Wednesday 29 June 2011. Westminster got a flavour of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza today as campaigners from the Free Gaza movement and OneWorld sailed along the Thames to Parliament to deliver the message ‘Freedom for Palestine.’
Thanks to Seymour for the video
Freedom Flotilla 2, dubbed “Stay Human”, is sailing to the Gaza Strip this weekend in defiance of the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. At least 10 ships, with others to follow later, intend to set sail from the rendezvous in Greece.
As the flotilla gathered in the Mediterranean, UK activists took their own boat across London’s River Thames to display a banner outside the Houses of Parliament demanding “Freedom for Palestine”, which is also the title of a hit song poised for official release on Sunday.
Preparing one of the the banners on the boat.
Draped in a huge Palestinian flag, and pumping out the online hit ‘Freedom for Palestine’ by OneWorld, the boat packed with campaigners, supporters and members of the press sailed from the Festival Pier to the Houses of Parliament. The aim was to raise awareness and to build support for the Freedom Flotilla currently preparing to sail to Gaza in order to break the illegal Israeli siege on the coastal fragment of Palestine which has been ongoing for years.
Ghada Karmi.
Palestinian author Ghada Karmi and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas were among supporters on board. Ms. Lucas, a visitor to Palestine, paid tribute to the activists on the flotilla: “It’s hard not to be aware of Palestine when it’s the root of so manyinjustices in the Middle East today.”
Caroline Lucas is among a growing number of MPs who have endorsed the flotilla. Others include Sir Gerald Kaufman, Jim Dowd, Joan Ruddock, Bob Russell Alex Cunningham, Jeremy Corbyn, Karen Buck, John Leech, Cathy Jamieson, Ian Lavery, Emily Thornberry and Marsh Singh.
Lucas added:
“Gaza remains under a siege which impacts on everything from vital health care to the economy. Freedom Flotilla 2 is a reminder to the Israeli authorities that some of us will continue to challenge this and other human rights violations. It is also an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people. I support the flotilla’s peaceful actions to break the illegal siege and to fight for justice and freedom.”
Russell, who earlier this month visited the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, said: “The record Freedom for Palestine will hopefully draw the attention of the world to what is happening to the Palestinian people. I wish Godspeed and good luck to those who will be embarking on the flotilla to Gaza.”
Banner drop from Westminster Bridge.
Across on the bank on the Parliament terrace, a number of people waved and cheered as did others who could see the boat from Westminster Bridge. As the boat turned around and headed back, huge banners were dropped from Westminster Bridge that read “Freedom for Palestine” and “End the Siege in Gaza.”
The single Freedom for Palestine was launched under the musicians’ name OneWorld for pre-orders on 31 May, the anniversary of the Israeli raid on the first Gaza flotilla, in which Israeli troops killed nine activists and injured more than fifty others.
Freedom for Palestine is available to purchase from HMV Digital and iTunes with all profits going to War on Want for projects in Palestine. But the popular song is more than just a catchy tune; it’s an act of solidarity with the people in Palestine as well as a political statement.
Getting the track into the charts would help break the media silence on Palestine and make this an issue the UK media (and government) can’t ignore. So far, over 250,000 people have viewed the OneWorld Freedom for Palestine music video.
The song has been endorsed by South African human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu and personalities including musicians Roger Waters, Billy Bragg, Robert del Naja (Massive Attack), Lowkey and Sami Yusuf, filmmaker Ken Loach, actor Julie Christie, writers Benjamin Zephaniah, Alice Walker, and comedian Mark Thomas. The ethical cosmetics company ‘Lush’ has also backed the single.
OneWorld features Dave Randall (Faithless/Slovo), Jamie Catto (1 Giant Leap), Maxi Jazz (Faithless), LSK, the Durban Gospel Choir and musicians from around the globe. Randall said:
“We are doing this musical stunt today in solidarity with the flotilla, which is taking vital aid to besieged Palestinians in Gaza. We need to break the siege of Gaza, but also break the silence on Palestine in the UK and hope that the Freedom for Palestine single will do just that. If Freedom for Palestine gets into the charts it would send a message to all those who lend economic or political support to Israel, that a critical mass of people in the UK want to see an end to the Israeli occupation.”
A police boat tailed along behind. Unlike the Zionist pirates in international waters last year, the police did not board the vessel while sailing. They later visited dockside and posed for photographs.
The River Police, unlike the Israeli pirates, didn't stop and board our vessel.
Several activists posing with the River Police on shore.
In 2010, Israeli commandos boarded the first Freedom Flotilla and killed nine peace activists on board the Turkish aid ship Mavi Marmara.
Israel produces huge quantities of Medjoul dates which are grown in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jordan Valley.
Buying these dates will mean that your money is going towards supporting the theft of Palestinian land and the oppression of Palestinians.
Israelis claim that a boycott will harm Palestinians working on settlement land. In fact, the Palestinians get paltry wages and do the back-breaking work Israeli settlers will not do themselves.
Dates account for about 15% of fruit exports from Israel to the EU and its income from the fruit each year is approximately €80m (£66m).
We want to remind everyone to CHECK THE LABEL for the Country of Origin or Produce of to see where your dates are from. Please DO NOT buy your dates from: Israel, West Bank or Jordan Valley.
Since 10 June 2011, we have visited London Central Mosque (in Regents Park) NW8, West Ealing Islamic Centre W13, Manor Park Shajalal Mosque E12, East Ham Mosque E12 and Leyton Mosque E11.
The response we got so far has been highly positive, but we want to reach as many worshippers as possible and are seeking to visit as many Mosques as we can across London. Free for lunch on Friday?
Friday is the main congressional prayer for Muslim worshippers and most mosques this summer, start Friday prayers at 13.00 and finish at 13.30 or thereabouts.
Muslim worshippers are very sympathetic to the Palestine cause and the overwhelming majority will support this campaign.
So what’s the plan?
Check out the Directory and lets us know where you can go.
If you can’t make Fridays, but still would like to get involved with this campaign, please email tapashbds@gmail.com.
Saturday, 18 June 2011. Despite heavy rain as well as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Branch Forum taking place today, around twenty-five human rights campaigners staged their fortnightly picket outside Ahava, London’s leading purveyor of stolen and illegal Israeli settlement goods.
Activists talked to and distributed flyers to visitors, tourists, shoppers and residents who were overwhelmingly supportive of the BDS campaign against Apartheid Israel and people told campaigners they were glad when they heard that Ahava’s days on Monmouth Street were numbered.
In March, news broke that Ahava’s landlord refused to renew its lease when it expires in September thanks mainly to the protests and direct actions that have taken place during the last two years. Despite Ahava’s impending closure, activists vowed to continue their fortnightly Saturday protests until the shop is empty.
As one human rights campaigner explained to visitors who stopped to listen, “no human life is more valuable than another.” This is a concept that supporters of Israel fail to grasp, as Palestinians continue to be oppressed, persecuted, ethnically cleansed and generally treated as ‘human garbage’ by the Zionist Apartheid state.”
Throughout the action, dozens of passersby replied “I do!” to one campaigner who was wearing a highly visible BOYCOTT ISRAELI GOODS sign. Proof that more and more people are both aware of and support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Professor Thea de Wet from the University of Johannesburg. Photo by Alisa.
People of conscience have travelled from throughout the UK and all over the world including America, Australia, France and Ireland to express their solidarity with campaigners during the fortnightly demonstrations on Monmouth Street. This Saturday, Professor Thea de Wet from the University of Johannesburg who heard about the campaign, offered her support and spoke of her desire for the truth to be told and justice to be done.
In April 2011, the University of Johannesburg severed its relationship with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University which was established during South Africa’s Apartheid era - a political system that the country had in common with Israel at the time. Last year, over 400 South African academics signed a petition and many well-known South Africans, including the popular cartoonist Jonathan “Zapiro” Shapiro, Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, Bishop Rubin Phillips, former Minister Ronnie Kasrils and activist Zackie Achmat also supported the campaign to sever links with Ben-Gurion University. You can find more information about the University of Johannesburg campaign here.
Back on Monmouth Street there were just three police constables, down from the usual ten or eleven who are usually assigned to the protest. The small group of flag-waving Zionists were present in addition to three Welsh Christian Zionists who, judging by their vocabulary, sounded more Zionist than Christian.
At 1:00pm, campaigners staged a march to the TESCO supermarket, parading down Long Acre and through Covent Garden carrying a banner, Palestinian flags and chanting “Free, Free Palestine!”, “1, 2, 3, 4: Occupation No More!” “5, 6, 7, 8: Israel is an Apartheid State!” which attracted the attention of hundreds of camera-snapping tourists, shoppers and visitors, much to the frustration of the few Zionists, whose small numbers and ideology made them seem even more insignificant and isolated.
“Every Little Helps…Apartheid”
"Stop Stealing Palestinian Land!"
TESCO is one of the few major UK supermarket chains that continues to sell produce from illegal Israeli West Bank settlements imported by Carmel Agrexco, itself a target of past actions at its warehouse in Hayes, Middlesex.
The goals of the Every Little Helps Apartheid campaign are to encourage TESCO customers to ‘check the label’ and boycott Israeli and West Bank settlement produce, to convince TESCO not to sell Israeli/illegal settlement goods, to educate consumers of the oppression, injustice and indignities suffered by the Palestinian people, as well as advocate for an equal and just peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Educating consumers about the boycott of Israeli and illegal settlement produce.
Campaigners distributed special full-colour flyers to customers entering and leaving TESCO and explained the purpose of the boycott of Israeli/settlement goods to the public, enjoying a generally high level of support.
Zionist: “You’re an anti-Semitic orange!”
Outside TESCO, Jonathan Hoffman, Co Vice-Chair of the Zionist Federation, showed his intellectual finesse by shouting at one Jewish human rights campaigner who was dressed in an orange costume “You’re an anti-Semitic orange!”
An anti-Semitic orange
Another Zionist decided to play it safe and spent the entire time inside the TESCO supermarket simply watching his factually challenged cohorts fail to attract any public support or sympathy.
Heavy rain showers forced a change of tactics as many people sought shelter from the rain inside the foyer of TESCO. This proved to be an ideal opportunity to tell everyone why they should ‘check the label’ and boycott Israeli and illegal West Bank settlement produce.
Be it rain or shine, we'll always support Palestine!
On Tuesday evening, June 14th, Palestinian rights campaigners in London produced a determined and visible show of opposition when Israeli historian Benny Morris came to the London School of Economics to expound his repugnant views of Arabs and his whitewashing of the Nakba.
Benny Morris
An Opportunity Presents Itself
Earlier that evening, Palestinian rights campaigners sitting in a coffee shop near the LSE, spotted Benny Morris walking down Kingsway, a busy street near Holborn Tube Station. This was too good an opportunity to miss; in a flash, campaigners gathered around him and took turns to put questions directly to Morris about his writings and statements on the necessity of ethnic cleansing, his call for the caging of Palestinians, and the racist overtones of his descriptions of Arabs.
Morris ignored the questions and instead marched on. If he was hoping to get away with that, he was mistaken. Campaigners simply followed him and continued to put questions to him loudly and asked for him to reply. This carried on for about 200 yards and created a spectacle for the public. Morris then bolted into the LSE building along with his rather confused and bewildered minders. Morris had muttered ‘right’ a couple of times and that was the sum total of his engagement; his demeanour throughout had been more like a criminal trying to hide from the spotlight rather than an academic confident of his ground and willing to take up the invite of open debate.
Outside The LSE
The scene outside the entrance.
The venue for Morris’s lecture had been kept secret until 24 hours beforehand. It was an all-ticket affair which required pre-booking and disclosure of the name and address of those applying for tickets. Security was heavy; photo-ID required, no bags allowed and coats searched. Why was all this was necessary for a public lecture by a historian to promote his book? My guess is that the measures were designed to make it difficult for protest or opposition to be organised. If so, the measures were a miserable failure. Palestinian rights campaigners – and there were many of them – were highly visible outside the LSE; and handed flyers to people going into the lecture. The flyer – specially produced by London BDS – was headed with a simple question, Is Benny Morris a Serious Historian or Plain Old Racist? The body of the flyer contained quotes from Benny Morris; the reader was left to form his/her own conclusion. In the lecture hall itself, many people were seen reading the flyer as the audience waited for Morris’s talk.
In The Lecture Theatre
Morris was introduced by the Chair of the meeting as “an authority” on the events of 1948. It was not a particularly warm or personal introduction; and the Chair explained he was undertaking the role of Chair because he was part of the management body of the LSE’s Middle East Centre.
Professors Nigel Ashton (Chair) and Benny Morris
Morris then gave a 35-minute talk to the 350 or so attendees that included a plug for his latest book. He told us he would be focussing on the events leading up to and surrounding 1948 and what he called the First Arab Israeli War.
What follows is not a summary of his talk, but snippets which seemed to me to show – beneath the veneer of academic pursuit – what Morris is really about.
Security was tight even during the lecture. I'm certain that the two men standing on the left aren't academics.
Morris made brief reference to some events before 1948 which in his view were significant for understanding what came later. For Morris it is the Arab rejection of the 1937 Peel Commission and the 1947 Partition Plan which is the root of all future problems. At no point though did Morris deal with the fairness or the legality of the requirement on the indigenous population to hand over vast tracts of their land to foreign settlers and colonisers. For Morris it’s all the fault of the ‘Arabs’. This was his constant theme throughout the evening.
Morris accepts that fighting broke out well before 1948 – in fact in 1947. Morris said this was sparked by ‘the Arabs’ who attacked a bus carrying Jewish passengers. For Morris, it’s always the fault of ‘the Arabs’.
Morris claims that the war of 1948 was not only about land and national rights, but ‘the Arab’ side was also driven by an Islamic Jihad. He cited a few sources for this conclusion – it was not clear how authoritative or genuine the sources are, but that does not matter to Morris. He alone has found evidence of an Islamic Jihad and thinks that this is credible.
Morris claims there was no official policy to force out Arabs in 1948. He thinks the hundreds of thousands of Arabs refugees just happened – through fear. He does not mention or discuss at any time evidence from other historians that the forced expulsion of Palestinians in 1947 and 1948 was part of a calculated plan. Morris then went on to speculate that in 1948 Arabs had genocidal intentions towards the Jews. No evidence was provided by Morris to support his speculation.
It seems for Morris any significant evil intention on the part of Zionists is to be dismissed unless there is clear evidence in the official Israeli Archives that it existed; in other words that the criminal has written a signed detailed confession; but Arab evil intention is real merely if Benny Morris thinks it is so.
A number of the audience were unable to stomach listening to Morris for long and they walked out – some with stickers across their mouths saying ‘Morris Is Racist’ and ‘Apartheid’. They left quietly, but certainly got their message across.
Rather than torture readers with more of Morris’ double-standards, I will move on to a report of the Q&As.
Morris took questions in blocks of three for about an hour. This enabled him to evade many questions altogether, or give only part replies. Nonetheless, I would estimate that two out every three questions from the public were direct challenges to his facts and or conclusions. These questions covered the illegitimate nature of the UN Partition Plan, the mass murders of Palestinians, the bogus nature of the claims of Zionists to the land of Israel, the issue of Palestinian refugees, the prospects for peace, illegal Settlements, Jerusalem and Morris’s own moral framework. Supporters of Palestinian rights continually challenged Morris in the session with well constructed and reasoned questions and there seemed to be a determination that Morris was not going to be allowed to come to London and simply schmooze his way through the issue of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
As time went on Morris seemed to become more flippant with his responses – wrongly playing to what he thought the audience wanted. This clearly angered many in the audience; and shouts of ‘Answer the Question’ became frequent and loud. At one point Morris referred to the Palestine Papers and dismissed these as US diplomatic cables; he repeated again they were US diplomatic cables which caused huge laughter and anger in equal proportions from the audience. Audience members pointed out loudly that the Palestine Papers were internal documents of the Palestinian Authority and nothing to do with US diplomatic cables. Not for the first time during the evening Morris’s factual foundations were found to be rotten.
The Chairperson closed the meeting at the allotted time. About a third of the audience did not applaud Benny Morris at the end. I rushed to the doors for fresh air and most of all – sanity.
But I had to wait, as the audience was not allowed to leave until Morris had been escorted from the building.
The 31st May 2011 saw the historic launch of the political track Freedom for Palestine by a collective of international artists under the name of One World. The brainchild of Dave Randall, (Faithless/Slovo), the track sets out to mainstream the issue of Palestine liberation but in a way never done before.
The catastrophe facing the Palestinian people is one of the defining global justice issues of our time. Many of us are already aware of the extent to which Palestinian human rights are denied on an all too frequent basis. Meanwhile Western governments such as the UK continue to promote business as usual with Israel, in turn legitimizing the occupation.
Music has a long history of raising political awareness, but it’s not just a political message that’s at the heart of the track. It’s a message of solidarity, of a unified protest, and a show that this is not just a fringe issue, that our government and the international community must sit up and take notice.
The single is catchy, defiant but ultimately uplifting. It’s a dance track with a pop feel and a tune that’ll have you bopping involuntarily whilst you listen to it. It’s the kind of song that could be the soundtrack to summer 2011 and it’s no surprise, the line up of artists is awesome, and Dave Randall is an internationally acclaimed musician and producer. Already after one week, the track has gone global in terms of its reach.
But it’s not just good music One World wants you to listen to. Buying the single is a political protest and needs to be seen as such. This is an opportunity for us to make an audible protest and show the weight of support for bringing a just peace to Palestine. This is an act that could have a real impact on the political conscience of our society. If the song makes it into the charts, it will become difficult for mainstream media to censor its message. It would send a message to the government and all those who economically engage with Israel that this is no longer a fringe issue but that a critical mass of people believe the Israeli occupation must come to an end.
The track is only 79p to purchase from either or HMV Digital and i-Tunes and proceeds will go to War on Want to support their project partners in Palestine, Stop the Wall.
Confining the protestors to pens just served to further underscore the huge disparity in numbers.
Saturday 4 June 2011
Report by Renegade
Today, on a very sunny and mild Saturday afternoon, approx thirty human rights campaigners took to the streets and continued their fortnightly presence outside Ahava, London’s leading purveyor of stolen goods produced in Occupied Palestine.
Sarah Colborne, Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, lent her invaluable presence, Mick Napier, Chair of Scottish PSC, travelled all the way from Scotland to show his solidarity and activists from Devon also attended.
Ahava’s landlord announced in March that they will not renew the shop’s lease when it comes up for renewal in September as the result of the fortnightly protests, legal challenges and direct actions that have been ongoing for the past two years.
John, our talented saxophonist, helped draw people’s attention to the BDS campaign, as well as entertained everyone on Monmouth Street.
Thanks to Seymour for the video
Campaigners from many backgrounds spent an hour distributing flyers and talking to the public about the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, theft of natural resources, oppression of the Palestinian people and continuous flouting of international law by the racist Zionist state.
Displayed were several Palestinian flags, a banner from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, as well as one that read “Stop Stealing Palestinian Land.”
Three Zionists and one Welsh supporter were also present. For some reason and with dubious legality, police forced both protesters and counter-protesters into separate pens which only served to underscore the huge disparity in numbers.
The Welsh supporter brought along several Welsh flags that overshadowed the two Israeli flags that the Zionists brought. In fact, more then a few people mistook the Welsh flags for Palestinian ones, since both share similar colours.
Demonstrators again received outstanding support from the public. A few passers-by overtly expressed their outrage and disgust at Israel’s actions, loudly arguing with and scolding the Zionists.
The counter-demonstrators and their lone Welsh supporter shrilled happily whenever the few customers entered the Ahava shop (probably out of curiosity) and emerged – as most did, without making a single purchase.
However, for Ahava, lack of custom is no problem, as it is now common knowledge that ‘the little shop of horrors’ on Monmouth Street has made a huge loss of over £250,000 and is heavily subsidised indirectly by the Apartheid Zionist government.
Jonathan Hoffman: "I hope you die!"
Jonathan Hoffman, Co Vice-Chair of the UK Zionist Federation, promoted Zionism in his own inimitable way by continuously screaming at one human rights campaigner, “I hope you die!”
At the BICOM “We Believe in Israel” conference held recently in London, inside sources reported that one delegate said, referring to Hoffman, “I’d rather clean a dog’s mess out of the kerb with my bare hands than have anything to do with him.”
Other Zionists generally share the same negative opinion of the Co Vice-Chair of the Zionist Federation. Palestine campaigners, on the other hand, see Hoffman as a valuable asset, helping to discredit Zionism in both the UK and abroad.
In 2009, several human rights campaigners even started a successful ‘Defend Jonathan Hoffman Campaign’ when the Zionist Federation Executive and Board of Deputies were starting to close ranks against him.
Keep up the good work Jonathan!
After Ahava, it's off to TESCO!
After an hour outside Ahava, campaigners packed up and paraded past the Foundation Bar on Langley Street, (whose Tel-Aviv Summer Bash party was terminated on May 29th due to the outrageous behaviour of the Israeli and Zionist crowd) and through Covent Garden to the nearby TESCO supermarket on Bedford Street.
TESCO, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, sells fruit, vegetables, dates, flowers and herbs imported into the UK by Carmel Agrexco, which exports 70% of the agricultural produce from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and misleads consumers by labeling these as ‘produce of Israel.’
Outside TESCO
Activists unfurled a banner, spoke to and distributed specially-produced flyers to customers entering and leaving, asking them to ‘check the label’ and boycott Israeli and illegal West Bank settlement produce, including Israeli Jaffa Oranges.
Buying these goods grown on stolen land, supports an apartheid government which flouts international law and is responsible for the suffering and deaths of untold thousands of civilians.
Israeli Zionist photographer and Police Constable
The two Zionists and their Welsh flag-waving supporter were soon joined by two other Zionists, one of who enjoys taking photographs of human rights campaigners at very close range. As a result, police were called to investigate an incident that was eventually resolved without arrest.
Another Zionist attempted to give away Israeli Apartheid Jaffa Oranges to passers-by, but without any success.
It seems without doubt, that people are getting the message.
Palestinian resistance is the inspiration and strength for London BDS and its activities:-
Throughout the West Bank, Palestinians are resisting the Occupation and theft of their land. Regular protests take place on Fridays; and Israeli and international solidarity activists often join these in support.
The usual response of the IDF is tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition – often leading to the killing of Palestinians.
Here’s a report from the Ni’lin popular committee against the annexation wall and settlements about a protest on May 31st:
The Israeli occupation didn’t get enough from confiscating the Palestinian lands day by day, specially in such a town as our town Ni’lin that locates to the west of Ramallah city in the west bank, by building five colonies on its land since 1967-1998 and recently the annexation wall in 2008, Ni’lin town became surrounded with illegal colonies and walls from all sides. Today, the morning of the 31st of May 2011.
The Israeli occupation began with a new confiscating to our land and the neighbor village of Deir Qaddis from the northern side where there is also a colony built on our lands called Nili. Then two Israeli bulldozers began opening a new road that will surround a huge mountain (75 Acres) in order to include it to Nili colony. Crowds from Ni’lin and Deir Qaddis together with a number of people from the neighbour villages joined a peaceful demonstration organized by the Ni’lin popular committee against the annexation wall and settlements, the march was held to the scene where the bulldozers were drilling in order to drive them away from their lands. The march started at 01:00 pm and continued till 03:00 pm, the demonstrators managed to stop the Israeli bulldozers from drilling and drive the drive them away from their lands after long time of clashes.
Background about the loss of land in Ni’lin town and Deir Qaddis village: Since 1967-1998. the Israeli occupation began to build five colonies and an Apartheid road for the settlers called 446. During this time, the town lost (41000 Acres) from a total of (57000 Acres). Also in 2008 the Israeli occupation continued confiscating the town’s land by building an annexation wall on its land which confiscated another (8000 Acres) under the reasons of what they so-called ”security.”
What is left to the people of Ni’lin town from their lands is only (8,000 Acres) from the (57,000 Acres) and the confiscating of the lands continues. A tannel will be built on the town’s land that will confiscate another (83 Acres),and a gate will close the entrance of the town so that the town will be such a small cantons.
On the other hand, One of the five illegal colonies that has been built on Ni’lin lands called Kiryat sefir colony, part of it is built on Deir Qaddis land.
Nevertheless, the people of Ni’lin together with the people of Deir Qaddis made so many peaceful demonstrations against the building of this huge colony on their lands in 1997, During these protests the Israeli occupation soldiers killed one of Ni’lin sons 37 years old namely Atallah Amireh by a live bullet in the head.
Moreover, In 2003 the Israeli occupation began to confiscate more lands from the village of Deir Qaddis by building an annexation wall on its land that confiscated some hundreds of Acres from its land. Also, in 2010, the Israeli occupation occupied a military center was built on Deir Qaddis land that belongs to the British mandate.
Please send a message of support to the people of Ni’lin and surrounding area by going to this link and clicking on the ‘contact us’ button:
By John Clayden
There was a cartoon in
Private Eye this week of a mother telling her child as they were walking out of
a theatre – “ No dear its not a 3D film its what’s known as a play.”
Its a shame more people don’t go to the theatre. Sunday some of us from BDS went to see The Wall at The New End Theatre. It was a rewarding experience.
This Wall has been playing to near empty houses in Hampstead. Why? Certainly not because of the quality of the acting or writing. It got good reviews in the
local press.
The subject of the play is based on the writer ‘s family history and perhaps because of this the two characters come over as memorable and convincing people. What must be a bit of a novelty; the father is played by his real life grandson, David Weatherstone played by Eric Carte is a middle aged vet urdened in his own eyes by never having a had father. He takes the opportunity to visit his father’ grave in the military cemetery at Ramleh, while in Israel to give a lecture on bone fractures.
This play has proved too hard to stomach for the good people of Hampstead because it breaks a number of taboos.
Ralph the dead British soldier of twenty-five, the father, is still able to communicate with the living. Unashamedly when he speaks of the
Jews it is in the way a soldier in 1947 would have done. Taboo number
one.
I thought Duncan-Clyde Watkinson captured him very convincingly.
The main concern of his group of dead soldiers is that the Wall and consequent checkpoints, are making it difficult for Mamood the conscientious Arab employed by the War Graves Commission, who has a penchant for the bugle, to carry on looking after the graves.
Jewish terror is another taboo this play breaks.
Ralph has died on a troop train which was blown up in 1947 by The Stern Gang, a Jewish terrorist group.
Britain has little to be proud of of course. Its occupation of Palestine was part of a plan to extend the empire from India as far as the Mediterranean via Iraq. It
all went horribly wrong in the inter war years.
Another taboo is to suggest that time is running out for the Israeli state. We are not allowed to say that.
But how can it be acceptable in this day and age, to found a modern nation state as the eternal homeland for all the Jews on the planet whether they want to live there or not, on a 3000 year old promise of an ancient tribal God whose bequest of Palestinian soil entails a large number of the indigenous inhabitants must be forcibly ejected. It really does not bear close examination.
People are increasingly becoming aware of the terrible injustices Palestinians are daily subject to.
And the play enhances this trend.
A growing number of younger Jews and Gentiles are no longer prepared to turn a blind eye because of what Hitler did. Sadly like the child in the cartoon, not many of them are acquainted with the theatre.
The Wall by Doug Watkinson. With Eric Carte and Duncan-Clyde Watkinson. Directed by Olivia Rowe.
Bruce Levy from London BDS just returned from Washington DC where he was attending MOVE OVER AIPAC. Here’s his report.
AIPAC, which is an acronym for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is America’s Israel lobby. With an annual budget of approximately 60 million US dollars, AIPAC is largely responsible for the over 3 billion dollars that’s channelled directly to Israel every year by the American Government.
In addition to advocating as much US financial and political support as possible for the Zionist state, AIPAC supports the building of illegal settlements, approves Israel’s inhuman siege of Gaza and attacks any US politician who expresses any sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians.
AIPAC held its largest annual policy conference ever between the 22 – 24 May at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC that attracted over 10,000 Zionist delegates from all across America.
As an answer to the AIPAC conference, CODEPINK, an American grassroots, women-initiated peace group organised MOVE OVER AIPAC, a series of actions held in Washington DC between the 21-24 May. This historic, ground-breaking event, supported by over 100 American progressive organisations brought together human-rights activists from all over the country.
The purpose and goal of MOVE OVER AIPAC is to begin to move American foreign policy away from AIPAC’s grip and towards a more even-handed position that respects international law and the rights of all people in the region.
A WELCOME, WORKSHOPS AND MORE
Saturday started with an introduction and overview in a central Washington DC church by CODEPINK’s Medea Benjamin and Rae Abileah, as well as author/activist Anna Baltzer, Laila al-Haddad and others who spoke to a standing room only crowd of campaigners and activists.
CODEPINK's Rae Abileah and Medea Benjamin introducing MOVE OVER AIPAC.
Speakers included Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer who delivered briefings about their bestselling book, “The Israel Lobby.” The assembled audience was told that AIPAC isn’t really a PAC or “Political Action Committee” at all, as it doesn’t give money directly to political candidates, but instead sees to it that campaign contributions are steered their way if the candidate supports Israeli policy. You can view Stephen Walt’s presentation HERE.
There were also workshops on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, Creative Tactics, Poster Making & Street Theatre, Speaker Training and Flashmobs. Others workshops included The Goldstone Report, Exposing AIPAC, Combating Misused Charges of Anti-Semitism, Influencing Congress, Student Divestment Campaigns and the Middle-East: A Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.
Nancy Kricorian highlighting the work of the UK Ahava Boycott Campaign
In the BDS workshop, Dalit Baum of Who Profits spoke of the importance for a campaign to have measurable goals, the value of focussing on corporations rather than on products and the importance of research. Nancy Kricorian spoke about the Ahava Stolen Beauty campaign and touched upon its many successes, especially in the UK. Singer-songwriter Dave Lippman of Adalah-NY reviewed that group’s campaign against Israeli blood diamond magnate Lev Leviev and Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace spoke about the campaign to convince TIAA-Cref, one of the world’s largest pension funds, to divest from Israel.
The Flashmob workshop included videos of Adalah-NY’s impressive creative actions and it was not surprising to hear that Adalah-NY has a choreographer, as well as other creative talent in their group. Best selling author and journalist Max Blumenthal demonstrated that it’s possible to produce a very powerful video featuring nothing but interviews that you can view HERE.
On Saturday evening, there was a ceremony at Busboys & Poets, a local progressive restaurant honouring “Peacemakers and Truthtellers.”
Among those recognised were Holocaust Survivor Heidi Epstein, Palestinian activist Amr Shurrab, Nancy Kricorian, Phil Weiss and Adam Horowitz of Mondoweiss, as well as “One Future” Billboard Campaign Organisers Caren Levy-Van Slyke and Mai Abdul Rahman.
Rae Abileah, Nancy Kricorian and Bruce Levy
Bruce Levy of London BDS, J-BIG, PSC, Americans AGAINST Apartheid UK, as well as a JfJfP signatory was also honoured for his dedication to peace and spoke about the activists and coalition of groups in London whose hard work, efforts, dedication and creativity made the Ahava and other BDS campaigns in London and throughout the UK a success.
MEETING THE DELEGATES
Sunday, the first day of the AIPAC gathering, delegates were met by several hundred social justice activists that included giant figures of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu, banners, flags and several “walking settlements.”
If you're an AIPAC delegate, you may pass.
Gun-toting, pink dressed IDF soldiers guarded a sidewalk checkpoint and welcomed AIPAC delegates with a cheery “Shalom, welcome to Israel” while denying entry to a pregnant Palestinian woman. An apartheid wall, complete with graffiti, was set up at a location that many AIPAC delegates had to walk past. Several vans carrying anti-AIPAC billboards and electronic displays circled the convention centre while demonstrators chanted:
“Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes.”
(Nickel and dime refers to five and ten US cents - equivalent to roughly two and five pence respectively)
Since President Obama was scheduled to speak at the opening of the AIPAC conference, everyone was on the lookout for his motorcade which was heralded by the appearance of a police motorcycle escort followed by several black SUV’s which quickly sped by to shouts of “FREE, FREE PALESTINE!”
As seen in the video below, both the DC Police and Secret Service had quite a job keeping the protesters off the street while President Obama’s motorcade passes:
Throughout the morning, activists walked very slowly across the pedestrian crossing successfully blocking traffic while police looked on helplessly. This culminated in a lively rally in front of the convention centre:
When word spread that a human-rights activist was arrested, protesters quickly surrounded the patrol car where he was being held and demanded his release. Police finally had to resort to pushing people out-of-the-way to clear a path for the car which then sped off. Shortly after the street in front of the convention centre was taken over by demonstrators who staged a die-in, forcing police to divert traffic for some time afterwards. One cop was overheard to say to another, “I told you this would happen if you made the arrest.”
While helping to hold part of a banner, I was surprised to see a bald man wearing sunglasses and a blue uniform with the insignia of the Israeli police leaving the convention centre and I wondered what would be the reaction of people if he were to walk the streets of London wearing the same uniform. Several people shouted at him: “how many Palestinians have you murdered?” and “war criminal!“ The uniform smirked and I snapped his photo, not knowing at the time that this wasn’t to be my last encounter with this character.
About a dozen members of the anti-Zionist Hassidic group, the Neturei Karta were also present and carried placards that read, “Zionist Occupation is a Heresy and a Crime.” Another sign read “AIPAC endangers the Middle East and Violates Judaism.”
NO JUSTICE
In front of the Department of Justice
Outside the Department of Justice
On Monday morning, social justice activists met outside the Department of Justice to call on the US Government to register AIPAC as an agent of a foreign government. Also present was Ann Wright, a former US Army Colonel who resigned from the State Department on the eve of the American invasion of
Iraq. Everyone present wrote letters which were submitted to the US Attorney
General demanding that AIPAC be registered as such.
Lee Whitnum
It was here I met Lee Whitnum, a writer and politician from Connecticut who is running for Senate. If you live in Connecticut, USA, please support her campaign, as I’m certain she’ll prove an asset to the citizens of that state if elected.
After the rally outside the Justice Department building, those present staged a march - in the road - to the convention centre. Surprisingly no police were present, leaving us at the mercy of car and lorry drivers. I offered to help carry an American flag banner hoping it was the safest place to be, as I figured that few drivers, especially in Washington DC, would run over someone carrying the stars and stripes. We then started walking on a busy road chanting:
“AI-PAC, AI-PAC, not above the law,
AI-PAC, AI-PAC, not above the law.”
“AI-PAC, AI-PAC, not above the law,
AI-PAC, AI-PAC, not above the law.”
Our group, led by a cyclist weaving around the road on a pink bicycle, passed the convention centre and then the decision was taken to pay a visit to the National Public Radio Building. It was easy enough to get inside to the lobby where we were met by a bemused security guard and a surprised receptionist. After a while, a suit came down to hear our complaint regarding NPR’s biased coverage of AIPAC.
In front of the NPR Building.
Inside the lobby of National Public Radio
SHAMING POLITICIANS
Monday afternoon, activists gathered directly outside the entrance of the convention centre to talk to elected representatives who accepted invitations to the gala reception that was being held later that evening where Benjamin Netanyahu would be speaking. As their taxis and posh cars pulled up to the kerb, they were met with questions such as: “What about the settlements?”, “What about Apartheid?”, “What about the occupation?”, “What about the white phosphorus?” and “Why are you here?”
Most politicians ignored us and walked quickly into the convention centre, a few waved. Not surprisingly, hardly any stopped to talk to us.
Newt Gingrich and CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin
One face who I immediately recognised was Newt Gingrich, a veteran Republican politicianwho announced his candidacy for the US Presidency in 2012. “The Newt” was immediately surrounded by the crowd and listened to a few campaigners before going inside.
A spoof programme was distributed to AIPAC delegates who attended Monday’s Gala.
Along with a few Zionist supporters gathered on the green opposite the convention centre waving Israeli flags, giving the thumbs up sign and cheering the AIPAC delegates was also a very disturbed man who was yelling every imaginable obscenity against Islam who certainly would have been arrested
in the UK for committing a hate crime. But in America, freedom of speech, no
matter how outrageous or hateful, is a guaranteed right under the US
Constitution.
Netanyahu's speech at the AIPAC conference was interrupted no less than five times.
Over dinner at a nearby restaurant, we watched coverage of the AIPAC conference and Netanyahu’s speech on large video monitors, which was almost enough to put us off eating. After we finished our meal, about a dozen of us went back to the convention centre just when about 10,000 AIPAC delegates were leaving and again saw our bald Israeli uniform.
Shortly after this photo was taken, all hell broke loose.
Using a megaphone, we immediately called upon the authorities to arrest this Israeli criminal. The police, however, had other ideas and instead surounded and protected him while many of the AIPAC delegates showed how brave they were by pushing, punching and swearing at us.
The war criminal is to the right of the cop.
Our small group found ourselves at the front of the convention centre and were quickly surrounded by a few cops and a violent, unruly Zionist mob. Then all of us, except for two comrades who were holding the Palestinian flag, staged a die-in and fell to the pavement. Some of the crowd showing Zionism’s true face, spat at us and started singing the Israeli national anthem and other Zionist songs.
When we decided to get up, we were all pushed to the other side of the street by the police and sang “Peace, Salaam, Shalom. Palestine will be free” to even more verbal abuse from the unruly crowd who were slowly dispersing.
"DC's Finest" protecting the Israeli war criminal, who's hiding behind the cop
LOBBYING CONGRESS, A FAMILIAR FACE AND AN ACT OF BRAVERY
Tuesday was spent lobbying members of Congress and was the day that Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress. Also in attendance were many AIPAC delegates – as well as one very brave lady.
I joined about a dozen human rights activists who were picketing opposite the Capitol building complete with walking illegal settlements, a checkpoint, signs and placards, as well as the giant figure of Netanyahu, all of which attracted a lot of attention from both tourists and delegates alike. We chanted:
“Heeeyyy Congress, what about the settlements?”
“Heeeyyy Congress, what about Apartheid?”
“Heeeyyy Congress, what about occupation?”
After Netanyahu’s speech, hundreds of AIPAC members, recognisable by their
distinctive lanyards poured out of the Capitol to visit their representatives whose offices were nearby.
Though most delegates ignored us, some stopped to debate a few activists said that they were spat at and pushed while about the thirty or so US Capitol Police present just passively watched.
A checkpoint interviewing a settlement.
One Zionist told me that he considered the United Kingdom to be anti-Semitic due to its laws on Universal Jurisdiction that allowed arrest warrants to be issued against war criminals such as Tzipi Livni as well as other senior members of the Israeli government and military. I replied that in the UK, there are many people, including many Jews, who want to see Israeli government officials be held accountable for crimes against humanity committed while they held positions of authority. The Zionist just shook his head, laughed and walked away.
The Neturei Karta were out in force this time, holding their many placards denouncing Israel and Zionism while chanting, “Judaism YES, Zionism NO, the State of Israel has got to go!”
US Capitol Police: Oxygen thieves.
Throughout the sunny and humid morning and afternoon we chanted, carried placards, spoke to delegates, visitors and tourists and walked in groups very slowly from one corner to another of the intersection blocking traffic, much to the frustration and anger of the Capitol Police who threatened us with arrest if we continued.
May 2011: Lemberg in Washington DC interviewing an American Palestine activist.
It was here that I spotted a face from the past, which was none other than self-described “independent filmmaker” and Jerusalem resident Izzy Lemberg, who claims to be from New Jersey, USA. Lemberg was interviewing an American activist across the street from the US Capitol and seems to be part a project that involves filming and interviewing Palestine activists on both sides of the Atlantic.
March 2011: Lemberg outside SOAS in London
London BDS mentioned Lemberg in a previous post when he and his photojournalist wife Ricki Rosen, whose photographs adorned a book that glorified the Israeli Occupation Army, came to London back in March and were filming those attending the Celebrate Palestine Festival at SOAS, as well as at the picket outside AHAVA on Monmouth Street. Lemberg was very angry then, yelling that I was the reason why no one would talk to him. So maybe that’s why when I called him by name, Lemberg ignored me.
As soon as he finished filming, Izzy Lemberg, who according to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa is originally from Cleveland, the Jerusalem-based filmmaker and his cameraman both disappeared into the crowd.
Later we heard that Rae Abileah was admitted to hospital with neck injuries after bravely interrupting Benjamin Netanyahu while he was addressing Congress and that the police were waiting to arrest her. Some spoke of going to the hospital where she was being treated and staging a sit-in to prevent the police from taking her away, but that idea was soon quashed as being too extreme.
We left late in the afternoon, proud of all our efforts.
AFTERWARDS
Rae Abileah is still wearing a neck brace and may need some follow-up chiropractic care. She was arrested while in hospital, but is no longer in police custody. However, her legal and medical issues are far from over. You can read more about why Rae did what she did HERE.
Israel still continues its blockade and siege of Gaza and settlements in
the West Bank continue to expand.
The amount of American military aid promised to Israel through to 2018 is $30 billion.
…and AIPAC recently announced plans to hold its next Policy Conference in Washington DC from 4–6 March 2012.
Here are some more images:
Settlements go wherever they want to!
Netanyahu came out to see us after his address to congress
T-Shirt from www.phillybds.org (Philadelphia, USA) - boycott Sabra Hummus!
Freedom for Palestine is available to purchase from HMV Digital and iTunes with all profits going to War on Want for projects in Palestine. But the popular song is more than just a catchy tune; it’s an act of solidarity with the people in Palestine as well as a political statement.
