May 2020 ICAHD UK Newsletter

Photo: Lance Larson

During May we remember the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe, and we begin this newsletter with the important message from Jeff Halper that he put out on the 15^th. We don’t want any ICAHD supporters to have missed what he wrote as he explains why he feels that “the ground is shifting under our feet”. We are delighted to introduce you to Majd Nasrallah who has taken on the role of Coordinator of the One Democratic State Campaign. Our newsletter then turns its attention to the campaign to stop the eviction of the Sumarin family from their home in Silwan which is followed by our monthly Demolition and Displacement Report for April. The link is provided for our first webinar which happened this week when Clare Short interviewed Awad Abdelfattah and Jeff Halper on the theme Towards One Democratic State. We end with a few actions you can take, a link to our Actions Bulletin from earlier this month and then some dates for your diary. Do read on! ICAHD's Jeff Halper's Message For Nakba Day

Photo - ICAHD

Today, May 15th, is Nakba Day, the 72nd anniversary of the expulsion of about 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and homeland, in 1948. But there’s a feeling in the air this year of resurgence, of anticipation that this is not another anniversary, but that we are on the cusp of something new and dramatic in the seemingly interminable Palestinian/Israeli conflict."

It’s still only a feeling, an incipient inhaling of some political breath, but it’s there. The trigger is the upcoming annexation of large swathes of the West Bank threatened/promised by the new Netanyahu/Gantz government, with the blessing -- indeed, a push -- by the Trump Administration.

Now annexation on its own is not a good thing. No one wants to see an oppressive apartheid regime strengthened and expanded, with all the suffering it will bring to the Palestinians. But it has finally produced an irreversible break-through: whether or not annexation actually happens, it has revealed as clear as day that the "two-state solution" is dead and gone (or, more accurately, that it never existed). Read more... ICAHD UK's Interview with Majd Nasrallah, Coordinator, One Democratic State Campaign

Photo – Majd Nasrallah

Majd, you have recently taken on the role of Coordinator of the One Democratic State Campaign (ODSC). This has not only raised your profile in Palestine/Israel, but also internationally so we’d like to get to know you.

I understand that you’re from Palestine ’48, is that right?

Yes, I am categorized legally as a Palestinian citizen of Israel. In fact, when I usually share with people where I am from – the Triangle region – I get one of two responses; either people have no idea where that is, or people only know the stereotypes of my community: violent, tribal and conservative. As a matter of fact, my close friends usually tease me about being quadruple marginalized as a Palestinian from ’48 disconnected from the wider Palestinian struggle, as an Arab living in the troubled Triangle, as a resident of Qalansuwa, and as a member of a small peasant family.

On the other hand, my mother is from an esteemed family from Nablus, and due to the nature of my parents relationship and professions, they met and established their lives in East Jerusalem where I was born and raised in my early life.

What were the early influences in your life and how did they shape you?

Like many Palestinian families, mine placed immense value in our pursuit of education. As such, I was placed in a private Christian school, being the only option next to the public education system. There, I understood the true meaning of identity diversification as the school attracted students from different social strata’s, multiple nationalities, and different religions.

On 30^th June the Israeli courts are scheduled to hear the final appeal of a case in which the Keren Kayemeth Leisrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), through its subsidiary organization, Himanuta, will seek to evict the Palestinian Sumarin family from their home and people around the world are mobilizing to stop this from happening.

ICAHD UK is part of the very diverse political group that make up the Sumarin Coalition that is pressurizing the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to stop its determination to evict the 18-member Sumarin family from their home in Silwan, East Jerusalem, located directly below the Old City.

KKL-JNF has become a settler fund which has exploited legal methods to displace Palestinian families from their homes to hand them over to settlers. In this case Israel has used the Absentee Property Law based on what Peace Now describes as questionable evidence and which the Sumarin Coalition describes as using a draconian application which is biased against Palestinians. The KKL-JNF has been desiring this property for nearly 30 years and even after losing a previous court case, the KKL-JNF is not letting go. A short film about the family can be found on our website along with articles about the family’s history. We have included a link to the KKL-JNF which enables you to message it you’re your objection to the eviction. We have also provided a sample lobby letter for you to send to your MP which asks for the FCO to make urgent representation to the Israeli government and the JNF. A short film about the family can be found on our website along with articles about the family’s history. We have For further details, please follow this link .

April 2020 Demolition and Displacement Report Photo credit: Amer Aruri, B'tselem

Dates For Your Diary

8th July – ICAHD UK webinar with patron Avi Shlaim in conversation with Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian from Jerusalem’s Old City and Jeff Halper, 5 – 6.15pm (UK). The discussion will focus on settler-colonialism and de-colonisation at a time when there will be more clarity about Israel’s annexation plan. Mark your diary now and the link to the webinar will be released nearer to the time of the event.

Many thanks for your ongoing support. 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