June Events

PSC weekly update

Flotilla sets sails to break the siege on Gaza: Take action now!

The Flotilla to Gaza has today set sail from Gaza - the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is just one of the British-based organisations on the international flotilla of ships to Gaza, along with more than 50 other organisations worldwide, who are attempting to reach the besieged Palestinians of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.

The ships are carrying thousands of tons of construction materials, medical equipment, school supplies and other essentials denied to the Palestinians of Gaza. Israel has said it will do everything it can to stop this humanitarian aid getting through…. http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index7b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=106&Content_ID=1326





The Oxford Students' Palestine Society presents...

A NIGHT OF HIP HOP + POLITICS FOR PALESTINE
***************LOWKEY MC***************

THE CELLAR//MONDAY 31st MAY//9PM-2AM

Tickets: £6 OTD, proceeds go to Medical Aid for Palestinians: (http://www.map-uk.org/)

--------------MASSIVE LINEUP!!!----------------

Hip Hop//Grime//Dubstep//Funky//Beats//Garage

***HEADLINER - LOWKEY MC*** @ 11.45pm
WE ARE DUBIST
DJ JEK
CHRIS HILBORNE
ALEX CARLILL
______________________________________________________________

LOWKEY is a Poet, Playwright, Political Activist and award winning Hip Hop Artist of English and Iraqi Descent. He has released two solo albums, Dear Listener (2009) and Soundtrack to the Struggle (2010), toured around the Middle East with M1 from Dead Prez and the US with Dr. Norman Finklestein, and been a spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). He has collaborated with Immortal Technique, Poisonous Poets, Mongrel and the Palestinian rap group DAM, among others.

to listen: http://www.map-uk.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p1CJwTNC9M&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4OI0GUCI_A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToZUIdbgqjE&feature=related
____________________________________________________________

WE ARE DUBIST

The crew originate from South London and are constantly pushing boundaries in the dubstep scene. to listen: http://www.myspace.com/wearedubist
_____________________________________________________________

Spread the word, bring your friends and support quality UK political hip hop!!

In peace and solidarity,
The PalSoc Team







http://rideforpalestine.blogspot.com/

Ride for Palestine with online petition.

Southport-London, delivering Petition against UK - Israel Arms Trade, AUG 14 & 15



Live links to freegaza boats witnessgaza.com
www.freegaza.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza







Upcoming Events: Local







Seminar ‘The Arabs and the Holocaust’



Professor Gilbert Achcar

Professor of development studies and international relations at SOAS and author of The Clash of Barbarism: The Making of the New World Disorder, and Perilous Power: The Middle East and US Foreign Policy, co-authored with Noam Chomsky. The talk is based on Gilbert Achcar’s new book The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives (Saqi Books, 2010).



Tuesday 1 June

5 p.m.

Location: The Middle East Centre

68 Woodstock Road, Oxford

All welcome

Convenor: Professor Avi Shlaim

Professor Achcar’s new book will be on sale at a special price at the seminar: The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives published by Saqi Books.





Ending Oxford Universities Arms Investments. As you know, the campaign to end Oxford University's investment in arms began when students occupied the Bodleian to protest against Israel's invasion of Gaza. The next planning meeting is on Tuesday 5 June at 8-9 in the Old Seminar room, Wadham. http://Oxfordantiwaraction.wordpress.com/





The Friends of St Edward’s

Invite you to:







TRAVELS WITH MY FLAK JACKET

COVERING WAR

IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR THE BBC



A TALK BY MARTIN ASSER



PROCEEDS TO:

OXFORD RAMALLAH FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION



11th JUNE 2010

7.00pm – 7.30 pm – Drinks

7.30 pm - Talk

Venue – NORTH WALL THEATRE (Directions on second page)



Ticket Price £10



Martin Asser is an award-winning journalist specialising in Arab and Middle-Eastern affairs who has worked for the BBC since 1995. He has been the lead Middle East specialist writer for the BBC News website since 2003, with the job of bringing clarity and understanding to the complex and globally significant developments taking place in this troubled region. He has first-hand experience working in Iraq, Lebanon and Israel and the Palestinian territories during their periods of greatest crisis in the last decade. Martin is one of the few non-Arab reporters who is fluent in the Arabic language and is therefore able to work without an interpreter or English speaking informants. He is also an accomplished photographer.

For a complete list of BBC articles by Martin Asser, go to http://tinyurl.com/bbc-asser

RSVP

Phillipa Minty -01865 319239

minty@stedwards.oxon.sch.uk http://www.oxford-ramallah.org/









The next national branch forum will be on SATURDAY 12 JUNE 12noon to 4pm in Central Birmingham. I will be attending but it is good if two or three of us go. Its a great opportunity to network and share ideas and to hear and discuss what is happening in PSC nationally e.g. on the boycott campaign. You can claim travel expenses for attending. Let me know if anyone is interested in coming along. Caroline








Saturday street stall: (notice from Seyda) Could people please contact me on my home number 01865 880344 mobile7983334322 or e-mail me seydacooke@virgin.net. Please let me know what you can do even if it means an hour slot, which is fine too. Volunteers needed 11.30 – 1.30. This is one of the main ways we raise the issue of Palestine with the public at large. It takes a couple of hours (plus a bit each side to collect and return the materials). Two people at all times means you always have backup. If each supporter did one Saturday a month we would be covered.
















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26 June Day of action. Boycott day of action for Trade Unions, organised jointly by TUC and PSC.


Upcoming Events: UK/International








Stop the War Coalition has joined with the British Muslim Initiative and other groups to organise a conference on islamaphobia and how to stem its tide. This will take place at the Camden centre, London WC1H 9JE from 10am - 5pm on Saturday 5 June.

the "war on terror" has directly caused unprecedented attacks on the British Muslim community. This has been seen in government and media which portray all Muslims as anti-western and reactionary. Young Muslims in particular are subjct to surveillance in colleges, schools and mosques in the name of combatting extremism. Peaceful demonstrators have been subject to arrest and heavy sentencing. Racist "defence leagues" have attacked the Muslim community.

Stop the War Coalition is committed to combatting racims and working wtih others to stem its tide and that is why this will be an important conference.

Speakers will include Daud Abdullah, Muslim Council of Britain, Anas Al Tikriti, British Muslim Initiative,Lindsey German, Stop the War Coalition, Kate Hudson, CND, Tony Benn, Seamus Milne, journalist, Peter Oborne, journalist, Imran Khan, solicitor, Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo prisoner, Salma Yaqoob,Respect.

Tickets £5. Info from www.stopwar.org.uk or phone 020 7801 2768.













News

















For the latest news from Palestine see http://www.maannews.net/eng/Default.aspx





see also http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/aol/search?s_it=sb_uk&q=Electronic%20intifada http://www.palestinechronicle.com/ http://www.haaretz.com/


Other



An Open Letter to Barack Obama

From Avi Shlaim

Please take a few moments to reflect on the relations between the United States and Israel in the light of a recent incident

Dear President Obama, … http://www.opendemocracy.net/avi-shlaim/open-to-barack-obama







More from Map here http://www.map-uk.org/





Jonathan Cooke’s latest articles http://www.jkcook.net/Latest.htm With most Israelis assuming a new Middle East war is just around the
corner, settler leaders are trying to prove to their compatriots that
some 120 illegal Jewish colonies in the West Bank will provide an
indispensable safe haven in time of emergency...
The Torture of Ameer Makhoul…A leading human rights activist from Israel’s Palestinian Arab minority was charged yesterday with the most serious security offences on Israel’s statute book, including espionage...

Israel's Nukes Out of the Shadows…
Israel faces unprecedented pressure to abandon its official policy of
“ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons as the international
community meets at the United Nations in New York this week to
consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East...







This from France includes in the middle of this demo in Paris a delegation from Al Amari Camp

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdgj1v_rassemblement-contre-la-venue-de-li
Rassemblement et Concert contre la venue de netanyahu et Lieberman à Paris.
Avec la participation de nombreuses associations, Jil el Ghiwane et HK et les Saltimbanques
Site de la campagne BDS: www.bdsfrance.org
















To Join PSC NOW : How to join -Annual membership fees are £24 waged and £12 unwaged. http://www.pecaualestinecampaign.org/index2b.asp Your membership is vital for us to continue our work

Nakba week

*** Nakba Week 2010 ***


PalSoc, Arab Cultural Society, Oxford PSC and Oxford Society for Medicine have organised a week of events to commemorate the Nakba and show our solidarity with the Palestinian struggle:

Monday 10th May: An evening with acclaimed Israeli director Eyal Sivan and his latest film 'Jaffa, the Orange's Clockwork'.
Place: Nissan Lecture Theatre, St Antony's College
Time: 8pm - 10.30pm

Tuesday 11th May: Oxford Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) meeting -
with a report from a member of the Viva Palestina convoy to Gaza.
Place: Oxford Town Hall
Time: 7.30pm

Wednesday 12th May: Palestinian 'Dabke' dance class - learn how to dance this traditional Palestinian dance, for absolute beginners!
Place: Meet at the Lodge, Wadham College
Time: 8pm beginners, 9pm intermediates

Thursday 13th May: Healthcare Under Siege - panel discussion on the experiences of leading surgeons and medical experts on the challenges facing healthcare in Palestine.
Place: Bernard Sunley Theatre, St Catherine’s College
Time: 6 - 8.30pm

Saturday 15th May:
Supermarket picket - leafleting to raise awareness of illegal settlement goods sold in British supermarkets.
Place: Waitrose, 9-11 Old High Street, Headington OX3 9JT
Time: 2pm

Nakba Vigil - Candle-lit vigil and public reading of the names of villages destroyed in 1948
Place: Cornmarket Street, adjacent to St. Michael's church
Time: 6pm

*** Nakba Week 2010 ***

This week marks the 62nd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the catastrophic events of May 1948 when Zionist colonisers ethnically cleansed 750, 000 Palestinians from their land and declared the creation of the state of Israel. Now, 62 years later, Palestinians continue to suffer at the hands of this brutal colonial power: having massacred 1500 civilians in Gaza last year, Israel continues to tighten its strangulating blockade on the territory, systematically starving 1.5 million people in an act of collective punishment that has been condemned across the world; in the West Bank Palestinian civilians protesting the continued occupation are shot dead for taking part in non-violent protests; while in occupied East Jerusalem Israeli planners have approved 50,000 new homes for illegal settlers intent on colonising what remains of Palestine.

Join us for Nakba week 2010.

next events-May June

Bulletin no.158 2nd May 2010

Dear PSC supporter,



OXFORD PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN ~ AGM 11 MAY



I am pleased to invite you to the Annual General Meeting of Oxford PSC at 7.30pm on Tuesday 11 May 2009 at the Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford. All supporters are welcome to attend but only PSC members may submit motions, vote on resolutions or stand for office. Membership forms will be available at the meeting for those who are not already members but who wish to join and fully participate in the meeting.



Our guest speaker will be Tony Gratrex who recently went to Gaza with the Viva Palestina convoy.



If you are already a PSC member and would like to submit a motion to the meeting please send it to carolineraine1@btinternet.com by Tuesday 27 April. Motions will be circulated to members in advance of the meeting.



The following officers will be elected at the AGM for the coming year:



§ Chair

§ Secretary

§ Treasurer

§ Membership secretary

§ Student liaison

§ Trade union liaison

§ Communications officer

§ Stall coordinator



The meeting will also elect committee members to work with the officers on campaigns and activities.



Please think about standing for one of these positions or as a committee member. All officer posts can be job shared. If you would like more information about what is involved please contact me. Also if there are other ways you would particularly like to be involved e.g. helping with publicity or press liaison.



We look forward to seeing you on 11 May.



Best wishes, Caroline Raine







PSC Weekly Update http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index7b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=106&Content_ID=1281



http://rideforpalestine.blogspot.com/

Ride for Palestine with online petition.

Southport-London, delivering Petition against UK - Israel Arms Trade, AUG 14 & 15





With the General Election only weeks away, now is the time to find out if the Parliamentary candidates in your area support peace and justice for the Palestinians.

Use our campaigning tool to contact your candidates and let them know the strength of public feeling for a just resolution for Palestine, and make them aware that this is a key election issue. http://www.palestinecampaign.org/ .



Upcoming Events: Local



Hi Everyone:
Not sure if you are aware, but Joan Armatrading is appearing at the New Theatre this evening. Despite her charity work and links with South Africa (http://www.joanarmatrading.com/index.asp?m=misc&n=bio&p=1), she nonetheless is doing two concerts in Israel at the end of her tour. We think it only fair that she and her audience should be aware of how she is breaking the BDS - other people around the UK have done the same (http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/450135.html, http://www.bigcampaign.org/index.php?mact=CGBlog,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=136&cntnt01returnid=72). We are leafletting at the New Theatre this evening from about 7.30 - please let me know if you can come along and help; if you can't let me know, just turn up anyway :-) Thanks, Nigel.



WOMEN IN BLACK VIGIL - BONN SQUARE
Saturday May 8th 11.15-12.30
This vigil will be in support of the Women in Black in Jerusalem
who meet each week to protest the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. We will
be drawing attention to the devastating impact of illegal Israeli Settlement
expansion and policy of "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem.
This will be a SILENT vigil. Please wear BLACK. We also welcome any men
who would like to show solidarity with the Women in Black by handing out
leaflets or talking to the Public about our Vigil.




PSC Annual General Meeting. Tuesday 11 May, Oxford Town Hall, 7.30pm: this is our AGM, all
welcome, but only PSC members can vote.



Saturday street stall: (notice from Seyda) Could people please contact me on my home number 01865 880344 mobile7983334322 or e-mail me seydacooke@virgin.net. Please let me know what you can do even if it means an hour slot, which is fine too. Volunteers needed 11.30 – 1.30. This is one of the main ways we raise the issue of Palestine with the public at large. It takes a couple of hours (plus a bit each side to collect and return the materials). Two people at all times means you always have backup. If each supporter did one Saturday a month we would be covered.







The Oxford Society for Medicine presents a unique symposium:

*** HEALTHCARE UNDER SIEGE: Supporting medical education in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ***All welcome – FREE entry – NO registration required – JUST TURN UP! Date: Thursday 13th May 2010, 6.00pm – 8.30pmVenue: St. Catherine’s College, Bernard Sunley Lecture Theatre












.




Levellers Day. 10:30 - 18:00 Saturday 15th May 2010. Burford, Oxfordshire. Oxford PSC will have a presence at this enjoyable day. http://www.levellers.org.uk/

15 May Nakba events. This year rather than all go to London we will organise events throughout the country. As well as a stall and display at Burford we shall have events in Oxford, incuding leafleting supermarkets and a vigil in Cornmarket in the early evening in which we shall put hundreds of candles on a map of Palestine to commemorate villages destroyed. Strong Arabic speakers needed please.



26 June Day of action. Boycott day of action for Trade Unions, organised jointly by TUC and PSC.

some candidates responses

I have posted the candidates responses just as they are, tempting as it is to add comments. Please send me any other responses you recieve.







Andrew Smith

Thank you for your email about the plight of the people of Palestine. My stance has been one of clear and consistent support for the right of the Palestinian people to their own viable independent state, based on the 1967 borders, alongside a secure Israel.

I have called many times for an end to the military occupation of Palestinian territories and to the blockade of Gaza, for human rights to be respected, and for the withdrawal of Israeli settlements. Following the attack on Gaza I called in the House of Commons for the perpetrators of war crimes to be brought to justice, and I have continued to press Ministers in support of universal jurisdiction when such crimes are alleged.

I pressed and spoke in Parliament in support of the campaign for accurate labelling of goods from Israeli settlements which were previously being imported as “produced in Israel.” I was also glad to see the Government's ruling that the importers of such goods are not entitled to the benefits of any British or EU trade agreement with Israel or with the Palestinian Authority.

I believe that arms components should not be exported to conflict zones or to situations where they could be used for internal repression and have raised this with Ministers with particular reference to Israel. I was glad that the Government cancelled export licences for components used in the attack on Gaza, though it is worth mentioning that Israel obtains 95% of its military imports from the United States.

If I am re-elected I will continue to work in every available forum for peace and human rights in Israel and Palestine, and for the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.

It is crucial that effective international pressure is exerted on Israel over the question of the illegal settlements, which are a key barrier to progress in the peace process which is so urgently needed.

With best wishes,

Andrew

…I had been a campaigner against Saddam Hussain's barbaric dictatorship since the 1980s, back when he was using chemical weapons against the Kurds and allied with the Americans. For that reason, his breech of UN resolutions, and because of the evidence available at the time, I did support the initial operations in Iraq. I agree with David Miliband that if we had known at the time that the intelligence was wrong, I would have opposed the war. I regret that more was not done to distance Britain from the American government under George Bush, and that our efforts to get the Americans to work with the international community to stabilise the Middle East by creating an independent and viable Palestinian state were not successful…


Steve Goddard
Thank you for writing to me about the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign's election pledges. I feel strongly that we have responsibility as a country to engage with this issue, to help work towards a settlement which will create a more peaceful and secure middle east.

Violence and violations of international law must be condemned on both sides, and there should be no special cases for indvidual countries. There needs to be a negotiated settlement which recognises the existence of both states, mutually recognised, based on the situation before 1967. The Liberal Democrats urge Isreal to end the blocade on Gazza, which is against its self interest and only serves to encourage extremism.

We would suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and all Britians arms dealing with Isreal for the suration of the Gazza blockade. We also support the government's plans for clear labelling of goods from the West Bank, so that consumers can tell whether the goods were produced by settlers or palestinians. A full ban on settlement goods should slso be considered.

Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.

Best Wishes,
Steve Goddard

Sushila Dhall
Yes, I am very much in support of your six election pledges to support
the Palestinian people. I have spoken and campaigned as a Green Party
member on these points and will continue to do so, no matter what the
outcome of the election.

With best wishes,

Sushila Dhall
(Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East)



Evan Harriss
Thank you for your communication concerning the situation of the
Palestinian
people living under Israeli occupation. The Israel-Palestine conflict
remains one of the world’s most difficult political problems. Britain and
the international community have a responsibility, as well as a wider
self-interest, in helping to bring about a settlement and creating a more
peaceful, secure and stable Middle East.
The Liberal Democrat position in relation to this situation is as
follows:

*Call on Israel to end its violations of international
law, including ending its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza* -
we condemn all acts of violence and urge all parties to negotiate a lasting
settlement to this crisis. A sustainable solution will only be reached in
the context of two separate Israeli and Palestinian states, mutually
recognised and internationally accepted, and within borders which are
secure
and based on the situation before the 1967 conflict.**
*Oppose any attacks on universal jurisdiction and
support bringing those responsible for war crimes to justice* - we are
opposed to any dilution of the law that would help those suspected of war
criminals evade justice. If there are flaws in the current system we
would
support changes in legislation, but only following a thorough judicial
review. There can be no special cases for individual countries.** · *Work to end the siege on Gaza* - we urge Israel to end the blockade. Israel’s blockade of Gaza is against Israel’s own
enlightened self-interest and only encourages extremism.**
· *Call on the government to ban the import of
settlement goods* - we support Government plans for clear labelling of
imported goods from the West Bank, so that British consumers know whether
goods are from Palestinian or settlement producers. We believe a full banon
goods from settlements should be considered.**

· *Call on the government to suspend the EU-Israel
Association Agreement* – we believe that the EU should suspend existing
trade agreements until the blockade of Gaza is lifted.**

· *Call for an end to Britain’s arms trade with
Israel*- we believe that the EU should suspend arms sales until the
blockade of
Gaza is lifted.**


Julia Gasper
Would you:- 1. Call on Israel to end its violations of international law, including ending its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza? A. I will call on both sides to end violent and terrorist acts, and I will not condone them on either side. Both sides have been provoked and the problems can only be solved by diplomacy. I do not condone the expansion of Israel beyond the borders originally agreed in 1948. They are systematically pulling down Palestinian houses at night and then building new ones for Israelis so that the owners of the old ones are rendered homeless or even killed and have no legal redress. This is completely inexcusable. We hope eventually that Israel will become a non-racist state and that homeless Palestinians will get some compensation. 2. Oppose any attacks on universal jurisdiction and bring those responsible for Israeli war crimes to justice? A. I believe that everyone responsible for war crimes on either side should be held responsible. But a policy of recrimination may be counter-productive and serve as a barrier to settlement. 3. Work to end the siege on Gaza? A. I am very concerned about human rights violations and the predicament of oppressed people anywhere in the world. 4. Call on the government to ban the import of settlement goods? A. Some form of sanctions could be a way forward. Labelling any imports from Israel (fruit juice for example) might be a start as consumers could take the initiative. 5. Call on the government to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement? A. Such decisions can only be taken by the EU. They tell us what to do, not the other way around. If you want us to be able to act independently, vote UKIP and regain our independence. 6. Call for an end to Britain’s arms trade with Israel? A. I am fully in agreement with this, and with an international ban on supplying arms to either side. It was very disturbing to learn that during the recent conflict in Gaza, British firms supplied Israel with weapons or components of military systems. What is the point of sending Tony Blair as a Peace Envoy when we are selling them arms? The best thing really would be to try to prevent weapons or ammunition reaching either side, but that requires concerted action by the whole international community.