SPSC Summer 2011 newsletter
Content
When the cold and hungry people shattered a part of their prison wall in January 2008, I visited Israel’s Gaza killing zone for a week. Shortly afterwards, the Egyptian dictatorship re-sealed this breach in Israel’s wall and Hosni Mubarak’s Foreign Minister pledged to his Israeli counterpart that he would "break the bones of those who trespass against Egypt's national security”. The dictatorship announced a new steel wall, financed by the US, that would extend 100 feet below the ground. Now the dictator and his corrupt family are in prison or headed there as soon as they leave hospital. Millions of people in Tunisia and Egypt defied western-supported dictatorships, absorbed the violence hurled at their mobilisations, and saw the hated figures toppled. The process now unfolding in Yemen, Syria, Libya and Bahrain will change our world, and not just in the Middle East and the southern shore of the Mediterranean. The causes of the current Arab revolution – for it is a unified and single process encompassing every Arab country – are profound, and can be found in the economic structures that have created masses of poor and unemployed, in the popular hatred of hideous dictatorships, and in a widespread feeling that the situation had become unbearable and had to change. Palestine was an acid eating away at the support of these dictatorships. Palestinians led by being the first Arab population to vote in democratic elections. Even under foreign occupation, the voters delivered their verdict and were punished severely for choosing politicians unapproved by Israel and the US. Egyptian security forces sealing their part of the Israeli wall while Israel committed mass murder there in 2008 sent a tsunami of shame, bitterness and revulsion across Egypt. Cairenes watched in well-founded fear while some of us on the Gaza Freedom March were roughed up in Tahrir Square, and many on the Viva Palestina convoy were given the same treatment. Flotilla members were beaten and kidnapped and then nine were massacred in cold blood by Israeli soldiers in 2010 while Egyptians chafed under their decrepit but bloody dictatorship. The dictators openly allied with the apartheid state of Israel, while images of Palestinian humiliation and Israeli arrogance were broadcast by Al Jazeera into every town and village. This produced a deep sense of national humiliation, in both Tunisia and Egypt, which fed into anger that produced repeated ‘days of rage’ and revolutions.
The liberation of Palestine was and is felt by all to be an integral part of their revolution; debates are on the issue of timing – to struggle for Palestine now or later? Israel is seen as a racist state bulldozing Palestine to make way for continuing colonisation of the heart of the Arab world. Egyptians can now see that Anwar Sadat, in signing a separate peace treaty with Israel in 1979, allowed Israel to concentrate its aggression on Lebanon and Gaza. Egyptians were infuriated by contracts with Israel to sell natural gas at a fraction of its market value: the Egyptian poor were subsidising the living standards of Tel Aviv, already floating on a sea of US aid. How quickly events have moved in six months; Tahrir Square has seen vast demonstrations in support of Palestinian freedom. I was in the marvellous demonstrations in Tunis demanding the ouster of the old guard Prime Minister, Ghannouchi (he fell a few days later) that would periodically change the focus of their main demands for his ouster to chant, “Open the borders! We will march to Jerusalem!” Democratic regimes in the Arab World, any regimes responsive to public opinion, will not be able to hold back the popular anger at Israel’s apartheid, its system of Jewish political and economic privilege, and the ethnic cleansing of Arabs that is in full swing across Palestine. There is a deep sense of crisis in Israel that its strategic interests have been badly damaged. As Michael Warchawski writes from Israel, while the whole world had to at least publicly support the Arab revolutions, “Only in Israel are the reactions different, the exact opposite, both on the street and within the establishment…The Arab masses pose a strategic threat which can therefore inspire only fear, not empathy.” Israel will be increasingly isolated across the entire region, when all its dictator allies have fallen. Some historical awareness is useful: colonised Palestine and occupied Iraq are living testimony to the contempt of the Western powers for the human rights and democracy that are now being demanded by millions of Arabs. When Britain conquered Palestine in 1918, Balfour was contemptuous of Palestinian Arab opinion opposing the Jewish immigration that would later turn them into the world’s largest refugee population: concerning “the views of those living there, the Powers in their selection of a mandatory do not propose, as I understand the matter, to consult them”. Fast forward: when Hamas won 76 of 132 seats in the 2006 Palestinian elections, Britain joined with Israel and the US in inflicting severe punishment on a virtually defenseless population for unauthorised behaviour at the ballot box. The briefest tour through the record of Britain, France and the US across the region will show the West’s preference for dictatorship, and colonial-settler Israel, and readiness to help in the crushing of previous and current ‘Arab Springs’. Britain’s savagery in Yemen (Aden), France killing a million Algerians before conceding independence, Britain and France attacking Egypt in 1956, US devastation and occupation of Iraq – the record is uniformly grim and anti-democratic as a matter of course. The US helped install the Shah of Iran for a decades-long reign of terror. The US Embassy in Baghdad distributed death lists of Iraqi left-wingers to Saddam Hussein when he made his bloody coup in 1968. Now, the power and immensity of the Arab revolution has changed the ground rules and Israel and the US have realised that there are limits to their ability to impose their will by naked violence on insurgent millions of people across a huge landmass. The era of Israeli impunity, inaugurated by its stinging defeat in Lebanon in 2006 is coming to an end; the possibility of freedom for Palestinian Arabs is now on the agenda. Mick Napier, 15 May 2011
What is the JNF?
In 1901 delegates to the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel decided to create Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL) – the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The purpose of the JNF was, and still is, to 'acquire' land for the establishment of the Zionist state of Israel in historic Palestine; and specifically “for the purpose of settling Jews on such land”. Crucially this land could never again be sold or leased to non-Jews. Today the JNF enjoys charitable status in over 50 countries worldwide while their involvement in ethnic cleansing and colonisation is given cover by governments and political figures. For example in the UK the JNF has high profile patrons such as Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. The JNF was established as a principle Zionist tool for the colonisation of Palestine. Israel's first Prime Minister made clear the intent of the Zionist movement towards the indigenous Palestinian population and their lands: “If we want Hebrew redemption 100%, then we must have a 100% settlement, a 100% Hebrew farm, and a 100% Hebrew port” David Ben-Gurion The JNF were actively involved in the process of ethnic cleansing prior to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948: “Transfer does not serve only one aim – to reduce the Arab population – it also serves a second purpose by no means less important, which is: to evict land now cultivated by Arabs and to free it for Jewish settlement.” Yossef Weitz (Head of JNF Settlement Department, 1940). Today the JNF is complicit in Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and of the Golan Heights. In the Jordan Valley, illegally occupied by Israel, and where Palestinians are denied access to land and water, the JNF funds reservoirs and parks for settler use only. In the Golan Heights the JNF is working with the state of Israel to colonise Syrian land illegally occupied by Israel since 1967. The Israeli government has targeted the Galilee and the Negev (al Naqab) as areas requiring 'Judaisation'. These are currently important campaigns for the JNF in the UK and internationally. The JNF actively funds and builds on confiscated land while Bedouin residents have been forcibly relocated and refused access to their villages. JNF UK clearly does not recognise even the existence of the Bedouin: “The central objective of the Charity...is to now also raise funds to allow the population of Israel to use...the Negev Desert which has previously been uninhabited”. This sentiment is further reflected in the JNF website which states that “since 1901 the JNF has helped build a country out of nothing”.
International Stop the JNF Campaign launch
The international Stop the Jewish National Fund (JNF) campaign launched on 30 March 2011 to commemorate Palestinian Land Day. The Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC) called on “people of conscience around the world to take civil and legal steps to oppose the presence and activities of the JNF in their countries due to its long-standing and intricate role in crimes of colonization, ethnic cleansing and apartheid against the Palestinian people. As a key pillar in Israel’s system of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid, the JNF should lose its charitable status anywhere; it should also be comprehensively boycotted by international civil society and by governments that consistently uphold the primacy of international law.” The campaign was given a boost recently when Prime Minister David Cameron stepped down as patron of the JNF in the UK. According to Dick Pitt, a spokesperson for the Stop the JNF Campaign, “Cameron was the only leader of the three major parties remaining as a JNF Patron. [The] decline in political support for the JNF at the highest levels of the political tree may be a sign of the increasing awareness in official quarters that a robust defence of the activities of the JNF may not be sustainable.” Scottish PSC has consistently campaigned against the JNF in Scotland and is currently working in partnership with Badil, the Palestinian Refugee Rights Centre in Bethlehem, and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) on the international committee of the Stop the JNF Campaign. Over 100 international civil society organisations have already endorsed the call for action against the JNF. Organisers are calling on all organisations involved in Palestinian human rights, anti-racist and environmental justice work to add their name. On Nakba Day, 15 May 2011, volume 4 of the Stop the JNF e-book was released, titled “Greenwashing Apartheid: The Jewish National Fund's Environmental Cover Up”. The e-book is the result of an international coalition of environmentalists, Jewish human rights and Palestine solidarity activists reporting on the environmental violations of the JNF, which claims to be ‘green’. What can you do? Organise a meeting in your area and invite a speaker from the Stop the JNF Campaign Get your organisation/group to endorse the international call for action against the JNF Organise group lobbies with fellow constituents of your MP to sign the Early Day Motion on the JNF (EDM 1677) Publicise, organise a group of friends and contacts and attend the protest on 21 June at Bonnyton Golf Club where the JNF is fundraising for apartheid in Israel/Palestine (Contact 07968 791 461) All details of the 21 June protest and EDM 1677, facility for downloading the e-books, background information and campaign materials are available from www.scottishpsc.org.uk and www.stopthejnf.org Contact the campaign to request speakers and information on campaign activities: [email protected]
EAL WITH D M O R F OFIT SET TO PR ISRAEL APARTHEID
In November 2010 Aberdeen-based oil and energy company Wood Group signed a contract with Dorad Energy to build a natural gas power station in Ashkelon, Israel. This contract is worth approximately £563 million and the 800-megawatt power station will produce 8 per cent of Israel’s electricity in the near future. New gas fields have been discovered within Israel’s off-shore area and Wood Group are intending to expand their operations in Israel; Shlomo Cohen, the Group’s Israel manager recently stated that: “The company considers this project as a cornerstone for extensive operations in Israel”. Both Wood Group and Israel therefore have seemingly assured and profitable futures. This is in stark contrast to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Just ten miles from the city of Ashkelon lies the border of the Gaza Strip where, in 2010, the people of Gaza endured electricity cuts for 8-12 hours a day. These blackouts are a direct result of Israel, Gaza’s sole supplier of fuel, withholding fuel shipments to the Strip. This has a disastrous impact on the everyday running of essential services such as health and education for a people already on its knees as a result of the blockade of Gaza. Currently, almost nothing can be exported, meaning that unless a company can sustain itself within the confines of Gaza, it will likely fail. Unemployment in Gaza stands at about 40 per cent, and around 80 per cent of people in Gaza rely on food aid. It is likely that Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah crossing in the near future thereby undermining the Israeli blockade. This does not detract from the essential point that Gaza has been driven to humanitarian disaster by the siege. This policy amounts to the collective punishment of the population of the Gaza Strip and therefore illegal under international law. The illegal and violent policies of Israel towards the Palestinians take many other forms. The colonisation of the West Bank robs Palestinians of their natural resources as well as their sovereignty. The increasing settler population makes full use of Palestinian water resources with Palestinians having, on average, access to a third of the per capita water usage of Israelis. This is due to the theft of Palestinian water resources through exclusive Israeli control of the major aquifers which they are obliged to share with Palestinians as part of the Oslo Accords.
Israel continues to violate scores of UN resolutions, including: General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948) relating to the right to TO returnPROFIT of Palestinian FROM refugees; Security Council Resolution SET DEAL WITH 242 (1967) that defines the occupation of Palestinian territories as illegal; Security Council APARTHIED ISRAEL Resolution 446 (1979) which states that Israeli settlements are illegal; and General Assembly Resolution 3236 (1974) that affirms the Palestinian right to self-determination. Importantly, the Fourth Geneva Convention, which established the legal framework for armed conflict and occupation, makes Israel’s population transfer to settlements in the West Bank, collective punishment of the Palestinian population, use of torture, and the destruction of Palestinian property illegal under international law. Many argue that economic integration and interdependence is the way to peace. However, although the UK government and the European Union have been eager to trade with Israel, they have done little to challenge Israel's human rights record. This is despite the fact that cooperation between Israel and the EU is based upon the shared values of “democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law and basic freedoms”. In 2005, Palestinian civil society called for a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. Veolia, a company targeted for its participation in the construction of a rail network for illegal settlements in Palestine, has been losing major European contracts due to negative publicity and BDS campaign pressure. The company has, as a result, been trying to negotiate its way out of the contract it has in Israel. With the potential for Wood Group to pick up more contracts in Israel, a campaign that links the company to the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine could have the same effect. A letter from the Aberdeen branch of SPSC to Wood Group raising these issues elicited a less than satisfactory response. The company states that they wish to see an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and always abide by international law. Wood Group pointed out that they operate in many places “where there are distressing conflicts which cause hardship and inequity”, but do not wish to become involved in politics or conflicts. Unfortunately for Wood Group, working in a state which systematically denies rights and resources to their neighbours involves them intimately in the conflict. It must be made clear to firms such as Wood Group who enter into profitable contracts within Israel that they will do damage to their reputation and, in the long-run, to their balance sheet. Just as Wood Group plans to expand its work in Israel, the BDS movement will continue to expand its campaigns against those who are complicit with the crimes of Israel.
Cllr JIM BOLLAN
Jim is a councillor in West Dunbartonshire. He is a member of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), and is at present its only elected representative. Jim is a strong advocate of Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and in 2007 West Dunbartonshire Council adopted a motion by Jim to boycott all Israeli goods.
Interview with:
What inspired you to become involved with pro-Palestinian campaigning? The desperate plight of the Palestinians who are effectively held in a prison by Israel and are collectively punished with support from the US, Britain and the UN. The Palestinians are part of the Arab family and until there is justice for the Palestinians then there can be no peace in the Middle East. Israel acts as the US's policeman in the Middle East which is often called America's petrol station. As a socialist I have a duty to support the Palestinian people in any way I can. There are currently 200 Palestinian young people (under 16) being held in jail illegally by Israel which is another outrage. When injustice becomes law...rebellion becomes a duty.
What have been the results "on the ground" of the Council's adoption of the Boycott? The first boycott motion passed was as a direct result of the murderous attack by Israel which killed 1,300 Palestinians, innocent men women & children. The application of the boycott has been to advise all our procurement officers in writing of the Council boycott and to ensure it is applied. This is monitored and I seek regular updates so that I am able to confirm that the boycott is being implemented. You must have had to convince people of the rationale of BDS. What did you feel was the strongest argument in support of the boycott? The compelling argument was the fact that 1,300 innocent unarmed Palestinians were slaughtered by Israel and the west did nothing to stop it. We used the fact it was a high profile news story at the time and we timed the motion accordingly. We also held a boycott stall outside the local M & S which received some good publicity from the local press.
Did you encounter any legal arguments against the boycott? What kind of reaction have you had from other politicians and councils? Our legal manager was very comfortable with the wording of both motions and ruled them legal before the Council debated and approved them. The fact we have not been challenged yet, goes some way to proving the strength of our position. We need to stand up and be counted on these issues and highlight the injustice- that's what the SSP set out to try and do. Interest and support from other Council's since we applied the boycott has been growing How do you respond to recent stories in the press regarding West Dunbartonshire Council's "policy" of banning Israeli books? The quite appalling and disgusting mis-information being peddled by some Zionist's about my Council's boycott of Israeli goods due to their continued illegal occupation of Palestine, speaks volumes about the type of bullies we are dealing with. The shelves of libraries in West Dunbartonshire are littered with books by Amos Oz, Ilan Pappe, Benny Morris and many other Israeli authors. The lies being peddled by these Zionist's are an attempt to deflect valid criticism of the murderous acts being carried out by the IDF on a daily basis against innocent Palestinians. Why, when there are currently massive budget cuts and lay-offs, should people still actively support the Palestinian people? It is all about freedom, self determination, justice and equality. The Palestinian fight is as much ours as it is theirs because if they lose then our position weakens by giving the right wing establishment in the west encouragement to suppress us a little bit more. It is an old saying..united we stand divided we fall...but still very true and relevant to the Palestinian struggle. Above all it is about justice for Palestinians who are being forced to live in an apartheid system by Israel with the support of the West.
An A-Z of Solidarity with Palestine
• Anti-Zionism – a political position that opposes the illegal occupation of Palestinian land and the illegal dispossession of Palestinian people in the name of creating a state exclusively for Jews. Zionists deny Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes, but defend the right of any person of the Jewish faith, from anywhere in the world, to reside in the land controlled by the Israeli state and thus contribute to the Zionist project. Anti-Zionists are not anti-Semitic and many Jews are active in anti-Zionist campaigns. • Apartheid – the name given to the racist laws used by the South African state to segregate and oppress its majority black citizens from 1948 until 1994 when Nelson Mandela led the African National Congress to victory in the first democratic elections. The same label is being used (most famously by Jimmy Carter) to describe the racist discrimination Israel forces on the Palestinians in the territories over which it exercises control, on the Palestinians who remain inside Israel and on the Palestinians all over the world who are denied the right to return to the land from which they, or their parents and grandparents, were expelled.
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BOYCOTT DISINVESTMENT & SANCTIONS
In July 2005 Palestinian Civil Society called for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The call was endorsed by scores of political parties, unions, associations, coalitions and organisations and concluded: We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society is always the forefront theboycotts organizations and peopleSPSC of conscience all overin the world to imposeof broad and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South struggle, whether in the fostering of BDS or Africa in the apartheid era. We appeal to you to pressure your respective states to in the rendering of direct aid to the people of impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel. We also invite conscientious Palestine. Israelis to support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace. These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by: 1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall 2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and 3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194. The initiative was quickly picked up by organisations around the world, including SPSC and the Scottish Trades Union Congress. The last six years have seen many BDS successes within Scotland. Protests have taken place against representatives of the Israeli state, such as sports teams, musicians, and government officials, often leading to cancellations of planned events. Edinburgh International Film Festival were pressurised to return donations from the Israeli embassy in 2006 and 2009, and the Jewish National Fund have been forced to abandon their Glasgow Hilton fund-raisers after sizeable protests. In 2010 both Stirling and West Dunbartonshire Council passed motions in support of the boycott of Israeli goods and services. In December 2010 Edinburgh City Council announced that Veolia, a French multinational that works in conjunction with Israeli authorities to provide waste and transport links services (including a controversial new tramway) to Israel's illegal settlements, would no longer be considered for contracts in the city. This was despite the company having earlier been thought to be the favourite to win the new environmental services contract. This adds to similar recent successful campaigns against Veolia (and other companies like Eden Springs) in France, England, Wales, Ireland and Australia.
BDS
UPDATE
BOYCOTT ISRAEL
Campaigning has been on-going across the UK to encourage the Co-operative supermarket (the UK's fifth biggest food retailer) to boycott Israeli goods. In 2009 the Co-op took a principled stand in refusing to sell goods sourced in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank SPSC is always in the forefront of the - a policy that explicitly acknowledges these settlements are directly linked to the oppression of struggle, whether in the fostering of BDS or the Palestinian population. However, the policy is undermined while the Co-op continues to in the rendering of direct aid the to West the people trade with Agrexco and other Israeli companies which operate inside Bank and of market the majority of agricultural produce grown in illegal Israeli colonies. Palestine. This campaign has seen motions raised at Annual General Meetings, with notable successes in meetings in England such as Newcastle and Leeds, and partial successes in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The BDS campaign continues to be critical in efforts to show solidarity with the people of Palestine and de-legitimise the apartheid policies of the Israeli state. It's power and potential are evidenced by the reactionary behaviour of the Israeli parliament which looks set to pass a bill prohibiting the boycott of Israel, and punishing all individuals and NGOs involved in supporting the BDS campaign.
...by avoiding the prescription of any particular political formula the BDS Call insists on the necessity of realising the three basic, irreducible rights of the Palestinian people in any just solution. It presents a platform that not only unifies Palestinians everywhere in the face of accelerating fragmentation, but also appeals to international civil society by evoking the same universal principles of freedom, justice, and equal rights that animated the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and the civil rights movement in the United States.
Omar Barghouti, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (2010)
For the latest BDS news go to: http://www.bdsmovement.net/
BOYCOTT ISRAEL
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BOYCOTT
At its Annual Conference the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) reaffirmed its support for Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) in response to Israel's continued attacks on the human rights of Palestinians and its failure to comply with agreed international law. The STUC General Council expects to increase its efforts to promote BDS as a means of pressurising Israel through social, political and economic measures. The conference also noted “the consistent and manifest failure on the part of Histadrut [Israel's organisation of trade unions] to condemn Israeli actions, citing Israeli transgressions of international law, including Operation Cast Lead, construction of the separation wall and blockade of Gaza”. It further noted that Histadrut has not taken a clear stance on the illegal settlements or the status of East Jerusalem. The General Council Report came to the clear conclusion that Histadrut was indeed “currently playing a role as an effective supporter of, and in normalising illegal/immoral Israeli actions in general and in relation to the occupied territories, illegal settlements and separation wall in particular”. The report stated that Histadrut “has consistently failed to provide a meaningful critique of Israeli action and that this failure is inconsistent with the responsibility of trade union centres to promote international justice”. The General Council does not see any immediate prospect of an improvement in Histadrut's position. The General Council recommended stopping short of a complete boycott of the Histadrut, but said that a "review will be immediate in the case of fresh developments in Israel/Palestine". Supporters of a complete boycott were allowed to question the General Council Report. Rab Paterson (Midlothian TUC) called for “the removal of the cloak of respectability that Histadrut uses to justify Israeli injustices and to further Israeli interests”. Mike Arnott (Dundee TUC) called for “the Histadrut to be struck off the list of organisations that the movement recognises as representing the trade union family”. Assessing the progress made during the 2011 Congress, Jim Malone (Fire Brigade Union) said “we managed , once again, to push the cause of the Palestinian people and our abhorrence of the Israeli Histadrut to the front of the Scottish political agenda”.
The Palestinian trade union movement, as a key component of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), salutes the Scottish Congress of Trade Unions for their principled and historic decision to heed the Palestinian civil society call for BDS.
The Palestinian Trade Union Movement 2011
Activist Profiles
Every issue SPSC will pay tribute to those who have been some of the most dedicated, fervent and inspiring activists in the Palestinian solidarity movement. For our first issue we are sadly paying tribute to two activists who recently lost their lives in Palestine: Juliano Mer-Khamis and Vittorio Arrigoni. The stories of both men have touched the hearts of people around the world.
Juliano Mer- Khamis
Juliano Mer-Khamis is well known for his acting career, association with the Freedom Theatre in Jenin and for the powerful documentary Arna's Children. Juliano was born in Nazareth in 1958 to an Israeli mother and Palestinian father. His mother Arna became an ardent anti-Zionist and founded the Care and Learning project at the Jenin refugee camp, helping Palestinian children affected by the Israeli occupation. Juliano later tracked down 10 of these children to discover what had become of them. Co-directed with Daniel Daniel, the resulting 2003 film was Arna's Children, which Gideon Levy has called “arguably the most moving film ever created about the Israeli occupation”. After the death of Arna, Juliano strove to carry on her work and established the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin refugee camp in 2006. The theatre was a way in which to engage the children of the refugee camp who had been traumatised by the occupation. Through his cultural activism Juliano challenged “the pro-Zionist attitude that thinks the problem of violence is the violence of children and not the violence of the Israeli occupation”. Juliano's activism and art inspired many around the world, and he is spoken of widely as honest, courageous, and brave. “He exemplified everything that I and millions of others aspired to: coexistence, tolerance, nonviolence, peace, love, passion for life, richness in diversity and so much more” (Mazin Qumsiyeh). Juliano was killed by masked assailants while leaving his theatre on April 4th 2011. Arna’s Children is quite simply the best film to date on the Israeli occupation, stunning documentary that leaves audiences altered, but understanding much better what Palestinians are up against.
Mick Napier – SPSC Chair
Film screenings are currently being organised across Scotland – check with your local SPSC branch for details
Vittorio Arrigoni
Vittorio Arrigoni, born in Besana, Italy, in 1975, spent the last ten years heavily involved with Palestinian activism, latterly with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza. He took part in the 2008 Free Gaza flotilla which protested the blockade of Gaza, and was one of the first activists to reach the port of Gaza. Vittorio, known to many as Vik, would often go fishing with Palestinian locals to protect them from the patrolling Israeli navy. This was part of the courageous role that Vittorio embraced, acting as a “witness” to, or human shield against, the worst actions of the Israeli forces. He was arrested and deported numerous times by Israeli authorities, but continued to return to the land and the people that he loved. Vittorio also spread the word of the plight faced by Palestinians through his Guerilla Radio blog and reports for Italian and international media, notably from Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. He ended his blog posts and letters with the words “Stay Human” and published a book entitled Gaza Stay Human in 2010. It was his humanism and passion that inspired those that he met and those that read his stories from Palestine.
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We must make sure that their murders do not go in vain and the best thing we can do is increase our efforts to continue the path and bring others to this path Mazin Qumsiyeh
Vittorio was hugely popular and his loss has been felt heavily in Palestine and by Palestinian activists around the world. The second Freedom Flotilla has been renamed the “Freedom Flotilla – Stay Human” in his honour. Paying tribute to his close friend, Jeff Halper recently wrote: “every time I feel tired or discouraged, I’ll feel you lifting me up over your head and, with your huge smile and laughter, threatening to throw me overboard if I even hesitate in throwing myself into the fight. You were and are the earth-force of the struggle against injustice. You will always hold us up and inspire us. Like the Palestinian fishermen you loved so much, we and all others fighting for the fundamentals of life throughout the world commit ourselves to seeing your vision through”. Vittorio was kidnapped by a Salafist jihad group and found dead on April 15th 2011. SPSC, like Palestinian solidarity groups around the world, mourns the loss of two outstanding activists and men.
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A Call for Solidarity – July 8th to 16th
Palestinians are calling on people of conscience around the world to show their solidarity by joining a mass descent on Tel Aviv airport on July 8th. The call from Palestine reads: While we rightly focus on Gaza we must not forget that Israeli colonial authorities are implementing their racist apartheid policies throughout historic Palestine. In the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and in the Negev and the Galilee, ethnic cleansing and killing/injuring civilians are just some of the many violations of basic human rights. The aim is always to keep us isolated as well as divided, the better to achieve the goal of dispossessing us. For this reason, we call on civil society organizations and people of conscience around the world to support and join the other important international challenge this summer to the Israeli siege of the whole of Palestine. The daily indignities heaped on the Palestinian people are reflected in the attitude of officials at Tel Aviv airport to prevent any humanitarian/solidarity trips. Israel's attempts to prevent entry by peace activists even though the occupied Palestinian Territories are recognized internationally as illegally occupied by Israel. We must oppose Israel's arbitrary, unlawful, and abusive behaviour Other solidarity actions are planned in Palestine on July 9th and will continue until July 16th. July 9th marks the 7th anniversary of the ruling of the International Court of Justice which stated that the construction of the separation wall broke international law, that Israel is obligated to pay reparations for damage done in the wall's construction, and is further obligated to cease building and dismantle the existing structure. It also marks the 6th anniversary of the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions towards Israel. The week of action will involve international activists and Palestinians visiting the towns and villages at the coalface of Israel's apartheid policies. The solidarity actions are being organised by 15 groups from around Palestine, such as the Bil’in Popular Resistance Committee and the International Solidarity Movement. As well as general solidarity work it is hoped that planned actions pressure Israel to recognise the right of entry into Palestine for those who want to visit. Israeli authorities have in the past frequently refused peace activists entry into the country and people are often forced to leave immediately. The organisers are calling on participants to refuse to leave and thereby demand that their right to enter Palestine is respected. It is hoped that the support of the consular staff of countries around the world will persuade Israel to concede the right of entry. There is no way to enter without going through Israeli passport control; Israel controls all entry and exit points into Palestine. Contact your MP and MSPs to demand that British citizens arriving in Tel Aviv airport are allowed to proceed to Bethlehem www.bienvenuepalestine.com for more details
ABERDEEN
Contact [email protected] Facebook.com/SPSCAberdeen http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SPSCAberdeen/ Chair - Fiona [email protected] Secretary - Dave [email protected] Meetings Most Thursday evenings 7.30-9.30pm, downstairs at the Belmont Cinema, Belmont Street - use the contacts above to confirm. Stalls Usually outside M&S, St Nicholas Square, every few Saturday afternoons - join the Facebook or yahoo group to keep informed.
The Aberdeen branch started in April 2010, with a membership of 2! Since then, the branch has continued to grow, and has become an active voice for the Palestinian cause in the North East. We currently have weekly organising meetings to plan our campaign actions. In addition to supporting national SPSC campaigns, we are currently focussing local efforts on our Wood Group campaign. We are currently looking at ways to take this campaign forward and would appreciate input and ideas from other branches. Future events on the horizon are a fundraising/awareness-raising walk along Hadrian's Wall (to raise awareness of Israel's illegal separation wall and collect funds for a grassroots Palestinian charity). We will be joining forces with Aberdeen University's Muslim Group to organise a Dine with Gaza event later in the year. We will also be debating what to do with our signed Desmond Tutu photo!!
NEW BRANCHES
Perth : Forth Valley : [email protected] [email protected]
DUNDEE
Contact [email protected] Secretary – Niel Forbes Meetings Usually 2nd Thursday of the month 7.30-9.30pm. Room T4, Tower Building, University of Dundee, Perth Road, Dundee. Meetings are flexible - use the contact above for confirmation. Stalls Usually every other Saturday outside M&S Murraygate or City Square 1pm till 3pm. Use the contact above for confirmation. The Dundee branch started with two members in March 2010 working closely with Tayside for Justice in Palestine and the Action Palestine student society at the University of Dundee. The branch is now well established with an ever growing membership. In October 2010, working in coalition with the above groups, the branch was successful in persuading Dundee City Council to fly the flag of Palestine above the city chambers and voicing support for the next aid flotilla to Gaza. In January, after months of picketing and letter writing, the branch succeeded in driving Premier Dead Sea Cosmetics from the city’s Overgate shopping centre. Premier is an Israeli company that sells products made from ingredients stolen from the occupied West Bank. The branch is currently working hard to drum up support for a motion calling on the City Council to condemn the illegal actions of the Israeli Government and to boycott Israeli Goods. The vote on the motion will take place on Monday 13th June.
EDINBURGH
Contact email: [email protected] Meetings Edinburgh group meets Thursdays at 7.30pm at: Peace and Justice Centre, below and behind St John's Church at the Junction of Princes St/ Lothian Rd, EH2 4BJ 1st Thursday of the month: full branch meeting; new members welcome. Remaining Thursdays: issue-specific meetings (e.g. Veolia or Eden Springs).
The Edinburgh branch has been involved in successful campaigns ranging from forcing the Edinburgh International Film Festival to return Israeli Embassy sponsorship money (twice!) to ridding Edinburgh Council of illegal Israeli Occupation firm, Eden Springs. Recently, we led a campaign that resulted in Veolia being excluded from another lucrative Council contract. The French multinational is deeply complicit in Israel’s illegal Occupation, and is taking hits all over the world as a result. The Veolia campaign is a great example of solidarity branches across the world exerting pressure on firms in their local area that mounts up and, as with Veolia, forces them to consider ending their crimes in Palestine. Another SPSC success with far-reaching implications was our defeat of the absurd charges of “racism” levelled against five Edinburgh Branch members after a political protest of a concert performance of the Israeli Army musicians, the Jerusalem Quartet. After an 18-month legal process, Sheriff Scott dismissed the charges, ruling that our protest was “clearly directed at the State of Israel, the Israeli Army, and Israeli Army musicians”, and not targeted at “citizens of Israel” per se. “Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism, rules sheriff”, read the front page headline of the Herald. With it, the most used weapon in the Zionist armoury was severely blunted. The Edinburgh Branch are currently working on local, national and international boycott campaigns, and have been at the forefront of providing solidarity with the Arab Revolutions.
FIFE & ST. ANDREWS
St.Andrews Contact: [email protected] Elizabeth Stitt
St Andrews branch of the SPSC started up in October of 2010 after several significant student actions, including occupation over the 2009 Gaza massacre, had raised the profile of the issue of Israeli crimes against Palestinians. The branch has organized Saturday street stalls, film showings, talks with visiting Palestinians and a boycott of an Israeli wine tasting event at the university. Highlights of the first year include Shir Hever, the Israeli advocate of BDS, speaking to over 80 people in Parliament Hall in the town centre and gaining approval for two post-graduate scholarships for Palestinians. The branch brings together townspeople and students and has meets monthly in the Friends Meeting House in Hope Street. We are grateful to the Fife branch for their advice, support and encouragement.rliament Hall in the town
centre and gaining approval for two post-graduate scholarships for Palestinians. The branch brings together townspeople and students and has meets monthly in the Friends Meeting House in Hope Street. We are grateful
Fife
Contact: [email protected]
Facebook.com/Fife spsc
The Fife branch started in July 2010. A few months later it was decided to establish a branch in St Andrews to cover the North East area of Fife, but both groups co-ordinate activities and support each other. The main campaign is to get Fife Council to follow West Dunbartonshire and Stirling Councils in boycotting Israeli goods. A motion did go before the Council last year, but was defeated, so the branch at present is encouraging people to sign a petition and write to their councillors. We participated in an election hustings in Kirkcaldy and raised the issue of Palestine with the Scottish parliament candidates. Our more active members were involved in other campaigns during the election period, but we hope to hold regular street stalls over the summer months. In the past we have had street stalls in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.
GLASGOW
Contact [email protected] The highlight of 2011 so far has been the 100 plus attendance at the STUC for the brilliant presentation by peace activist Mike Prysner. It was great to link up with the Glasgow Friends of Al Asqa and see such a diverse and interested crowd turn up to support the event. We were also treated to a screening of Jon Pullman's excellent documentary on the SPSC 5 and I would encourage other branches to contact Jon to organize a local screening. At about 40 minutes it gives a very engaging and informative summary of the issues SPSC are championing. We are building to get a great turn out at the JNF protest at Bonnyton Golf Club on 21st June and convert many of these participants to active members. If you have friends in Glasgow please ask them to get involved. A note of recognition and support to branch member John Bennett and all those brilliant people involved in the occupation of the Hetherington Building at Glasgow Uni. They have hosted a number of SPSC meetings and continue to fight for justice and enlightenment. We salute them!
SOUTHWEST SCOTLAND
Contact [email protected] Meetings the first Thursday of every month at 7.30pm at D&G Multicultural Association, Holywood Building, Old Assembly Close, Dumfries, DG1 2PH(opposite Jobcentre in Irish Street). Our branch was set up last August following a talk by Ali El-Awasi about his experience on the Mavi Marmara. Earlier this year we hosted a visit from American Veteran Mike Prysner and then in March we held our first Palestinian Film Festival as a way of increasing access and enjoyment of Palestinian cinema as well as raising awareness of the social and political issues. We showed a total of 4 films and the Saturday morning film ('Occupation 101' ) was followed by a middle eastern buffet and a discussion led by author and political blogger Robin Yassin-Kassab. The weekend went very well and we hope to be able to repeat it next year. We have just lost our fantastic Secretary, Scott, who we now realise we relied on more than we should have to make sure things got done, so we are now trying to get ourselves into shape, and plan effective action for the coming year, which will involve lobbying the Council regarding BDS.
'ERASURE'-
DEATH-DANCE FOR A PALESTINIAN CHILD, AS SEEN ON A VIDEO FROM GAZA.
During the Israeli ‘Cast Lead’ attack on Gaza Israeli soldiers shot at Palestinian ambulance drivers, killing 16 medics, to prevent them from taking wounded civilians to hospital. Donkey carts were resorted to to complete the journey.
See the donkey-cart driver race along the road, fast, fast pulling up with a jerk, not a word, now his journey's done. See a mother leap out of the cart. As she runs, runs, runs, see her feet pound the ground, the child in her arms so still, silent and still. A man comes at a run, running quick, quick, he runs towards the woman, his arms reach for the child who lies silent, unmoving and silent in sheltering arms. Then turning, he runs, runs fast, quickly nears, nearing the open door he surrenders the child to other arms reaching, to bring help for the child lying silent and still. See the doctors bend over the hospital bed, as they work for response from the child on the bed despairing at last, they must cover the head of a child whose life has been stilled. Whose life has been stilled, has been stolen away, the mother's heart broken what more can I say?
by Hilda Meers Jews for a Just Peace
Join the Stop the JNF Campaign. Make this the last year Scotland is used to fund-raise for ethnic cleansing. You will make a difference. Bonnyton Golf Club 21 June 2011 (see JNF article). Contact Angus [email protected] or Peter, [email protected]
Contact and JOIN SPSC
[email protected] [email protected]
Ronnie Kasrils Donate online at www.scottishpsc.org.uk
The liberation of Palestine was and is felt by all to be an integral part of their revolution; debates are on the issue of timing – to struggle for Palestine now or later? Israel is seen as a racist state bulldozing Palestine to make way for continuing colonisation of the heart of the Arab world. Egyptians can now see that Anwar Sadat, in signing a separate peace treaty with Israel in 1979, allowed Israel to concentrate its aggression on Lebanon and Gaza. Egyptians were infuriated by contracts with Israel to sell natural gas at a fraction of its market value: the Egyptian poor were subsidising the living standards of Tel Aviv, already floating on a sea of US aid. How quickly events have moved in six months; Tahrir Square has seen vast demonstrations in support of Palestinian freedom. I was in the marvellous demonstrations in Tunis demanding the ouster of the old guard Prime Minister, Ghannouchi (he fell a few days later) that would periodically change the focus of their main demands for his ouster to chant, “Open the borders! We will march to Jerusalem!” Democratic regimes in the Arab World, any regimes responsive to public opinion, will not be able to hold back the popular anger at Israel’s apartheid, its system of Jewish political and economic privilege, and the ethnic cleansing of Arabs that is in full swing across Palestine. There is a deep sense of crisis in Israel that its strategic interests have been badly damaged. As Michael Warchawski writes from Israel, while the whole world had to at least publicly support the Arab revolutions, “Only in Israel are the reactions different, the exact opposite, both on the street and within the establishment…The Arab masses pose a strategic threat which can therefore inspire only fear, not empathy.” Israel will be increasingly isolated across the entire region, when all its dictator allies have fallen. Some historical awareness is useful: colonised Palestine and occupied Iraq are living testimony to the contempt of the Western powers for the human rights and democracy that are now being demanded by millions of Arabs. When Britain conquered Palestine in 1918, Balfour was contemptuous of Palestinian Arab opinion opposing the Jewish immigration that would later turn them into the world’s largest refugee population: concerning “the views of those living there, the Powers in their selection of a mandatory do not propose, as I understand the matter, to consult them”. Fast forward: when Hamas won 76 of 132 seats in the 2006 Palestinian elections, Britain joined with Israel and the US in inflicting severe punishment on a virtually defenseless population for unauthorised behaviour at the ballot box. The briefest tour through the record of Britain, France and the US across the region will show the West’s preference for dictatorship, and colonial-settler Israel, and readiness to help in the crushing of previous and current ‘Arab Springs’. Britain’s savagery in Yemen (Aden), France killing a million Algerians before conceding independence, Britain and France attacking Egypt in 1956, US devastation and occupation of Iraq – the record is uniformly grim and anti-democratic as a matter of course. The US helped install the Shah of Iran for a decades-long reign of terror. The US Embassy in Baghdad distributed death lists of Iraqi left-wingers to Saddam Hussein when he made his bloody coup in 1968. Now, the power and immensity of the Arab revolution has changed the ground rules and Israel and the US have realised that there are limits to their ability to impose their will by naked violence on insurgent millions of people across a huge landmass. The era of Israeli impunity, inaugurated by its stinging defeat in Lebanon in 2006 is coming to an end; the possibility of freedom for Palestinian Arabs is now on the agenda. Mick Napier, 15 May 2011
What is the JNF?
In 1901 delegates to the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel decided to create Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL) – the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The purpose of the JNF was, and still is, to 'acquire' land for the establishment of the Zionist state of Israel in historic Palestine; and specifically “for the purpose of settling Jews on such land”. Crucially this land could never again be sold or leased to non-Jews. Today the JNF enjoys charitable status in over 50 countries worldwide while their involvement in ethnic cleansing and colonisation is given cover by governments and political figures. For example in the UK the JNF has high profile patrons such as Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. The JNF was established as a principle Zionist tool for the colonisation of Palestine. Israel's first Prime Minister made clear the intent of the Zionist movement towards the indigenous Palestinian population and their lands: “If we want Hebrew redemption 100%, then we must have a 100% settlement, a 100% Hebrew farm, and a 100% Hebrew port” David Ben-Gurion The JNF were actively involved in the process of ethnic cleansing prior to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948: “Transfer does not serve only one aim – to reduce the Arab population – it also serves a second purpose by no means less important, which is: to evict land now cultivated by Arabs and to free it for Jewish settlement.” Yossef Weitz (Head of JNF Settlement Department, 1940). Today the JNF is complicit in Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and of the Golan Heights. In the Jordan Valley, illegally occupied by Israel, and where Palestinians are denied access to land and water, the JNF funds reservoirs and parks for settler use only. In the Golan Heights the JNF is working with the state of Israel to colonise Syrian land illegally occupied by Israel since 1967. The Israeli government has targeted the Galilee and the Negev (al Naqab) as areas requiring 'Judaisation'. These are currently important campaigns for the JNF in the UK and internationally. The JNF actively funds and builds on confiscated land while Bedouin residents have been forcibly relocated and refused access to their villages. JNF UK clearly does not recognise even the existence of the Bedouin: “The central objective of the Charity...is to now also raise funds to allow the population of Israel to use...the Negev Desert which has previously been uninhabited”. This sentiment is further reflected in the JNF website which states that “since 1901 the JNF has helped build a country out of nothing”.
International Stop the JNF Campaign launch
The international Stop the Jewish National Fund (JNF) campaign launched on 30 March 2011 to commemorate Palestinian Land Day. The Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC) called on “people of conscience around the world to take civil and legal steps to oppose the presence and activities of the JNF in their countries due to its long-standing and intricate role in crimes of colonization, ethnic cleansing and apartheid against the Palestinian people. As a key pillar in Israel’s system of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid, the JNF should lose its charitable status anywhere; it should also be comprehensively boycotted by international civil society and by governments that consistently uphold the primacy of international law.” The campaign was given a boost recently when Prime Minister David Cameron stepped down as patron of the JNF in the UK. According to Dick Pitt, a spokesperson for the Stop the JNF Campaign, “Cameron was the only leader of the three major parties remaining as a JNF Patron. [The] decline in political support for the JNF at the highest levels of the political tree may be a sign of the increasing awareness in official quarters that a robust defence of the activities of the JNF may not be sustainable.” Scottish PSC has consistently campaigned against the JNF in Scotland and is currently working in partnership with Badil, the Palestinian Refugee Rights Centre in Bethlehem, and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) on the international committee of the Stop the JNF Campaign. Over 100 international civil society organisations have already endorsed the call for action against the JNF. Organisers are calling on all organisations involved in Palestinian human rights, anti-racist and environmental justice work to add their name. On Nakba Day, 15 May 2011, volume 4 of the Stop the JNF e-book was released, titled “Greenwashing Apartheid: The Jewish National Fund's Environmental Cover Up”. The e-book is the result of an international coalition of environmentalists, Jewish human rights and Palestine solidarity activists reporting on the environmental violations of the JNF, which claims to be ‘green’. What can you do? Organise a meeting in your area and invite a speaker from the Stop the JNF Campaign Get your organisation/group to endorse the international call for action against the JNF Organise group lobbies with fellow constituents of your MP to sign the Early Day Motion on the JNF (EDM 1677) Publicise, organise a group of friends and contacts and attend the protest on 21 June at Bonnyton Golf Club where the JNF is fundraising for apartheid in Israel/Palestine (Contact 07968 791 461) All details of the 21 June protest and EDM 1677, facility for downloading the e-books, background information and campaign materials are available from www.scottishpsc.org.uk and www.stopthejnf.org Contact the campaign to request speakers and information on campaign activities: [email protected]
EAL WITH D M O R F OFIT SET TO PR ISRAEL APARTHEID
In November 2010 Aberdeen-based oil and energy company Wood Group signed a contract with Dorad Energy to build a natural gas power station in Ashkelon, Israel. This contract is worth approximately £563 million and the 800-megawatt power station will produce 8 per cent of Israel’s electricity in the near future. New gas fields have been discovered within Israel’s off-shore area and Wood Group are intending to expand their operations in Israel; Shlomo Cohen, the Group’s Israel manager recently stated that: “The company considers this project as a cornerstone for extensive operations in Israel”. Both Wood Group and Israel therefore have seemingly assured and profitable futures. This is in stark contrast to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Just ten miles from the city of Ashkelon lies the border of the Gaza Strip where, in 2010, the people of Gaza endured electricity cuts for 8-12 hours a day. These blackouts are a direct result of Israel, Gaza’s sole supplier of fuel, withholding fuel shipments to the Strip. This has a disastrous impact on the everyday running of essential services such as health and education for a people already on its knees as a result of the blockade of Gaza. Currently, almost nothing can be exported, meaning that unless a company can sustain itself within the confines of Gaza, it will likely fail. Unemployment in Gaza stands at about 40 per cent, and around 80 per cent of people in Gaza rely on food aid. It is likely that Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah crossing in the near future thereby undermining the Israeli blockade. This does not detract from the essential point that Gaza has been driven to humanitarian disaster by the siege. This policy amounts to the collective punishment of the population of the Gaza Strip and therefore illegal under international law. The illegal and violent policies of Israel towards the Palestinians take many other forms. The colonisation of the West Bank robs Palestinians of their natural resources as well as their sovereignty. The increasing settler population makes full use of Palestinian water resources with Palestinians having, on average, access to a third of the per capita water usage of Israelis. This is due to the theft of Palestinian water resources through exclusive Israeli control of the major aquifers which they are obliged to share with Palestinians as part of the Oslo Accords.
Israel continues to violate scores of UN resolutions, including: General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948) relating to the right to TO returnPROFIT of Palestinian FROM refugees; Security Council Resolution SET DEAL WITH 242 (1967) that defines the occupation of Palestinian territories as illegal; Security Council APARTHIED ISRAEL Resolution 446 (1979) which states that Israeli settlements are illegal; and General Assembly Resolution 3236 (1974) that affirms the Palestinian right to self-determination. Importantly, the Fourth Geneva Convention, which established the legal framework for armed conflict and occupation, makes Israel’s population transfer to settlements in the West Bank, collective punishment of the Palestinian population, use of torture, and the destruction of Palestinian property illegal under international law. Many argue that economic integration and interdependence is the way to peace. However, although the UK government and the European Union have been eager to trade with Israel, they have done little to challenge Israel's human rights record. This is despite the fact that cooperation between Israel and the EU is based upon the shared values of “democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law and basic freedoms”. In 2005, Palestinian civil society called for a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. Veolia, a company targeted for its participation in the construction of a rail network for illegal settlements in Palestine, has been losing major European contracts due to negative publicity and BDS campaign pressure. The company has, as a result, been trying to negotiate its way out of the contract it has in Israel. With the potential for Wood Group to pick up more contracts in Israel, a campaign that links the company to the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine could have the same effect. A letter from the Aberdeen branch of SPSC to Wood Group raising these issues elicited a less than satisfactory response. The company states that they wish to see an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and always abide by international law. Wood Group pointed out that they operate in many places “where there are distressing conflicts which cause hardship and inequity”, but do not wish to become involved in politics or conflicts. Unfortunately for Wood Group, working in a state which systematically denies rights and resources to their neighbours involves them intimately in the conflict. It must be made clear to firms such as Wood Group who enter into profitable contracts within Israel that they will do damage to their reputation and, in the long-run, to their balance sheet. Just as Wood Group plans to expand its work in Israel, the BDS movement will continue to expand its campaigns against those who are complicit with the crimes of Israel.
Cllr JIM BOLLAN
Jim is a councillor in West Dunbartonshire. He is a member of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), and is at present its only elected representative. Jim is a strong advocate of Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and in 2007 West Dunbartonshire Council adopted a motion by Jim to boycott all Israeli goods.
Interview with:
What inspired you to become involved with pro-Palestinian campaigning? The desperate plight of the Palestinians who are effectively held in a prison by Israel and are collectively punished with support from the US, Britain and the UN. The Palestinians are part of the Arab family and until there is justice for the Palestinians then there can be no peace in the Middle East. Israel acts as the US's policeman in the Middle East which is often called America's petrol station. As a socialist I have a duty to support the Palestinian people in any way I can. There are currently 200 Palestinian young people (under 16) being held in jail illegally by Israel which is another outrage. When injustice becomes law...rebellion becomes a duty.
What have been the results "on the ground" of the Council's adoption of the Boycott? The first boycott motion passed was as a direct result of the murderous attack by Israel which killed 1,300 Palestinians, innocent men women & children. The application of the boycott has been to advise all our procurement officers in writing of the Council boycott and to ensure it is applied. This is monitored and I seek regular updates so that I am able to confirm that the boycott is being implemented. You must have had to convince people of the rationale of BDS. What did you feel was the strongest argument in support of the boycott? The compelling argument was the fact that 1,300 innocent unarmed Palestinians were slaughtered by Israel and the west did nothing to stop it. We used the fact it was a high profile news story at the time and we timed the motion accordingly. We also held a boycott stall outside the local M & S which received some good publicity from the local press.
Did you encounter any legal arguments against the boycott? What kind of reaction have you had from other politicians and councils? Our legal manager was very comfortable with the wording of both motions and ruled them legal before the Council debated and approved them. The fact we have not been challenged yet, goes some way to proving the strength of our position. We need to stand up and be counted on these issues and highlight the injustice- that's what the SSP set out to try and do. Interest and support from other Council's since we applied the boycott has been growing How do you respond to recent stories in the press regarding West Dunbartonshire Council's "policy" of banning Israeli books? The quite appalling and disgusting mis-information being peddled by some Zionist's about my Council's boycott of Israeli goods due to their continued illegal occupation of Palestine, speaks volumes about the type of bullies we are dealing with. The shelves of libraries in West Dunbartonshire are littered with books by Amos Oz, Ilan Pappe, Benny Morris and many other Israeli authors. The lies being peddled by these Zionist's are an attempt to deflect valid criticism of the murderous acts being carried out by the IDF on a daily basis against innocent Palestinians. Why, when there are currently massive budget cuts and lay-offs, should people still actively support the Palestinian people? It is all about freedom, self determination, justice and equality. The Palestinian fight is as much ours as it is theirs because if they lose then our position weakens by giving the right wing establishment in the west encouragement to suppress us a little bit more. It is an old saying..united we stand divided we fall...but still very true and relevant to the Palestinian struggle. Above all it is about justice for Palestinians who are being forced to live in an apartheid system by Israel with the support of the West.
An A-Z of Solidarity with Palestine
• Anti-Zionism – a political position that opposes the illegal occupation of Palestinian land and the illegal dispossession of Palestinian people in the name of creating a state exclusively for Jews. Zionists deny Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes, but defend the right of any person of the Jewish faith, from anywhere in the world, to reside in the land controlled by the Israeli state and thus contribute to the Zionist project. Anti-Zionists are not anti-Semitic and many Jews are active in anti-Zionist campaigns. • Apartheid – the name given to the racist laws used by the South African state to segregate and oppress its majority black citizens from 1948 until 1994 when Nelson Mandela led the African National Congress to victory in the first democratic elections. The same label is being used (most famously by Jimmy Carter) to describe the racist discrimination Israel forces on the Palestinians in the territories over which it exercises control, on the Palestinians who remain inside Israel and on the Palestinians all over the world who are denied the right to return to the land from which they, or their parents and grandparents, were expelled.
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BOYCOTT DISINVESTMENT & SANCTIONS
In July 2005 Palestinian Civil Society called for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The call was endorsed by scores of political parties, unions, associations, coalitions and organisations and concluded: We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society is always the forefront theboycotts organizations and peopleSPSC of conscience all overin the world to imposeof broad and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South struggle, whether in the fostering of BDS or Africa in the apartheid era. We appeal to you to pressure your respective states to in the rendering of direct aid to the people of impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel. We also invite conscientious Palestine. Israelis to support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace. These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by: 1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall 2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and 3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194. The initiative was quickly picked up by organisations around the world, including SPSC and the Scottish Trades Union Congress. The last six years have seen many BDS successes within Scotland. Protests have taken place against representatives of the Israeli state, such as sports teams, musicians, and government officials, often leading to cancellations of planned events. Edinburgh International Film Festival were pressurised to return donations from the Israeli embassy in 2006 and 2009, and the Jewish National Fund have been forced to abandon their Glasgow Hilton fund-raisers after sizeable protests. In 2010 both Stirling and West Dunbartonshire Council passed motions in support of the boycott of Israeli goods and services. In December 2010 Edinburgh City Council announced that Veolia, a French multinational that works in conjunction with Israeli authorities to provide waste and transport links services (including a controversial new tramway) to Israel's illegal settlements, would no longer be considered for contracts in the city. This was despite the company having earlier been thought to be the favourite to win the new environmental services contract. This adds to similar recent successful campaigns against Veolia (and other companies like Eden Springs) in France, England, Wales, Ireland and Australia.
BDS
UPDATE
BOYCOTT ISRAEL
Campaigning has been on-going across the UK to encourage the Co-operative supermarket (the UK's fifth biggest food retailer) to boycott Israeli goods. In 2009 the Co-op took a principled stand in refusing to sell goods sourced in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank SPSC is always in the forefront of the - a policy that explicitly acknowledges these settlements are directly linked to the oppression of struggle, whether in the fostering of BDS or the Palestinian population. However, the policy is undermined while the Co-op continues to in the rendering of direct aid the to West the people trade with Agrexco and other Israeli companies which operate inside Bank and of market the majority of agricultural produce grown in illegal Israeli colonies. Palestine. This campaign has seen motions raised at Annual General Meetings, with notable successes in meetings in England such as Newcastle and Leeds, and partial successes in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The BDS campaign continues to be critical in efforts to show solidarity with the people of Palestine and de-legitimise the apartheid policies of the Israeli state. It's power and potential are evidenced by the reactionary behaviour of the Israeli parliament which looks set to pass a bill prohibiting the boycott of Israel, and punishing all individuals and NGOs involved in supporting the BDS campaign.
...by avoiding the prescription of any particular political formula the BDS Call insists on the necessity of realising the three basic, irreducible rights of the Palestinian people in any just solution. It presents a platform that not only unifies Palestinians everywhere in the face of accelerating fragmentation, but also appeals to international civil society by evoking the same universal principles of freedom, justice, and equal rights that animated the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and the civil rights movement in the United States.
Omar Barghouti, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (2010)
For the latest BDS news go to: http://www.bdsmovement.net/
BOYCOTT ISRAEL
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BOYCOTT
At its Annual Conference the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) reaffirmed its support for Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) in response to Israel's continued attacks on the human rights of Palestinians and its failure to comply with agreed international law. The STUC General Council expects to increase its efforts to promote BDS as a means of pressurising Israel through social, political and economic measures. The conference also noted “the consistent and manifest failure on the part of Histadrut [Israel's organisation of trade unions] to condemn Israeli actions, citing Israeli transgressions of international law, including Operation Cast Lead, construction of the separation wall and blockade of Gaza”. It further noted that Histadrut has not taken a clear stance on the illegal settlements or the status of East Jerusalem. The General Council Report came to the clear conclusion that Histadrut was indeed “currently playing a role as an effective supporter of, and in normalising illegal/immoral Israeli actions in general and in relation to the occupied territories, illegal settlements and separation wall in particular”. The report stated that Histadrut “has consistently failed to provide a meaningful critique of Israeli action and that this failure is inconsistent with the responsibility of trade union centres to promote international justice”. The General Council does not see any immediate prospect of an improvement in Histadrut's position. The General Council recommended stopping short of a complete boycott of the Histadrut, but said that a "review will be immediate in the case of fresh developments in Israel/Palestine". Supporters of a complete boycott were allowed to question the General Council Report. Rab Paterson (Midlothian TUC) called for “the removal of the cloak of respectability that Histadrut uses to justify Israeli injustices and to further Israeli interests”. Mike Arnott (Dundee TUC) called for “the Histadrut to be struck off the list of organisations that the movement recognises as representing the trade union family”. Assessing the progress made during the 2011 Congress, Jim Malone (Fire Brigade Union) said “we managed , once again, to push the cause of the Palestinian people and our abhorrence of the Israeli Histadrut to the front of the Scottish political agenda”.
The Palestinian trade union movement, as a key component of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), salutes the Scottish Congress of Trade Unions for their principled and historic decision to heed the Palestinian civil society call for BDS.
The Palestinian Trade Union Movement 2011
Activist Profiles
Every issue SPSC will pay tribute to those who have been some of the most dedicated, fervent and inspiring activists in the Palestinian solidarity movement. For our first issue we are sadly paying tribute to two activists who recently lost their lives in Palestine: Juliano Mer-Khamis and Vittorio Arrigoni. The stories of both men have touched the hearts of people around the world.
Juliano Mer- Khamis
Juliano Mer-Khamis is well known for his acting career, association with the Freedom Theatre in Jenin and for the powerful documentary Arna's Children. Juliano was born in Nazareth in 1958 to an Israeli mother and Palestinian father. His mother Arna became an ardent anti-Zionist and founded the Care and Learning project at the Jenin refugee camp, helping Palestinian children affected by the Israeli occupation. Juliano later tracked down 10 of these children to discover what had become of them. Co-directed with Daniel Daniel, the resulting 2003 film was Arna's Children, which Gideon Levy has called “arguably the most moving film ever created about the Israeli occupation”. After the death of Arna, Juliano strove to carry on her work and established the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin refugee camp in 2006. The theatre was a way in which to engage the children of the refugee camp who had been traumatised by the occupation. Through his cultural activism Juliano challenged “the pro-Zionist attitude that thinks the problem of violence is the violence of children and not the violence of the Israeli occupation”. Juliano's activism and art inspired many around the world, and he is spoken of widely as honest, courageous, and brave. “He exemplified everything that I and millions of others aspired to: coexistence, tolerance, nonviolence, peace, love, passion for life, richness in diversity and so much more” (Mazin Qumsiyeh). Juliano was killed by masked assailants while leaving his theatre on April 4th 2011. Arna’s Children is quite simply the best film to date on the Israeli occupation, stunning documentary that leaves audiences altered, but understanding much better what Palestinians are up against.
Mick Napier – SPSC Chair
Film screenings are currently being organised across Scotland – check with your local SPSC branch for details
Vittorio Arrigoni
Vittorio Arrigoni, born in Besana, Italy, in 1975, spent the last ten years heavily involved with Palestinian activism, latterly with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza. He took part in the 2008 Free Gaza flotilla which protested the blockade of Gaza, and was one of the first activists to reach the port of Gaza. Vittorio, known to many as Vik, would often go fishing with Palestinian locals to protect them from the patrolling Israeli navy. This was part of the courageous role that Vittorio embraced, acting as a “witness” to, or human shield against, the worst actions of the Israeli forces. He was arrested and deported numerous times by Israeli authorities, but continued to return to the land and the people that he loved. Vittorio also spread the word of the plight faced by Palestinians through his Guerilla Radio blog and reports for Italian and international media, notably from Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. He ended his blog posts and letters with the words “Stay Human” and published a book entitled Gaza Stay Human in 2010. It was his humanism and passion that inspired those that he met and those that read his stories from Palestine.
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We must make sure that their murders do not go in vain and the best thing we can do is increase our efforts to continue the path and bring others to this path Mazin Qumsiyeh
Vittorio was hugely popular and his loss has been felt heavily in Palestine and by Palestinian activists around the world. The second Freedom Flotilla has been renamed the “Freedom Flotilla – Stay Human” in his honour. Paying tribute to his close friend, Jeff Halper recently wrote: “every time I feel tired or discouraged, I’ll feel you lifting me up over your head and, with your huge smile and laughter, threatening to throw me overboard if I even hesitate in throwing myself into the fight. You were and are the earth-force of the struggle against injustice. You will always hold us up and inspire us. Like the Palestinian fishermen you loved so much, we and all others fighting for the fundamentals of life throughout the world commit ourselves to seeing your vision through”. Vittorio was kidnapped by a Salafist jihad group and found dead on April 15th 2011. SPSC, like Palestinian solidarity groups around the world, mourns the loss of two outstanding activists and men.
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A Call for Solidarity – July 8th to 16th
Palestinians are calling on people of conscience around the world to show their solidarity by joining a mass descent on Tel Aviv airport on July 8th. The call from Palestine reads: While we rightly focus on Gaza we must not forget that Israeli colonial authorities are implementing their racist apartheid policies throughout historic Palestine. In the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and in the Negev and the Galilee, ethnic cleansing and killing/injuring civilians are just some of the many violations of basic human rights. The aim is always to keep us isolated as well as divided, the better to achieve the goal of dispossessing us. For this reason, we call on civil society organizations and people of conscience around the world to support and join the other important international challenge this summer to the Israeli siege of the whole of Palestine. The daily indignities heaped on the Palestinian people are reflected in the attitude of officials at Tel Aviv airport to prevent any humanitarian/solidarity trips. Israel's attempts to prevent entry by peace activists even though the occupied Palestinian Territories are recognized internationally as illegally occupied by Israel. We must oppose Israel's arbitrary, unlawful, and abusive behaviour Other solidarity actions are planned in Palestine on July 9th and will continue until July 16th. July 9th marks the 7th anniversary of the ruling of the International Court of Justice which stated that the construction of the separation wall broke international law, that Israel is obligated to pay reparations for damage done in the wall's construction, and is further obligated to cease building and dismantle the existing structure. It also marks the 6th anniversary of the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions towards Israel. The week of action will involve international activists and Palestinians visiting the towns and villages at the coalface of Israel's apartheid policies. The solidarity actions are being organised by 15 groups from around Palestine, such as the Bil’in Popular Resistance Committee and the International Solidarity Movement. As well as general solidarity work it is hoped that planned actions pressure Israel to recognise the right of entry into Palestine for those who want to visit. Israeli authorities have in the past frequently refused peace activists entry into the country and people are often forced to leave immediately. The organisers are calling on participants to refuse to leave and thereby demand that their right to enter Palestine is respected. It is hoped that the support of the consular staff of countries around the world will persuade Israel to concede the right of entry. There is no way to enter without going through Israeli passport control; Israel controls all entry and exit points into Palestine. Contact your MP and MSPs to demand that British citizens arriving in Tel Aviv airport are allowed to proceed to Bethlehem www.bienvenuepalestine.com for more details
ABERDEEN
Contact [email protected] Facebook.com/SPSCAberdeen http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SPSCAberdeen/ Chair - Fiona [email protected] Secretary - Dave [email protected] Meetings Most Thursday evenings 7.30-9.30pm, downstairs at the Belmont Cinema, Belmont Street - use the contacts above to confirm. Stalls Usually outside M&S, St Nicholas Square, every few Saturday afternoons - join the Facebook or yahoo group to keep informed.
The Aberdeen branch started in April 2010, with a membership of 2! Since then, the branch has continued to grow, and has become an active voice for the Palestinian cause in the North East. We currently have weekly organising meetings to plan our campaign actions. In addition to supporting national SPSC campaigns, we are currently focussing local efforts on our Wood Group campaign. We are currently looking at ways to take this campaign forward and would appreciate input and ideas from other branches. Future events on the horizon are a fundraising/awareness-raising walk along Hadrian's Wall (to raise awareness of Israel's illegal separation wall and collect funds for a grassroots Palestinian charity). We will be joining forces with Aberdeen University's Muslim Group to organise a Dine with Gaza event later in the year. We will also be debating what to do with our signed Desmond Tutu photo!!
NEW BRANCHES
Perth : Forth Valley : [email protected] [email protected]
DUNDEE
Contact [email protected] Secretary – Niel Forbes Meetings Usually 2nd Thursday of the month 7.30-9.30pm. Room T4, Tower Building, University of Dundee, Perth Road, Dundee. Meetings are flexible - use the contact above for confirmation. Stalls Usually every other Saturday outside M&S Murraygate or City Square 1pm till 3pm. Use the contact above for confirmation. The Dundee branch started with two members in March 2010 working closely with Tayside for Justice in Palestine and the Action Palestine student society at the University of Dundee. The branch is now well established with an ever growing membership. In October 2010, working in coalition with the above groups, the branch was successful in persuading Dundee City Council to fly the flag of Palestine above the city chambers and voicing support for the next aid flotilla to Gaza. In January, after months of picketing and letter writing, the branch succeeded in driving Premier Dead Sea Cosmetics from the city’s Overgate shopping centre. Premier is an Israeli company that sells products made from ingredients stolen from the occupied West Bank. The branch is currently working hard to drum up support for a motion calling on the City Council to condemn the illegal actions of the Israeli Government and to boycott Israeli Goods. The vote on the motion will take place on Monday 13th June.
EDINBURGH
Contact email: [email protected] Meetings Edinburgh group meets Thursdays at 7.30pm at: Peace and Justice Centre, below and behind St John's Church at the Junction of Princes St/ Lothian Rd, EH2 4BJ 1st Thursday of the month: full branch meeting; new members welcome. Remaining Thursdays: issue-specific meetings (e.g. Veolia or Eden Springs).
The Edinburgh branch has been involved in successful campaigns ranging from forcing the Edinburgh International Film Festival to return Israeli Embassy sponsorship money (twice!) to ridding Edinburgh Council of illegal Israeli Occupation firm, Eden Springs. Recently, we led a campaign that resulted in Veolia being excluded from another lucrative Council contract. The French multinational is deeply complicit in Israel’s illegal Occupation, and is taking hits all over the world as a result. The Veolia campaign is a great example of solidarity branches across the world exerting pressure on firms in their local area that mounts up and, as with Veolia, forces them to consider ending their crimes in Palestine. Another SPSC success with far-reaching implications was our defeat of the absurd charges of “racism” levelled against five Edinburgh Branch members after a political protest of a concert performance of the Israeli Army musicians, the Jerusalem Quartet. After an 18-month legal process, Sheriff Scott dismissed the charges, ruling that our protest was “clearly directed at the State of Israel, the Israeli Army, and Israeli Army musicians”, and not targeted at “citizens of Israel” per se. “Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism, rules sheriff”, read the front page headline of the Herald. With it, the most used weapon in the Zionist armoury was severely blunted. The Edinburgh Branch are currently working on local, national and international boycott campaigns, and have been at the forefront of providing solidarity with the Arab Revolutions.
FIFE & ST. ANDREWS
St.Andrews Contact: [email protected] Elizabeth Stitt
St Andrews branch of the SPSC started up in October of 2010 after several significant student actions, including occupation over the 2009 Gaza massacre, had raised the profile of the issue of Israeli crimes against Palestinians. The branch has organized Saturday street stalls, film showings, talks with visiting Palestinians and a boycott of an Israeli wine tasting event at the university. Highlights of the first year include Shir Hever, the Israeli advocate of BDS, speaking to over 80 people in Parliament Hall in the town centre and gaining approval for two post-graduate scholarships for Palestinians. The branch brings together townspeople and students and has meets monthly in the Friends Meeting House in Hope Street. We are grateful to the Fife branch for their advice, support and encouragement.rliament Hall in the town
centre and gaining approval for two post-graduate scholarships for Palestinians. The branch brings together townspeople and students and has meets monthly in the Friends Meeting House in Hope Street. We are grateful
Fife
Contact: [email protected]
Facebook.com/Fife spsc
The Fife branch started in July 2010. A few months later it was decided to establish a branch in St Andrews to cover the North East area of Fife, but both groups co-ordinate activities and support each other. The main campaign is to get Fife Council to follow West Dunbartonshire and Stirling Councils in boycotting Israeli goods. A motion did go before the Council last year, but was defeated, so the branch at present is encouraging people to sign a petition and write to their councillors. We participated in an election hustings in Kirkcaldy and raised the issue of Palestine with the Scottish parliament candidates. Our more active members were involved in other campaigns during the election period, but we hope to hold regular street stalls over the summer months. In the past we have had street stalls in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.
GLASGOW
Contact [email protected] The highlight of 2011 so far has been the 100 plus attendance at the STUC for the brilliant presentation by peace activist Mike Prysner. It was great to link up with the Glasgow Friends of Al Asqa and see such a diverse and interested crowd turn up to support the event. We were also treated to a screening of Jon Pullman's excellent documentary on the SPSC 5 and I would encourage other branches to contact Jon to organize a local screening. At about 40 minutes it gives a very engaging and informative summary of the issues SPSC are championing. We are building to get a great turn out at the JNF protest at Bonnyton Golf Club on 21st June and convert many of these participants to active members. If you have friends in Glasgow please ask them to get involved. A note of recognition and support to branch member John Bennett and all those brilliant people involved in the occupation of the Hetherington Building at Glasgow Uni. They have hosted a number of SPSC meetings and continue to fight for justice and enlightenment. We salute them!
SOUTHWEST SCOTLAND
Contact [email protected] Meetings the first Thursday of every month at 7.30pm at D&G Multicultural Association, Holywood Building, Old Assembly Close, Dumfries, DG1 2PH(opposite Jobcentre in Irish Street). Our branch was set up last August following a talk by Ali El-Awasi about his experience on the Mavi Marmara. Earlier this year we hosted a visit from American Veteran Mike Prysner and then in March we held our first Palestinian Film Festival as a way of increasing access and enjoyment of Palestinian cinema as well as raising awareness of the social and political issues. We showed a total of 4 films and the Saturday morning film ('Occupation 101' ) was followed by a middle eastern buffet and a discussion led by author and political blogger Robin Yassin-Kassab. The weekend went very well and we hope to be able to repeat it next year. We have just lost our fantastic Secretary, Scott, who we now realise we relied on more than we should have to make sure things got done, so we are now trying to get ourselves into shape, and plan effective action for the coming year, which will involve lobbying the Council regarding BDS.
'ERASURE'-
DEATH-DANCE FOR A PALESTINIAN CHILD, AS SEEN ON A VIDEO FROM GAZA.
During the Israeli ‘Cast Lead’ attack on Gaza Israeli soldiers shot at Palestinian ambulance drivers, killing 16 medics, to prevent them from taking wounded civilians to hospital. Donkey carts were resorted to to complete the journey.
See the donkey-cart driver race along the road, fast, fast pulling up with a jerk, not a word, now his journey's done. See a mother leap out of the cart. As she runs, runs, runs, see her feet pound the ground, the child in her arms so still, silent and still. A man comes at a run, running quick, quick, he runs towards the woman, his arms reach for the child who lies silent, unmoving and silent in sheltering arms. Then turning, he runs, runs fast, quickly nears, nearing the open door he surrenders the child to other arms reaching, to bring help for the child lying silent and still. See the doctors bend over the hospital bed, as they work for response from the child on the bed despairing at last, they must cover the head of a child whose life has been stilled. Whose life has been stilled, has been stolen away, the mother's heart broken what more can I say?
by Hilda Meers Jews for a Just Peace
Join the Stop the JNF Campaign. Make this the last year Scotland is used to fund-raise for ethnic cleansing. You will make a difference. Bonnyton Golf Club 21 June 2011 (see JNF article). Contact Angus [email protected] or Peter, [email protected]
Contact and JOIN SPSC
[email protected] [email protected]
Ronnie Kasrils Donate online at www.scottishpsc.org.uk
