Avi Shlaim in conference line-up; ICAHD UK challenges the Archbishop

https://icahd.org/conference2023/ Actions Bulletin - September 2023 * Register for the ICAHD UK Conference * Hear Jeff Halper’s September update * View films from Greenbelt * Challenge to the Archbishop * Check locations of Jeff Halper’s speaking tour * Continue lobbying * Note the Dates for Your Diary

Register Now for ICAHD UK's Conference Palestinian Liberation: Where are we in the struggle & what is the role of the international solidarity community?

30 September 2023 at Amnesty International Human Rights Centre, New Inn Yard, London from 9.30 am – 5.00pm The conference will: * Hear Palestinians' assessment of the situation on the ground and where they are in the struggle for liberation * Delve into the One Democratic State Campaign's program of decolonising Zionism and establishing a democracy of equal rights for all between the River and the Sea * Engage with Palestinians and critical Israeli Jews on the most strategic forms of international solidarity * Acquire analyses and materials needed for effective campaigning and lobbying

Avi Shlaim, Israeli historian, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford, has joined the list of distinguished speakers for the conference. He is one of Israel's New Historians, a group of Israeli scholars who put forward critical interpretations of the history of Zionism and Israel. His latest book published this year is Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab Jew.

Yoa’d Ghanadry-Hakim is a clinical psychologist and certified supervisor. She is the head therapist at the Palestine Counselling Centre in Jerusalem and head of the Arab Union of Psychologists.

Eitan Bronstein, the founder of the Zochrot organization (which prepares for the return of the refugees), now the head of De-Colonizer; and

Jeff Halper, the Director of ICAHD and a founding member of the One Democratic State Campaign.

The conference will include the launch of the newly formed One Democratic State Coalition UK, a group of organisations and individuals that support the manifesto of the One Democratic State Campaign led by Palestinians and critical Israeli Jews.

Representatives from other organisations who call for the liberation of Palestine will also speak.

We believe that this conference will be historic and the most significant in ICAHD UK’s history so do not miss it. Join live or online. Due to fire regulations implemented by Amnesty, places at the London venue are strictly limited.

Secure your conference ticket immediately to avoid disappointment.

View the 14-minute film here ICAHD UK represented at the Greenbelt Festival

Photo: Part of the team on the ICAHD UK stall at the Greenbelt festival – Stephen Sizer

ICAHD UK was represented at the Greenbelt Festival in Kettering over August bank holiday weekend. We ran a stall in the Takeaway section which introduced punters to a range of organisations and issues and shared it with a marvellous team and dear friends of long-standing from Action Around Bethlehem Children with Disability (ABCD).

The festival celebrated Greenbelt’s 50^th anniversary and once again Palestine was featured in the seminar programme and through musical performances. Palestinian flags flew and keffiyehs were worn by many which demonstrated the prominence it now has which largely grew out of Rediscovering Palestine (RP) a network that existed for many years to raise the issue of Palestine at this festival and other events.

During the festival we also engaged with Embrace Middle East, the Christian development charity tackling poverty and injustice in the Middle East. Like ABCD it is another organisation that was part of RP, so we have a long history together. Embrace brought over Daniel Munayer, CEO of Musalaha, from Jerusalem. Musalaha is a faith-based organization that teaches, trains and facilitates reconciliation mainly between Israelis and Palestinians from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. The foundation for its work is recognition of Israel’s settler colonial agenda and apartheid policies so there must be no “normalisation” of the status quo when it brings people groups together. We were delighted to get to know Daniel and look forward to working with him and Musalaha on the ground.

While at the festival, six interviews were recorded including one with Daniel Munayer. View them on ICAHD’s YouTube channel. ICAHD UK's Director Confronts the Archbishop of Canterbury

Photo: St Martins in the Field on 6 September - Embrace the Middle East

ICAHD UK’s director, Linda Ramsden, attended the Embrace Middle East annual lecture at St Martin’s in the Field on 6^th September which attracted a crowd of 500 and was live-streamed. The theme was reconciliation. Daniel Munayer, CEO of Musalaha, was one of the speakers along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Rev Su McCellan from Embrace ME. The Archbishop went first and spoke for much longer than he had been allocated. He insisted that the region was “complex and fraught” and “a tragedy” and that we “must avoid binaries…” insisting peace in the Middle East can only come from within the region with the stronger party (Israel) making the first move. Daniel spoke about how reconciliation works on the ground and emphasized that more and more scholars define what is happening there as settler colonialism and with Israel practicing apartheid. Daniel also graciously corrected the Archbishop on many points. He said that we can’t wait for the change in Israel’s moral consciou sness to happen first. Examples in history show us that those oppressed speak up. There must be a call for equal human right and justice for all and that the Palestinians can take the lead on this. It was clear that the Archbishop was out of his depth and comfort zone.

During the Q & A, Linda asked the Archbishop whether in the light of the important work that the Church did during the apartheid years in South Africa...

Sami Huraini, leader of Youth of Sumud in the South Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta) who has featured in ICAHD UK webinars, has been targeted and harassed by the Israeli military courts for years because he speaks out against Israel’s settler colonial policies as it demolishes their homes and displaces the indigenous population.

On 22 August 2023, the Ofer Military Court convicted Sami of two of the three charges for which he has been on trial since early 2021. His sentence will be given on 30^th October and he fears imprisonment. Sami has long proclaimed that his trial is unjust and unfair because the court is run by Israeli settlers. Sami was pursued when he and other activists called for justice for Harun Abu Aram, who was shot in the neck and left paralysed while trying to protect a generator from confiscation by the Israeli army in 2021. Harun Abu Aram died in February 2023 from the injuries sustained in this brutal attack, yet his killers remain free. A year ago, the UN Special Rapporteurssounded the alarm about "Israel's increasing tendency to criminalise and harass human rights defenders, with the aim of silencing them and eradicating human rights work in the area [of Masafer Yatta]". In recent weeks, the Israeli crackdown on human rights defenders in Masafer Yatta has intensified. This is part of a long-standing policy of intimidation and repression of non-violent action, particularly against human rights defenders affiliated to Youth of Sumud The Anti-BDS Bill, officially called the "Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill" is progressing through British parliament. If it is passed, becoming law, it will prohibit public bodies (eg local authorities and universities) from boycotting or divesting from any organisation or state (eg goods from illegal Israeli settlements) if this conflicts with government policy. The Bill would also affect a wide range of other activities, such as campaign groups taking action against oil companies.

The bill is currently with a parliamentary scrutiny committee which began on 5 September and where it will remain until 14 September. During this time, oral evidence is heard, including from some in the coalition of which ICAHD UK is a part.

It is noted that no representatives from any Palestinian support organisations have been invited to give evidence, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Human Rights Watch and some others have specifically requested that PSC be invited, especially given the fact that PSC has been leading divestment campaigns in local councils which are a primary target of the bill.

Following time with the scrutiny committee, the bill goes to the House of Lords where it will be debated. If anyone has access to members of the House of Lords, do contact them to call for the right to boycott to be protected.

The week beginning 11^th September, the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly MP will be travelling to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He will be there when the Israeli Supreme Court assembles all 15 judges on 12th September to hear petitions against the law passed by the government to overturn the reasonableness standard – a key part of the judicial overhaul and he will witness the division and depth of concern within Israel.

However, the division and the weekly demonstrations that have brought hundreds of thousands of Israelis out onto the streets since January when Netanyahu returned to power have little to do with the root cause - Isael’s attempt to displace the indigenous Palestinian population as it replaces them with Jews who move in from other countries.

Remind Cleverly that Israel must be held to account for its many violations of international law which have only intensified this year. This means there must be consequences for Israel. Send your letter to the Foreign Secretary through your MPor directly here . You might also like to mention Sami Huraini’s situation and ask he speaks of it to Israeli authorities while he is there. Dates for Your Diary

Photo: Scene at Greenbelt – Stephen Sizer

Thursday 28 September at 7.30pm - Jeff Halper speaks in Liverpool. "One Democratic State in Palestine/Israel: It’s Time to Get Political".St Paul's Church, Church Steet, Canterbury CT1 1NH. Organised by ICAHD UK and East Kent Justice for Palestinians. Further details are available from Maggs Mackechnie - email here .

Saturday 30 September 2023 - ICAHD UK Annual Conference - Amnesty International UK, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA – Register here .

Tuesday 3 October 2023 at 7.00pm - Jeff Halper speaks in Liverpool. "One Democratic State in Palestine/Israel: It’s Time to Get Political". Tea and coffee available from 6.30pm. Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BT. Further details are available from Helen Marks - email here .

Wednesday 4 October 2023 at 7.00pm - Jeff Halper speaks in Derby. "One Democratic State in Palestine/Israel: It’s Time to Get Political". Multi-Faith Centre, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby DB22 1GB. Further details are available from Jean Sharp - email here .

23 October - 2 November 2023 - ICAHD Extended Study Tour – Details here .

Wednesday 15 November 2023 at 5.00pm - ICAHD UK Webinar. Jeff Halper in Conversation with Avi Shlaim on his new book 'Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab Jew'. Further details will be available shortly. Many thanks for your ongong support. If you're not already a member of ICAHD UK, please join usor make a donation to enable our campaign to spread at this critical time in history.

From all at ICAHD UK. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Israeli-Committee-Against-House-Demolitions-UK/366423593418140 Facebook https://www.twitter.com/ICAHDUK/ Twitter http://icahduk.org Website mailto:info@icahduk.org Email