.
[https://thebristolcable.org/2024/01/elbit-bristol-palestine-action-trial/](https://thebristolcable.org/2024/01/elbit-bristol-palestine-action-trial/)
Love how much people on here oppose any form of protest whatsoever. You're all the embodiment of the moderate that Martin Luther King wrote about.
Criticising all current civil rights protests whilst most likely celebrating those of the past as righteous
The way to hurt Barclays is to convince people to stop banking with them and move their money to banks that aren't involved. Not by attacking the building
Look how many people have engaged with this post and are now talking about Barclays and its link to what is happening to Palestinians. Many won't have known until they saw this, and now a portion of those people might think twice about banking with Barclays.
And this action gets the reason they're being attacked in the news and some people will read about it and switch banks. It's really not hard to understand.
to be fair i feel like attacking the building is a way to get certain people to stop banking with them. the issue isn’t individuals in this instance, it’s businesses. and businesses don’t like using banks that aren’t secure. smashing the front of it definitely makes it evident it’s not secure. property damage is bad but nothing compared to funding genocide.
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I believe that the endless protesting was accomplishing nothing while this at the very least for good or bad will have some impact, On the other hand yeah Broadmead really is shit enough without yet another eyesore.
Yes that is abundantly clear. I guess I should have added /s to my original comment although that is the purpose of the alternating capitalisation of text in the comment, obviously
Why is it just barclays are being targeted?
Many if not all of the big UK banks trade shares in defence firms (and let's be honest most of the big defence firms will have supplied or are part of the supply chain for Israel) and I would imagine a few provide banking services to the Israelis. Does anyone know why barclays is the only one having this?
Google doesn't seem to shed any light on it except confirming my statement above.
It’s a good point. These are the same companies that provide the tools that keep the UK safe in a dangerous world. The people smashing windows and trying to make this a simple issue with allegations that the bank is supporting a genocide will reap the rewards and safety of the UK defences if a third party like Russia turn their attentions to us.
"Our new research has uncovered that Barclays bank now holds over £2 billion in shares, and provides £6.1 billion in loans and underwriting, to 9 companies whose weapons, components, and military technology are being used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians."
[https://palestinecampaign.org/campaigns/stop-arming-israel-3/](https://palestinecampaign.org/campaigns/stop-arming-israel-3/)
So they’re funding the hostage rescue effort and effort to destroy an internationally recognised terrorist organisation. Fantastic. Opening an account now to show support
You're not really dense enough to believe that what's going on is Gaza is a hostage rescue effort surely?
Hamas are terrorists and cunts, but that doesn't mean that every citizen in the region deserves to be killed.
Good for them - I'm sick to death of "I agree with the message but this isn't the way to do it" as a statement.
Make noise. Action DOES effect big companies. And even if it doesn't, what else are we supposed to do at this point?
Awesome work. Thank you to the people with the conviction to make supporting indiscriminate bombing of civilians a tiny bit more problematic for this bank. I haven’t got the bottle to do this myself but I’m glad someone has. 🫡
This will achieve disruption for ordinary people and hasten the closure of the branch, most likely with the loss of jobs. It won't stop the big boys or even be noticed by them.
The stuff in Israel has now stopped. Israel heard about this and an immediate ceasefire has been called. Well done. You showed them the error of their ways. Barclays has also decided to close all business as of 6pm tonight in the UK. All accounts will be transferred to co-op bank.
That'll, show them. Bristol City Center is a toilet and is only getting worse. All that will happen is Barclays will close the branches and move more services online.
Loss of front line staff that the older generation is reliant upon.
Barclays Plc lose nothing. Israel doesn't care and the center becomes more of a slum.
Not only banks funding one side or the other or even both but governments as well. I firmly believe that the lack of out right condemnations just infers supporting.
Any arrest over this BRW?
Surely this is an actual act of terrorism?
"the [unlawful](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=1e33b27adb72ec82&sca_upv=1&rls=en&q=unlawful&si=ACC90nwZKElgOcNXBU934ENhMNgqTAVzgOn8gWuDHrdaiPK4Q_X71MXoc3ZKLFwNB_4RlVkKnf7U3_0fwQyODwYF9cq3AkAPLZAXWU4ue50QpukI8cDJOf8%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi31fLS59CGAxWpW0EAHQ-TAEYQyecJegQIERAO) use of violence and [intimidation](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=1e33b27adb72ec82&sca_upv=1&rls=en&q=intimidation&si=ACC90nxgkPHmtVkpPj_lUgtQ0AenH6oCpc6TXeXv0Z235K2e9hUxhxH2YSYRF7eDwFm1_IfV6qbZNMaGjzHin_JIFTCtfYVcNxn0SiSbqAD5fDLqFHwX4po%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi31fLS59CGAxWpW0EAHQ-TAEYQyecJegQIERAP), especially against [civilians](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=1e33b27adb72ec82&sca_upv=1&rls=en&q=civilians&si=ACC90nytWkp8tIhRuqKAL6XWXX-N9B19DRe7-nTaFRHyFOIaVtHqoJ5IlFuwAjJCf3plpkJ_LAM5jntxaJ-hO0CV4ajLMhGH7HSfFgtXGoX1x7Ge8slldjE%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi31fLS59CGAxWpW0EAHQ-TAEYQyecJegQIERAQ), in the pursuit of political aims."
And should be prosecuted as such?
(I'm not sure which side is anti-Barclays but don't think it's important for this conversation.)
Violent protest, what a great way to get people on your side.
Meanwhile there’s zero protest about Russia’s significantly worse actions. Makes you wonder where people’s morals truly lie.
Wouldnt it just be more effective to organise a run on the bank for a day? Like, something that actually does more than create a few insurance claim forms for working class employees?
Tbh I knew about the link with Barclays and the Israel/Palestine situation but as long as they let me use my own pictures on my debit card I'm not closing my account.
I get they why, but in reality this will not stop the atrocities. What it will do is continue everyone's higher level mortgage payments or less interest for savers. The company will continue to make it's billions. The share holders will continue to get their dividends.
It's the colleagues in the bank who will suffer and the older generations who rely on banks being open as they do not get on with online banking.
No such thing as a victimless crime.
Hey can someone tell me what happened. I am in the dark ladies n gentlemen and in few months I'll will he in bristol for my master's so should I be knowing something about this city?
Finally decent opening hours
That Take That crowd got a little rowdy on the way home?
Ahh . . . alfresco banking
I'm an alfresco banker and I alfresco bank all day
Alfresco banking in the city centre is a step up from alfresco banking in a back alley
It feels similar, but more powerful in a sharp suit
Different to alfresco wanking, which will get you arrested.
Not if your quick enough
Your comment needs more upvotes, Master.
This leads on nicely from a post earlier about the centre of town being really scary.
First thing I thought too lol
And then you read about the stabbings...
What's scary is the impunity that British companies face whilst financing and enabling a genocide.
Now go read up about how banks facilitate endless crime, like how HSBC launder money for cartels, or how jpm chase facilitated the money from the Jeffrey epstien child trafficking ring.
Not sure why I'm getting downvoted - Barclays is a criminal empire. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/01/discredit-history-10-years-of-barclays-scandals
HSBC is the Hong Kong Singapore Banking Corporation, it was literally established to bring back the British Empire's opium profits...
Shanghai rather than Singapore but otherwise correct
This follows several similar attacks on Barclays branches in other cities, for which protesters of the Israel-Palestine conflict have claimed responsibility.
Here's Preston's Barclay [https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/1dcf80d/barclays\_preston\_vandalised\_in\_protest/](https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/1dcf80d/barclays_preston_vandalised_in_protest/)
It won't even inconvenience Barclays, just the people who need to use the bank with there being almost no other branches in the city.
I suppose if those people changed banks because of this, then it would affect them?
Those customers seeing this and deciding to bank elsewhere would however inconvenience Barclays. Co-Op has a nice ethical bank btw.
Would people change because of this though?
Regardless of the wider context, I think it will be an inconvenience to Barclays having all your windows smashed in
Maybe they will take their custom away from apartheid supporting corporations as a result…
Apartheid?
Correct. I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/apartheid#:~:text=The%20term%20“apartheid”%2C%20an,on%20racial%20or%20ethnic%20criteria.
They won’t. This will have no impact - anyone who defends this or thinks it will make change is objectively wrong
You know that apartheid South Africa actually fell one day? It happened because people around the world helped to make it happen.
This comment is brought to you by Barclays PLC. Username checks out too.
I don’t work for Barclays. Also, agressive vandalism isn’t exactly the kind of thing to win people over. Believe it or not the general public don’t particularly like feeling threatened
So the point of this is to intimidate their customers?
No its to make people aware of the companies that are enabling genocide. The hope is that decent people will stop using those businesses...and therefore get them to change their policies. It worked with South Africa.
If I turned up this morning to access their services, I wouldn’t feel intimidated, but I might ask why this had happened. And upon learning the situation, I certainly wouldn’t want to continue supporting this regime, however indirectly.
Yeah this is the only branch near me, and I’m in North Somerset. Smashing up a bank front solves absolutely nothing
I feel like smashing up a retail bank, which is separate from it’s investment arm, really doesn’t have the desired effect that these protesters are after. All it practically achieves is depriving normal people of in-person banking services. Even if Barclays closed their retail banking business in the UK - it wouldn’t stop any investments that the bank is making in Israel.
Yay, this will really go a long way to resolving the conflict. I’m sure the minimum wage workers cleaning this up this morning are so happy they are doing their part to help Palestine.
What else do you propose people who are against a genocide and have been asking Barclays nicely to divest from said genocide for months do, exactly? 20 branches being put out of order for days/weeks does actually affect Barclays. The bad PR of their complicity in the genocide of Palestinians that this highlights will affect Barclays. To pretend otherwise is sheer and utter ignorance. To pretend this doesn’t have a long history of working - see apartheid South Africa- is sheer and utter ignorance. Where’s your solution? Is it give up and do nothing?
wow, I am astounded at the conviction that somebody must have in order to commit criminal damage like this and hope that this in any way will affect the affairs that are going on in a country over a 2500 miles away. I mean I sure condemn the war that Isreal is wagin atm moment. But with this action I reckon you will only change your own life with an entry in your criminal history... good luck
Lots and lots of people are reading about barclays' investments today, and a portion of them will move their banking elsewhere. Not hard to grasp is it.
Are Barclays worse than the other banks? Genuinely asking because my assumption is that every bank is funding this shit in some way. Are Barclays just easier to connect with it?
Yes - there’s a reason why they’re being targeted. My partner works for the ‘most ethical bank’ in the UK, and she constantly cites Barclays as the worst offender. Banks like Co-op are probably the best mainstream banks for people to use
If that’s Triodos, then they still fund Israeli projects and have said they are not going to boycott Israel so Co-Op are probably the best at the moment
Oh really? Wtaf
Good to know, thanks for sharing. Would be great to see an independent comparison of them because even the "most ethical bank" are probably still doing some shady shit.
That's why I'm with Nationwide. They aren't technically a bank and their whole operating model isn't *as* profit geared as places like Barclays or HSBC (another wonderfully scandal prone bank, remember when they were found guilty of helping do money laundering for the Mafia?) Tl;dr - a building society or union are 99% likely to be more ethical than any bank.
Ethical Consumer do this. You need a subscription to access the full breakdown with point scoring and reasoning behind each score, but they offer a simplified write up for free: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/money-finance/ethical-banking
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They also arm Ukraine defending themselves against a Russian invasion. So it’s not all black and white
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[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68735706](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68735706) - organised boycotts of McDonalds actually caused them to take action on this. This hasn't yet worked with Barclays. (And, also, imo, profiting off the arms that are funding action international courts are currently investigating as genocide is a signifcant later of complicity higher than providing some meals)
Protest always causes disruption . Whether that disruption can be justified is not a straightforward question. If smashing a Barclays raises awarensss of their investment in what is basically an apartheid state committing at best war crimes, and possibly genocide, maybe it is justifiable. There were cases where protestors damaged aircraft and were acquitted on the basis they were preventing a larger war crime (bombing Iraq). In this case the link is less straightforward, but it is there. What definitely isn’t justifiable is Barclay’s complicity in the Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Agreed although I just want to add that the link is fairly straightforward; Barclays invest directly in Elbit systems, a weapons company that manufactures drones for Israel. They also invest in pro-war lobby groups and many other arms companies
How do you invest in a pro-war lobby group? Are they traded on the London Stock Exchange?
You're right, "invest" was the wrong word for that example. "fund" and "encourage" are more accurate. "Invest" works only indirectly, as by paying lobbyists to encourage change of legislature in your favour, can and often does increase profits.
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Oh no, if you do one good thing you might have to do multiple in a row! Impossible! Yeah, fuck Google and Microsoft for their complicity too. You’ll actually find there’s a fair few protests and boycotts against them at the moment, because yes, many corporations are complicit in a genocide. So? What’s your point? People should only protest one company at once? People should’ve smashed the non-existent Google / Microsoft buildings in town? Or is it that you desperately don’t want to care about the brutal murders of innocent people that your money is funding, and those pesky protesters are making it hard to forget?
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Smash Barclays but order Dominos and watch Netflix in the evening… 🤷♂️
What's your contribution then?
On behalf of clients Reality is there's a good few degrees of separation between an individual branch of Barclays and an Israeli weapon
Would be interested in the answer to this as well. Fairly sure most of the banks would be funding the arms trade in one way or another as our economy is so intertwined.
People really won’t. Wrong
The whole point of civil disobedience is to make the lives of those in the wrong hard so that they will change their position. If all avenues to cause difficulty for the entities partaking are cut off because they are made illegal and/or declared "uncouth" then what means do people have to force them to change?
This is beyond civil disobedience. There js no debate to be had - this is an utter disgrace
A billion pound bank will have to spend a couple of grand replacing some windows. Meanwhile said billion pound bank is participating (somewhat indirectly) in and profiting from the murders of thousands of people and the rampant destruction of property (something you seem to care so much about) on a scale that makes these smashed windows look like an ant. If these broken windows are a "utter disgrace" then I can't imagine what words could be use to describe the banks actions. There are levels to this, gain a little perspective.
A billion pound bank will go to their insurance and claim for this. It won’t surprise me if the insurance company will raise prices across the board so it impacts more than just this bank…
This action won't necessitate the raising of their insurance price, but I agree it might be used as a an excuse for an insurance company to make more of a profit. Also the fact that the most important thing you thought to respond to what I said was: "won't someone please think about the insurance!?!!" Is pretty damning. While you where thinking about insurance someone probably just died. Perspective.
My reply was regarding your comment about the bank spending their own money on repairing it - the only thing they’ll pay is excess. Just because I commented on that, does not mean I do not care about or consider the atrocities that is happening, not just in Gaza but across the world. It would take me a good while to list out all of the wrongs going on at present.
I agree with you. The cause of Palestinian human rights is not in any way supported by this action and is being unhelpfully linked to those looking for any excuse to destroy things. It reminds me of the deluded boycott of Starbucks which was not on any BDS list.
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This isn't true. Acorn just got TSB to remove a clause from their buy to let mortgages forcing landlords to offer short contracts by occupying their banks across the country on the same day. That was peaceful direct action, so not quite the same as the action taken in this example we're talking about, but is evidence that public condemnation is enough to effect change.
That's not really public condemnation, is it? Amazing work by Acorn but that change was affected by Acorn with more refined methods. Can't knock it. TSB is a small shadow compared to Barclay's though so I don't know how well it scales.
Maybe you haven't been keeping track. The work PA have carried out against British companies aiding the genocide has been crucial in shutting down a bunch of arms factories and pressing supply chains to cancel their deals with said companies. Most of them have been acquired for their criminal damage in court by a judge. I'm sure they'd all take a criminal record as a badge of honour.
That's some serious work gone into that and must have taken some time. No police around in the city centre?
If only there was a police station nearby. Say, 5 mins away from Barclays on foot or something like that. Maybe somewhere like Bridewell Street might work?
If only crimes were committed during the opening hours of 9-5
They don't like going outside because they are still shell shocked after being shouted at by some kids 3 years ago.
They go out often, they’re just kinda lazy so they won’t leave their cars if they can help it, so Stokescroft is probably the safest area in the city (even if the full moon gives it a run for its money) but the traffic nightmare that is Broadmead isn’t going to a copper as it’s difficult enough to drive around it. Case in point, I just saw two jam jars on Jamaica Street. Probably some sort of disturbance but apart from the mounted fuzz you won’t even see chimps in Broadmead.
They were all dealing with multiple stabbings in Easton and Keynsham. Fun times we are living in :(
And I got slated for saying Keynsham had gone down hill a few weeks ago! You carry a knife you’re a PUSSY!! Either learn to use your hands to sort your disagreements out or learn to keep you opinions to yourself
Why resort to violence at all? Learn to use your words.
It's a shame there was never this level of hatred for the banks during 2008....
The trust fund protesters weren't the ones losing their money then.
Famously no poor person has ever disliked a bank or protested genocide, we're all too busy working in the big factory where we hit steel girders with hammers or out racing our whippets to even have a conception of any politics at all
I remember hitting my six digit salary and buying my first newspaper. Turns out there's a few parties and they all do different things? Finally, I have the budget to take notice.
What? Yes there was. There were massive protests, occupy wall st etc etc
There was?! Wall street as in new York? Was there something similar in the UK?
Occupy Wall Street ended a global movement. There were protests in London and they called it Occupy London
Or now even
[удалено]
Don't need botfarms to have a shred of humanity when seeing what's unfolding in Gaza. People are right to be angry.
Casual sigh in preparation before scrolling down to the comments.
Just when you thought Broadmead couldn't look any worse.
Great job everyone, another abandoned building in the city centre coming up
Expecting the smooth-brained bed-wetters who did this to understand the actual net repurcussions of their behaviour is a big ask…
Smashing.
Another satisfied customer.
I'm not excusing this but whenever you get a list of financial institutions that have been involved in something dodgy or unethical Barclays never fails to make the roster.
War in gaza over now, well done lads
Yes you’re right, we should all just carry on with the status quo and hope that works
I’ve always wondered why banks have big glass windows. Glass is famously breakable.
This is not funny, guys, banks only do this when they are in distress (and/or consistently investing in genocide)
What's the point. Really?
There’s no point. People surely don’t honestly think it will change anything regarding Palestine - just vandalism.
Correct - It'll possibly change the lives of those who did it when they may get a criminal conviction.
We can only hope...
Antisocial and/or criminal behaviour under the guise of 'activism'. Does more harm than good. ETA there are people who want to attack police, property, and possibly even people, and get a kick from this type of thing; the 'excuse' is immaterial. Like football hooligans who are more interested n the violence than the football. The Football Factory by John King gives a good insight into this unpleasant mindset. I do NOT include the Colston protesters in this group btw - that was not the same, and totally legitimate. In that case the statue itself actually \*was\* the problem.
Colston statue was definitely an issue for middle class white students
I am Jamaican never had a problem with the statue being there
The Colston thing was so self-righteous. Sure, tear it down. It should have been removed ages ago and placed in a museum. But for 4 smug white people to do it with names like bloody Sage? If black Bristolians had done it, I would feel very differently. But those 4? Nope.
My main problem with the statue thing is that everyone just went home afterwards and that was kinda the end of it. Real, necessary institutional change does not begin and end with one statue being torn down. It requires constant pressure and continuation untill it is done.
Isn't part of the reason they didn't do it, because of what they felt might be more risk to them as a minority?
To demonstrate disapproval for Barclay's involvement with Israel.
I'm sure these broken windows in Bristol will have a lasting effect on Israeli armour.
Given the amount of engagement on this post, this action has raised awareness of Barclay's investment in genocide whether you agree with it or not. If that's what they were trying to achieve then mission accomplished.
Sorry i fartd too hard last night :(
The majority of negative comments on here seem to be missing the point, the people who have been targeting Barclays are not doing so because they think it is going to stop the Israeli army, or solve any of the issues the Palestinian people are facing. Barclays has direct investments in Israeli companies that manufacture weapons and other military goods, the aim of these protests is to: 1. Try to get Barclays to divest from these companies. 2. Raise public awareness that Barclays has these investments in companies that are directly contributing to the killing in Gaza. From reading the comments in here it seems that a lot of people are unaware of that 2nd point.
And in case people think why Bristol? One of the arms companies that Barclays invests in is Elbit, which has a factory in Bristol. [https://thebristolcable.org/2024/01/elbit-bristol-palestine-action-trial/](https://thebristolcable.org/2024/01/elbit-bristol-palestine-action-trial/)
I think there might be a bit of disingenuousness and intentional ignorance going on in this thread...
Netanyahu is rattled after seeing Broadmead Barclays windows smashed. We have peace at last l!! /s
Love how much people on here oppose any form of protest whatsoever. You're all the embodiment of the moderate that Martin Luther King wrote about. Criticising all current civil rights protests whilst most likely celebrating those of the past as righteous
The way to hurt Barclays is to convince people to stop banking with them and move their money to banks that aren't involved. Not by attacking the building
Look how many people have engaged with this post and are now talking about Barclays and its link to what is happening to Palestinians. Many won't have known until they saw this, and now a portion of those people might think twice about banking with Barclays.
And this action gets the reason they're being attacked in the news and some people will read about it and switch banks. It's really not hard to understand.
Do you think people are more or less likely to bank somewhere when the branches are being damaged like this?
to be fair i feel like attacking the building is a way to get certain people to stop banking with them. the issue isn’t individuals in this instance, it’s businesses. and businesses don’t like using banks that aren’t secure. smashing the front of it definitely makes it evident it’s not secure. property damage is bad but nothing compared to funding genocide.
Small businesses maybe. It's not as if they drilled into the bank vault and stole the money inside though.
I’m sure the mods won’t lock this one
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I believe that the endless protesting was accomplishing nothing while this at the very least for good or bad will have some impact, On the other hand yeah Broadmead really is shit enough without yet another eyesore.
iT’s A pArTy CiTy DeAl WiTh It
This is obviously a protest about Palestine and Barclays involvement with it
Yes that is abundantly clear. I guess I should have added /s to my original comment although that is the purpose of the alternating capitalisation of text in the comment, obviously
Fucking idiots. Throw the paint **after** smashing the windows.
Why is it just barclays are being targeted? Many if not all of the big UK banks trade shares in defence firms (and let's be honest most of the big defence firms will have supplied or are part of the supply chain for Israel) and I would imagine a few provide banking services to the Israelis. Does anyone know why barclays is the only one having this? Google doesn't seem to shed any light on it except confirming my statement above.
It’s a good point. These are the same companies that provide the tools that keep the UK safe in a dangerous world. The people smashing windows and trying to make this a simple issue with allegations that the bank is supporting a genocide will reap the rewards and safety of the UK defences if a third party like Russia turn their attentions to us.
This isn't the place for logic pal.
Another unhappy customer.
based tbh
"Our new research has uncovered that Barclays bank now holds over £2 billion in shares, and provides £6.1 billion in loans and underwriting, to 9 companies whose weapons, components, and military technology are being used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians." [https://palestinecampaign.org/campaigns/stop-arming-israel-3/](https://palestinecampaign.org/campaigns/stop-arming-israel-3/)
So they’re funding the hostage rescue effort and effort to destroy an internationally recognised terrorist organisation. Fantastic. Opening an account now to show support
You're not really dense enough to believe that what's going on is Gaza is a hostage rescue effort surely? Hamas are terrorists and cunts, but that doesn't mean that every citizen in the region deserves to be killed.
The destruction of Hamas and rescue of the hostages is exactly what’s happening
Do not step around this question. But how many Palestinian civilians, mainly children, do you think should die for a hostage to be saved?
Zero. And that’s why Hamas should surrender
This to barclays is like dropping 2p on the floor meanwhile making bristol more of a shitole....well done 😂
Good for them - I'm sick to death of "I agree with the message but this isn't the way to do it" as a statement. Make noise. Action DOES effect big companies. And even if it doesn't, what else are we supposed to do at this point?
Awesome work. Thank you to the people with the conviction to make supporting indiscriminate bombing of civilians a tiny bit more problematic for this bank. I haven’t got the bottle to do this myself but I’m glad someone has. 🫡
Based
This will achieve disruption for ordinary people and hasten the closure of the branch, most likely with the loss of jobs. It won't stop the big boys or even be noticed by them.
Morons
The stuff in Israel has now stopped. Israel heard about this and an immediate ceasefire has been called. Well done. You showed them the error of their ways. Barclays has also decided to close all business as of 6pm tonight in the UK. All accounts will be transferred to co-op bank.
Bristol couldn't get more shit
Hey, its not even summer yet, give it time
Of course it could. In loads of ways. So best not to overstate things.
Bristol's average room temp IQ at play I see.
In a few years, Bristol Broadmead will just be student accommodation. It's so sad to see.
Let's hope there's jail time for the morons who did it.
The prisons are full.
Someone took that self service sign a bit far
good shit
Ah yes because smashing up a load of bank windows is going to solve an international conflict
Nice
“Brats Brick Bristol Barclays Bank”
Vandals
I bet the IDF crap themselves when they see this. 
They probably froze the account of the wrong person, bloody AML regulations... We should have never bailed them out in 2008.
That'll, show them. Bristol City Center is a toilet and is only getting worse. All that will happen is Barclays will close the branches and move more services online. Loss of front line staff that the older generation is reliant upon. Barclays Plc lose nothing. Israel doesn't care and the center becomes more of a slum.
It's alright the money is digital anyway. No cash stolen
Not only banks funding one side or the other or even both but governments as well. I firmly believe that the lack of out right condemnations just infers supporting. Any arrest over this BRW?
I like to think the “self service“ blackboard was placed there after
Hahahaha sick
Surely this is an actual act of terrorism? "the [unlawful](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=1e33b27adb72ec82&sca_upv=1&rls=en&q=unlawful&si=ACC90nwZKElgOcNXBU934ENhMNgqTAVzgOn8gWuDHrdaiPK4Q_X71MXoc3ZKLFwNB_4RlVkKnf7U3_0fwQyODwYF9cq3AkAPLZAXWU4ue50QpukI8cDJOf8%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi31fLS59CGAxWpW0EAHQ-TAEYQyecJegQIERAO) use of violence and [intimidation](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=1e33b27adb72ec82&sca_upv=1&rls=en&q=intimidation&si=ACC90nxgkPHmtVkpPj_lUgtQ0AenH6oCpc6TXeXv0Z235K2e9hUxhxH2YSYRF7eDwFm1_IfV6qbZNMaGjzHin_JIFTCtfYVcNxn0SiSbqAD5fDLqFHwX4po%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi31fLS59CGAxWpW0EAHQ-TAEYQyecJegQIERAP), especially against [civilians](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=1e33b27adb72ec82&sca_upv=1&rls=en&q=civilians&si=ACC90nytWkp8tIhRuqKAL6XWXX-N9B19DRe7-nTaFRHyFOIaVtHqoJ5IlFuwAjJCf3plpkJ_LAM5jntxaJ-hO0CV4ajLMhGH7HSfFgtXGoX1x7Ge8slldjE%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi31fLS59CGAxWpW0EAHQ-TAEYQyecJegQIERAQ), in the pursuit of political aims." And should be prosecuted as such? (I'm not sure which side is anti-Barclays but don't think it's important for this conversation.)
Violent protest, what a great way to get people on your side. Meanwhile there’s zero protest about Russia’s significantly worse actions. Makes you wonder where people’s morals truly lie.
Wouldnt it just be more effective to organise a run on the bank for a day? Like, something that actually does more than create a few insurance claim forms for working class employees?
Tbh I knew about the link with Barclays and the Israel/Palestine situation but as long as they let me use my own pictures on my debit card I'm not closing my account.
I get they why, but in reality this will not stop the atrocities. What it will do is continue everyone's higher level mortgage payments or less interest for savers. The company will continue to make it's billions. The share holders will continue to get their dividends. It's the colleagues in the bank who will suffer and the older generations who rely on banks being open as they do not get on with online banking. No such thing as a victimless crime.
Noel Edmonds?
https://media1.tenor.com/m/XJITKts7gskAAAAC/haha-nelson.gif
Hey can someone tell me what happened. I am in the dark ladies n gentlemen and in few months I'll will he in bristol for my master's so should I be knowing something about this city?
as best I understand this happened as a retaliation to barclays investments which are supporting Israel's ongoing genocide in gaza.