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.
