From 2023 to 2025, pro-Palestine protests in Scotland were shaped by symbolism, collective action, and political pressure. These weekly gatherings evolved into political rituals— embodying solidarity, collective mourning, and resistance. Protesters employed imagery and symbolic acts to challenge dominant narratives and convey an urgent moral stance.
Protest, by nature, is a public act—staged to be witnessed, even photographed. Its power lies in visibility: in people coming together to make a collective stance. These protests are choreographed yet emotionally charged displays meant to put pressure, in this case, on the UK government to stop the genocide in Gaza. As atrocities in Gaza circulated widely online, many experienced the conflict not just through headlines, but through a constant stream of graphic, immediate visual testimony. This daily witnessing stirred a need to respond—to not just watch, but be seen standing against it. Documenting one’s presence at protests became a way to transform passive witnessing, extending the message where it could reach a broader audience and publicly declare one’s position.
