Monday, 15 December 2014
Public Branch meeting cancelled
The public WFPSC Branch meeting on Wednesday 17 December in Hornbeam's Cafe is cancelled. Next meeting will take place as planned on 21 January 2015.
BUILDING
SOLDARITY, CAMPAIGNING FOR JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE
DECEMBER 2014
London Events
·
Gabrielle Farah’s, Bringing Home the War – free
Art Exhibition at the P21 Gallery until 17th January.
·
Open Bethlehem, a deeply moving film by Leila
Sansour is now showing at screenings nationwide. Please support this important
piece of work. If you would like to book tickets, please visit www.palestinecampaign.org/events/uk-screenings-open-bethlehem/
Sabon
Store Opens in Covent Garden
Last month the Israeli cosmetics chain Sabon opened a store
in Covent Garden and groups across London answered the call by Palestinian
civil society to continue to boycott Israeli goods.
Sabon however is not just any Israeli company, it has
directly profited from Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing as a company
exploiting the Dead Sea minerals belonging to Palestine. While Palestinians are
denied access to their own natural resources, Sabon continues to rack up the
profits at their high end stores. Sabon’s products are made in the city of
Kiryat Gat, built on the site of 2 demolished Palestinian villages after the
residents fled for their lives. The Israeli government continues to illegally
deny the right of these refugees to return to their land and until they do so,
Sabon are complicit in these crimes.
Waltham Forest PSC fully supports boycotting Sabon’s
flagship Covent Garden store as part of the wider boycott movement and while
they continue to make profits of stolen minerals in breach of international law
and the right of return is refused we will continue to make our voices heard.
The Darker Side of
Hewlett Packard
After significant successes against Veolia, G4S and
Sodastream, PSC are additionally turning their attention to Hewlett Packard as
the technological might behind Israel’s oppression and human rights abuses of
the Palestinian people.
HP continue to make huge profits by providing the IT systems
for Israel’s illegal naval blockade of Gaza, the technology used to deny free
movement in the West Bank through the daily humiliation of check points and many
of the essential services that allow the illegal settlements to operate.
We urge you to sign the PSC pledge at www.palestinecampaign.org/hp-pledge/
to not buy HP products until they end their complicity in the illegal Israeli
occupation. If you wish to become more
involved in any of our campaigns please do contact us.
Israel’s
Nationality Laws – Actions of an Apartheid State?
It has long been claimed that Israel is the only true
democracy in the Middle East, a country where minorities can live with greater
freedoms than practically anywhere else in the world. Israel’s new Nationality
Law that is currently being debated shines a light on the true nature of the
Netanyahu government and the increasingly racist and discriminatory measures
being committed to law.
This apartheid legislation would delist Arabic languages as
official languages of Israel as well as enshrining Jewish religious law as the
source and inspiration of national law, effectively superseding democracy and
culture-neutral law with religious law. Israel has gone even further by
planning further legislation to ban the Palestinian flag as a flag belonging to
the ‘enemy.’ The intention clearly being to define Israel as a solely Jewish
state by supressing the culture and values of anyone else.
Violence
continues with no end in sight
For weeks Western media outlets have been giving
significant airtime to the Israeli casualties of the latest escalation in
violence centred in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In the spirit of all life
is equal, I would like to draw your attention to some of the Palestinian
casualties.
Saleh Mahmoud, aged 11, was shot in the face,
permanently blinding him. Yousef al-Ramouni, aged 32, was hung in the back of
his own bus. A 10 year old boy was shot in the neck by the IDF in Gaza for
allegedly ‘scouting’ Israeli positions. Fadi Radwan, aged 22, was attacked by a
gang of settlers and stabbed multiple times. Mahmoud Qalaweh, aged 23, set on
fire. Ibrahim Mahmoud, aged 16, shot by an Israeli settler. Mayar Natsheh, aged
10, suffered a cracked skull when shot by a rubber coated steel bullet. Razan
Alhalafaqi, aged 11, died after being refused permission to leave Gaza to
receive life-saving medical treatment.
How Does
the World View Israel?
The annual BBC World Service poll published in
June 2014 charts the opinions of respondents from around the world and whether
their views are mainly positive or negative on selected countries.
For the third year in a row Israel were ranked in
the bottom 5 in the world with only Iran, North Korea and Pakistan scoring
worse. Globally only 23% of those surveyed around the globe felt that Israel’s
influence on the world had been mainly positive. In Europe the figure was even
worse with Germany showing only 11% and France 21%. In fact the only countries
surveyed that showed a greater than 50% positive view of Israel were the United
States, Ghana and Nigeria. With the UK having only 19% positive and an
astounding 72% negative view, with this is mind why does our government
continue to supply arms and provide diplomatic cover for Israeli
atrocities?
If you are
interested in getting involved with Waltham Forest PSC, or of course just want
to comment on the newsletter, please contact us on wfpsc@yahoo.com or you can write to WFPSC, Hornbeam, 458
Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 9AH.
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
WFPSC at St Barnabas Christmas Fayre, 30 November '14
This year's St Barnabas Christmas Fayre was a great community event , with various stalls selling crafts and other beautiful things, manly made by local people and sold in aid of different charities.
St Barnabas vicar Steven Saxby organized a video link with a Christan family in Bethlehem, which made this years Fayre extra special.
We all had a unique opportunity to sing Christmas Carols with our Bethlehem friends and hear them sing Carols to us.
The mother of the family told us about their lives under the occupation and how happy they were to share with us in the Christmas celebrations.
Streams of people went through the
Church chatting, shopping and enjoying hot drinks and cakes.
WFPSC stall was well visited and our information leaflets and the Palestinian produce flew off our stall and we are glad that they will find place on many Waltham Forest Christmas tables.
Thanks to Steven and his wife for organising the Fayre and making us all so welcome.
WFPSC Palestine stall in Walthamstow, 29 November 2014
We have a dozen new contacts of people who wanted to keep in touch or become WFPSC activists.
Monday, 17 November 2014
Political Success
The new LEFT UNITY party voted to adopt the
full Boycott Divestment and Sanctions position at its conference this weekend
just gone. It also voted to affiliate to PSC nationally and (where possible)
locally. We are happy to declare that this great achievement
was mainly down to members of our local WFPSC group, some of whom also members
of the local LU. The final motion was moved by Roland Rance but it was the
result of successful team work – also including Naomi, Ray, Susan and Inbar.
D. Support for Palestinian
rights and BDS
Proposed by Waltham
Forest branch
Left Unity stands in
solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against oppression and
dispossession. We will work and campaign towards a just resolution of the
Palestine conflict, and towards a future without violence and discrimination.
We recognise that the
preconditions for such a resolution include complete and unconditional Israeli
withdrawal from all territories occupied in the 1967 war, the implementation of
a programme to enable the return of Palestinians exiled and dispersed since the
establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, and the negation of all
discriminatory legislation.
Left Unity supports, and
will work to promote, the call by scores of Palestinian organisations
(including all Palestinian trade unions) for a campaign of boycott, divestment
and sanctions against Israel until it complies with its obligations under
international law. We will work to support academic and cultural boycotts of
Israel.
Left Unity will
affiliate to and work with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and will support
local solidarity and twinning groups. In trade unions, we will work towards
establishing links with Palestinian trade unions and cutting links with Israeli
trade unions, including the Histadrut, which do not act in support of
Palestinian rights.
We will oppose
propaganda efforts to present Israel as a model for human or democratic rights.
In particular, we will support the campaign against Israeli “pinkwashing”,
which falsely presents Israel as an oasis of LGBTQ rights. We reject any
attempt to smear opponents of Zionism and supporters of Palestinian rights as
antisemites.
At the same time, Left
Unity will resolutely oppose any expression of antisemitism, whether within the
solidarity movement or elsewhere. We recognise that such racism is not only
wrong in itself; it also gives a spurious credibility to Israeli propaganda.
Our support for Palestinian rights is motivated by the principles of
international solidarity and anti-racism.
Saturday, 15 November 2014
Branch Meeting Cancelled
Due to a large number of apologies, we have decided to cancel our announced Branch meeting on 19 November. Next Branch meeting will take place on 17 December as planned.
Thursday, 30 October 2014
BUILDING
SOLDARITY, CAMPAIGNING FOR JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE
NOVEMBER 2014
UPCOMING EVENTS IN
WALTHAM FOREST – GET INVOLVED!
· There will be a PSC stall in Walthamstow Town Square
on Saturday 1st November and in Leyton opposite the tube station at
the entrance to the shopping area on Saturday 15th November. If you
are in the area why not pop by between 11am and 2pm?
·
On Sunday 30th November we will have
a stall at St Barnabas Fayre, St Barnabas Church, St Barnabas Road, Walthamstow.
We will also have a Skype link with a family in Bethlehem, this is really a
great opportunity to speak to and engage with a wonderful family.
London Events
·
Stand Up for Palestine – Fundraiser with Alexi
Sayle on 4th November at Red Gallery.
·
On 16th November PSC members in
Brixton are running an event – Children in Brixton for the Children in Gaza at
the Karubi Education Centre at 3 pm.
Continuing Clashes
in East Jerusalem
Ongoing clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in
East Jerusalem have intensified significantly over the last week, leading many
news agencies to report it may mark the beginning of a new widespread
Palestinian uprising. In a further escalation, on 30th October Israel temporarily
sealed of the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif complex to Muslim worshippers for
the first time in 14 years after the shooting of a right-wing Israeli activist
the previous day. The suspected shooter was later shot dead by Israeli forces.
A spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas described the decision as tantamount to a
declaration of war.
This follows the disclosure in the Israeli press a few days
ago that, 400 new settler houses in Har Homa and 600 in Ramat Shlomo in East
Jerusalem, are to be built in response to pressure from right wing politicians within
the Israeli government to increase the pace of settlement building in East
Jerusalem.
Despite calls for calm by the Israeli government and claims
they are simply responding to violence when it breaks out, the continuing
provocations and escalation has led to the tensest atmosphere in ten years as
Israeli forces continue to fire stun grenades at protestors throwing tiles and
stones. One resident stated, “It is becoming like another intifada”.
Rock Throwing to
be Punishable by 20 Years
Israel National News is reporting that in light of
escalating Palestinian resistance in East Jerusalem, legislation is being sped
through making rock throwing punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. The
legislation also will include provisions for financial penalties to be imposed
upon the families of anyone arrested for throwing rocks.
Israel’s New
Segregation Laws
The Israeli government has taken the decision that
Palestinians from the West Bank should not be allowed to travel on the same
buses as illegal settlers. This means that Palestinians working in Israel will
no longer be able to take buses going directly from Central Israel into the
West Bank and will only be able to return through the Eyal Crossing as reported
by RT.com. This is a blatant piece of segregationist legislation more akin to
apartheid South Africa than a supposed beacon for liberal democracy in the
Middle East.
The pro-settler politician, Moti Yogev is quoted as saying,
“Riding these buses is unreasonable. They are full of Arabs!” I’m not sure what
Mr Yogev expects from buses travelling into the West Bank.
MP’s Take Historic
Decision
In a historic vote, the House of Commons voted by 274 to
votes to 12 to recognise the state of Palestine. Two out of three Waltham
Forest MPs voted for the motion.
Richard Ottaway MP and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Select Community stated, “The annexation of the 950 acres in the West Bank just
a few months ago has outraged me more than anything else in my political life….
I have to say to the government of Israel – if it is losing people like me, it
is going to be losing a lot of people”.
Many of the MP’s who spoke in the debate referred to the
thousands of emails they received from their constituents. Thank you to all
those who lobbied their MPs, we now need to make sure we keep the pressure up
on our MPs and Government to officially recognise Palestine and join the over
134 countries, including Sweden, around the world that have already done so. We
also call for the end to the supplying of arms to Israel and support a
programme of BDS. Please continue to write to your MP’s and make sure Palestine
is NOT forgotten.
New Caribbean
Palestinian Solidarity Movement
Peter, a former officer of the Waltham Forest PSC has been
instrumental in setting up a new group based in the Bahamas as the solidarity movement
continues to spread and gain momentum around the world.
Their Secretary, Lalu Hanuman, is a good friend of Waltham Forest
PSC and attended one of our recent public meetings in Walthamstow. On marking
the sixty seventh anniversary of the United Nations partition of Palestine he
said, “This is not about religion, this is about fundamental human rights. We
in the Caribbean, who have endured oppression in all its nefarious forms, from
chattel slavery to indentured slavery, should be in the forefront of solidarity
actions with our Palestinian brothers and sisters.” Waltham Forest PSC wishes
Caribbean Against Apartheid in Palestine the best of luck.
If you are interested in getting involved with
Waltham Forest PSC, or of course just want to comment on the newsletter, please
contact us on wfpsc@yahoo.com or you can write to WFPSC, Hornbeam, 458
Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 9AH.
Thursday, 16 October 2014
Last night at the Branch meeting we had an interesting discussion about why Israel is not being held accountable for the damage that it is causing. More here: Far from being held accountable, Israel is the prime beneficiary of the devastation it has caused in Gaza.
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Monday, 22 September 2014
Gaza crisis – public meeting success for local Palestine campaigners
Last Wednesday evening saw Harmony Hall in Walthamstow full to capacity as people crowded in to hear a range of excellent speakers on the vital subject of how we can best support the people of Gaza, The joint meeting was organised by the Waltham Forest Palestine Solidarity Committee together with the Stop the War Coalition.
After the terrible slaughter of civilians, including hundreds of children, the attention of the media has moved on but the speakers were determined that the people of Gaza and Palestine in general would not be forgotten. Yousef Al-Helou, a journalist from Gaza who has lost many members of his own family received a standing ovation after he spoke movingly about the recent Israeli invasion, and paid tribute to the courage of the people. All speakers were united in calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza, and the need to put international pressure on Israel to recognise the human rights of the Palestinian people, and that lasting peace can only come through justice.
Salim Alam (from Palestine Solidarity) called on people to support a focused campaign of boycotting Israeli products and to pressure the British government to stop selling arms to Israel. The panel included two Jewish anti-Zionist campaigners (Rob Ferguson and Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi) who stressed that it is not anti-Semitic to oppose the Zionism of the Israeli state, and that it was “Kosher” to boycott Israel. They also pointed to the diminishing support in the US by younger Jews for Israel. Finally, Irfan Akhtar from the Waltham Forest Council of Mosques stressed the need for the local community in Waltham Forest to get more involved in the campaign for justice and human rights.
Sunday, 14 September 2014
Saturday, 6 September 2014
Mass Lobby of Members of Parliament on Tuesday, September 9th
If
you are a Waltham Forest Resident please consider coming to this event. You can see details of it on the PSC website. Your Member of Parliament . Depending on where you live in the borough, your MP
will be John Cryer (Leyton), Stella Creasy (Walthamstow), or Ian Duncan Smith
(Chingford). And it would be best to contact your MP now and ask for an
appointment for that afternoon.
If
it is you first time, here is some information which may be of help. On
September 9th we have been
asked to first meet in Westminster
Cathedral Hall. To get to it walk up Victoria Street from Victoria Station,
turn first right down Thirleby Road and then right again into Ambrosden Avenue
where the Hall is located further along on the right hand side. Be there any
time between 12 and 1.45 pm. There will be 3 or 4 briefings, at approximately
12.15, 12.35, 12.50 and 1.15 so time the
one you want to go to according to the time of your appointment with your MP.
It is impossible to know how long it will take to get through security into the
House of Commons, so allow maximum time between the end of the briefing and
your appointment time with your MP.
The briefings.
These
are by PSC staff and will describe how to find your MP and what key issues you
might like to ask them about.
Meeting
up. If you feel uncertain, please take advantage of the fact that I will be in
the Hall from 12 onwards, located up in the balcony area above the main hall.
Look
forward to seeing you there.
John Gleisner
Vice Chair
Friday, 5 September 2014
GAZA, What Next for Palestine
We are now back after having had technical problems with our blog - therefore, sadly, no updates for a while. In the meantime WFPSC has cooperated with Stop the War around a very successful public meeting in Harmony Hall on 3 September. Around one hundred people listened to inspiring speakers and took part in the following discussion.
Thursday, 7 August 2014
Events coming up:
There will be a WFPSC stall on Saturday 9th in WALTHAMSTOW between 11am and 2pm.
National Demonstration for Gaza
Saturday 9 August. Assemble 12 noon outside BBC, Portland Place marching to rally at Hyde Park via US Embassy |
IMPORTANT PETITION:
Stop America Topping up Israel’s Bombs
WFPSC Activist Alison has started a petition on line. Please read here, sign and send to all contacts – also on Facebook and Twitter. https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-america-topping-up-israel-s-bombs
Zaytoun stall in Leytonstone on Saturday 9th
…“outside of Matalan on Leytonstone High Street from eleven o'clock onward. There are a few items which have gone past their best before dates which I shall be giving away for free. Otherwise please see what other items I have in stock…”
Rezina Malik (07748483445)
Gather for Gaza
A local fundraiser event on 16 August in St Barnabas Church Hall (not a WFPSC event, but we will be having a stall at the venue) Read more here:
The next demonstration at Sainsbury’s
will be on Saturday 6 September in Walthamstow High St. from 11.00-13.00 hrs. Please read here for further details regarding the national campaign.
Emergency Lobby of Parliament for Gaza
Tuesday 9 September, 2-4pm in the house of commons, please publicise this widely, and join us, this is a mass event aiming at keeping up the pressure on MPs and the government. More info here , contact sara.apps@palestinecampaign.org for enquiries.
INFO:
Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights’ (LPHR's) letter
highlighting the legality of Israel's deliberate military attacks on family homes and urging the UK government to act on accountability has been published today in the Guardian under the title 'increasing pressure for peace and justice': If you are able to, please do circulate in your networks and on social media platforms
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Monday, 28 July 2014
Urgent vigil and protest
|
Protest Tuesday 29 July 2014
5-7pm, opposite Downing Street, London
nearest tube Westminster
|
|
Jenny Tonge speaking outside the protest at Parliament on Saturday
Please bring flowers, in the name of one of the children who have been killed in the past two weeks.
Please join us between 5-7pm tomorrow (Tuesday) outside the entrance to 10 Downing Street to leave your message and flowers and to sign the letter to Cameron. Bring your smartphone so we can photograph and send this message virally.
|
Urgent vigil and protest
|
Protest Tuesday 29 July 2014
5-7pm, opposite Downing Street, London
nearest tube Westminster
|
|
Please bring flowers, in the name of one of the children who have been killed in the past two weeks.
Please join us between 5-7pm tomorrow (Tuesday) outside the entrance to 10 Downing Street to leave your message and flowers and to sign the letter to Cameron. Bring your smartphone so we can photograph and send this message virally.
|
Friday, 25 July 2014
Thursday, 17 July 2014
The Israeli Government's Actions Feed Anti-Semitism
Read today's most important article in Waltham Forest Guardian and/or watch this video:
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/video/localvideo/138012/
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http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/video/localvideo/138012/
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Protest opposite the Israeli Embassy in London
Friday 11 July
5.30pm to 7.30pm
High St Kensington, London
(nearest tube: High St Ken) For travel check>
Victims who do not matter, or so it seems
So many people have been killed in Gaza in recent days. Because they are Palestinians their names will never be published in any of the mainstream media. They don't matter. They are just 'casualties' appearing as numbers in impersonal casualty lists. The blog Sixteen Minutes to Palestine, in its latest entry, lists the people killed in Gaza on the first day of the latest Israeli onslaught: http://smpalestine.com/2014/07/08/the-deceased-from-day-one-of-israels-latest-offensive-against-gaza/ Also, the PCHR lists weekly the names of those killed, kidnapped, and wounded in both Gaza and West Bank:http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/
Sunday, 29 June 2014
WFPSC Annual General Meeting 2014
Wednesday 16th July 2014
Wednesday 16th July 2014
7.00pm - 9.30pm
The Mill
7 Coppermill Lane
Walthamstow
E17 7HA
Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Minutes of 2013 AGM
3. Reports from Chairman, Treasurer and other officers
4. Elections of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and six other officers.
5. Dates for 2015 AGM and 2014/2015 Branch Meetings
6. Initial plans for 2014/2015
7. AOB
Our AGM is open to all to attend, so please do come along! However, do note that in order to vote, or be elected, you have to be a paid-up member of PSC.
Light refreshments will be available for a small donation.
After the AGM we are having a Fundraising Dinner at URFA, a Turkish Restuarant on St James St nearly opposite the station.
It starts around 8pm and costs £20. We are short of funds at present and need them for using in our campaigning locally.
SO PLEASE COME and give us YOUR SUPPORT!!
RSVP by 13th July to John Gleisner at johnwg101@gmail.com
Many thanks
WFPSC Team
Friday, 13 June 2014
Our next Palestine stall is in Leyton on this Saturday
Waltham Forest Palestine Solidarity Campaign (WFPSC) will run the next fortnightly information
stall with publicity items and produce form Palestine on this Saturday, the
14th at Leyton TK Maxx (opposite Leyton Tube station).
Please, come and join us between 11.30am and 2pm.
Also spread the word.
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