Palestine Solidarity Campaign

The Al Asria children’s folk dance group has tonight (10 November) cancelled its scheduled tour of Britain after three days at the border at Rafah, waiting unsuccessfully for Israeli permission to travel through to Britain via Egypt.

The Palestinian dance group comprises twelve 14-16 year old girls and boys, led by three adults. They live in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, very recently attacked by the Israeli army.

They were due to perform in Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and York between 12 and 19 November. The trip had been organised by Yorkshire Palestine Cultural Exchange who raised money for the tour through the Lottery Awards for All, local charities and fundraising events. The tour has been publicly supported by the Archbishop of York and MPs Hugh Bayley and John Grogan. Civic welcomes had been prepared in Sheffield and York as well as sight-seeing tours for the young dancers.

The dance group set off on 7 November to allow three days to get across the border. But 3000 travellers have been blocked by an Israeli border closure and the dancers have now had to give up.

This dance tour had been planned as a chance to share Palestinian culture and for these young people to enjoy a rare break from the fear and hardships of growing up as a Palestinian in Gaza.

But the harsh, arbitrary controls exercised by Israel over all aspects of Palestinian life have now dashed these hopes.

20th October 2004

The Rt. Revd. Riah Abu El-Assal, an Anglican Bishop from Jerusalem came to give a lecture at the University titled 'The Arab-Israeli conflict and prospects for peace in the Middle East'. The lecture was well attended, with over 300 people coming to hear him speak.

13th June 2004

Around 80 people attended a meeting of Student Action For Palestine and York PSC at the University.

First to speak was Dr Ilan Pappe from the University of Haifa, who spoke about the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict since 1948, and the various unacceptable and disproportionate peace deals which had been offered in the past.

He was followed by Dr Mahmoud Issa from the Danish Refugee Council, who spoke about the expulsion of Palestinian citizens and their right to return.

Members of York PSC held a demonstration outside the entrance to Sainsburys, asking customers not to buy Israeli goods.

We were well received, with a lot of customers stopping to take leaflets of us.

Many passers by sounded their horns in solidarity, when they spotted our eye catching banner.

Around 50 people attended an emergency rally in Parliament Street, called by York PSC in protest against the massacre currently taking place in Rafah.

York PSC filled a coach to take supporters down to the annual Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration, this year entitled 'The Wall Must Fall'. After thousands of demonstrators filled Trafalgar Square they marched down to Downing Street to demand that the British government does more to stop Israels illegal action in the occupied territories.

Members of York PSC and Student Action For Palestine held a demonstration outside Sainsbury, asking customers not to buy Israeli Goods. The protest was well received by customers, however Sainsbury's took exception to our action, despite the fact we were not protesting on their premises.

York PSC and Student Action For Palestine met Selby MP John Grogan to hand him a petition calling for Israel to give up it's weapons of mass destruction, it was signed by over 500 visitors to the PSC stall.

Some of York PSC then went to Tesco as part of the Boycott Israeli Goods (BIG) campaign. They loaded the trolley with Israeli goods and took them to the duty manager to complain about Tesco stocking goods from Israel.

In the letters page of York Evening Press on 19th March an allegation was made stating that York Palestine Solidarity Campaign where present and disrupted a memorial service at Clifford's Tower to commemorate the 1190 massacre of Jews.

These allegations have no truth behind them whatsoever. York PSC did not contact it's members or put out any statement asking it's members to disrupt this ceremony. Only one member of the group was present and did nothing to disrupt the ceremony.

York PSC are against all forms of hatred and discrimination on the grounds of race or religion which is why we campaign for Palestinians.

Members of York Palestine Solidarity Campaign attended the Annual General Meeting of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London.

Speakers included Jeremy Corbyn MP (pictured below right), Jenny Tonge MP and Keith Sonnett, Dep. General Secretary of UNISON.

Also speaking was Jocelyn Hurndall (pictured below left), mother of Tom Hurndall who was killed by an Israeli soldier while in the occupied territories. Jocelyn gave a moving speech and read passages from Tom's diary. Jocelyn has now been made a patron of the PSC.

Comedian Jeremy Hardy (pictured above right) was also in attendance. His film Jeremy Hardy vs the Israeli Army has helped to alert many people to the horrific conditions the Palestinian people are currently living under.

Members of York Palestine Solidarity Campaign made an unannounced visit to the central York branch of Sainsbury's to show the manager how many Israel based products could be found in his store. The response received was completely unexpected.

What might have then looked like a unusually large group of people shopping with only one trolley became a search for goods from Israel, or companies who are major supporters of Israel. The store had been picked for its central location, and because many of the groups members are customers, and have noticed many Israeli labelled produce in the store.

First stop was the fresh produce area, where only produce marked as originating in Israel was placed in the trolley. After this, the trolley moved into the rest of the store where products from Danone, Kraft and other companies were sought out. As luck would have it, Actimel, a heavily advertised product from Danone wasn't their. The company does business within Israel even if it doesn't use the countries produce in products for British Shops.

We then returned to near the entrance, and asked to see the manager. The manager called security when he gathered that this was a protest. He was quick to attempt to debate away the concerns raised and then asked the group to leave the store. The reason given for this was that he wasn't happy with the way the group was shopping.

The manager was less than polite throughout the debate, and has even gone so far as to have the group's Chairman banned from shopping in the store.

When shopping at local supermarkets please take time to read the country of origin on products, more information about the Israeli products boycott can be found on the Boycott section of this site.

York Palestine Solidarity Campaign held a public meeting at the Friends Meeting House. First to speak, to an audience of around 100 was York MP Hugh Bayley, who spoke about his recent trip to the West Bank and the work he has been doing with the House of Commons International Development Committee, which had recently produced a report calling on the suspension of Israel's billion pound European Union trade agreement (see Palestine In The News - 5th Feb for further information and links to the report).

Next to speak was Musheir Al Farra, a Palestinian who now lives in the UK. He spoke about his recent trip to Gaza and about the horrific conditions the Palestinian people have to live in.

A public meeting at the University of York was held by York Against The War, titled 'End the occupation of Iraq/Freedom for Palestine/Defend civil liberties'. The meeting was a resounding success, with approximately 450 people in the audience.

The meeting started with a minutes silence in memory of Tom Hurndall, and all others who have died in the conflict.

First to speak was Anas Altikriti, President of the Muslim Association of Britain, followed by Lindsey German, convener of Stop the War coalition and finally George Galloway MP. All three speakers spoke about the importance of the Palestine issue, and the lack of action by governments world wide to make a serious effort to bring peace to the region.

Members of the York Branch, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, traveled to London on the 21^st January as part of a national coordinated lobby of MP's organized by Palestine Solidarity Campaign. There they met with the Vale of York MP, Anne McIntosh. As well as presenting her with the petition, they explained in person why they believe the wall is illegal, a threat to peace, devastating to the Palestinian economy, and no answer to Israel's insecurity.

After the lobby a meeting was held, at which Liberal Democrat Jenny Tonge MP spoke. Her remarks have been taken out of context - she was speaking personally about what she had seen on her recent visit to the Occupied Territories and trying to understand the effects on Palestinians of the continual brutalisation of living under military occupation.

It would appear that the taking up of this aspect of the meeting is a diversion from the big story of the night.

Earlier at the same meeting Gerald Kaufman MP (who had left before Jenny Tonge spoke) had called for economic sanctions against Israel. He spoke eloquently about the monstrosity of the Wall and the illegal settlements.

Please send letters of support to Jenny Tonge with copies to Charles Kennedy who is disassociating the Lib Dems from her remarks.

tongej@parliament.uk

"CAROLS AT YORK MINSTER - PSC MEMBERS DISTRIBUTE 1000 MESSAGES FROM BETHLEHEM

We (York branch of PSC) made a 4 sided x A5 size leaflet reproducing the message from the Bethlehem Municipality, side by side with a report from Gerald Kaufman MP, and giving contact details for future action.

We took nearly 1000 copies to York Minster on Sunday 14th December, and handed them out to people queuing for the evening carol service. We did it quietly but with plenty of time and opportunity for 1 to 1 discussion as people showed genuine concern about the oppression and particularly The Wall.

One of our members had done a big lurid painting, "Bethlehem 2003", about 60 cm by 2m, featuring Apache helicopters, tanks, and civilians trying to take cover. The crowd was quick to relate this to the message they were reading.

We did this with the knowledge and approval of the church authorities. We're going to repeat the exercise next week."

Around 200,000 protesters joined protests in London on Thursday 20th November against the state visit of George W Bush. The large numbers outstripped estimates making it the largest week day protest ever held in London.

After a successful demonstration in York the previous evening, York Against The War sent 3 full coaches to the demo. Starting at Malet Street the march went past Parliament, eventually ending in Trafalgar Square, where an effigy of George W Bush was toppled to huge cheers.

Many Palestinian flags where evident, as George W Bush has played an important role in supporting Israel's acts of terror, even more so that his predecessors. He has sidelined Palestine's chosen leader Yasser Arafat, by refusing to recognise him and has also vetoed UN security council resolutions condemning the Israeli Security Wall and bombing of Syria.

Around 350 people attended a Stop Bush rally in central York on the evening of Wednesday 19th November. After a march through the city centre, the crowd assembled in St. Sampson's square to topple a statue of George Bush.

The group was given a talk by Rotem, an Israeli who refused to join Sharon's army, so ended up in jail for standing by his convictions.

To mark the International Day against the wall members of York PSC handed out leaflets and petitioned at 3 of the entrances of the City walls.

Around 140 people attended York PSC's first public meeting. The first speaker was George Abendstern from Jews for Justice in Palestine, he gave a very informative history of Israel and Palestine, and Britain's and the US's involvement in their history. Next up was Fatmeh Hilu, who is a survivor of the Sabra and Shatila massacres. She gave a very moving account of her experience as a 10 year old girl, having to experience the horror of the slaughter in the camps. Finally Heather Stroud, Ed Lewis and Jean Churm gave accounts of their experiences from their visit to the occupied territories this summer.

Thank you very much to the speakers and to all those who gave donations to help us with future campaign work.

Members of York PSC met MP for York, Hugh Bayley today, who has agreed to present a petition to the House of Commons on our behalf.

Already nearly 600 visitors to the stall have signed the petition to Tony Blair expressing their condemnation of the actions of the Israeli occupying forces and calling on the British government to take appropriate action to restore human rights and the rule of international law in order to bring about justice for Palestine.

Next week, 20 - 24 October, Hugh Bayley will visit the occupied Palestinian territories of West Bank and Gaza with the House of Commons International Development Select Committee, to see the situation on the ground and to examine how British aid to Palestine is being used. Mr. Bayley asked the select committee to visit Palestine after going there last year with the York-based charity, International Service, which recruits agricultural advisers, health workers, lawyers and other aid workers to assist non-government organisations in Palestine.

Several members of York PSC visited the occupied territories this summer. As well as speaking at our launch meeting I will be adding reports on this site:

3 Families - by Sam Southgate

27th September

Around 100,000 people marched through London from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq and freedom for Palestine.

Israelis arrest York student
by Adam Nichols

ISRAELI soldiers have arrested a York student protesting against the occupation of Palestine.

Ed Lewis, 20, a politics student at the University of York, was among more than 40 people detained while attempting to block the demolition
of a home near the village of Mas'ha.

The demolition was part of work on a "security wall" being built between Palestine and Israel.

Click here for full story

The first meeting of York Palestine Solidarity Campaign was held on 12th June, with 28 people in attendance, getting the group off to a promising start.

Meetings will be held every fortnight. Click on Events to see a list of meeting dates.

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	11th November 2004 ISRAEL BLOCKS PALESTINIAN CHILDREN’S DANCE GROUP TOUR OF BRITAIN The Al Asria children’s folk dance group has tonight (10 November) cancelled its scheduled tour of Britain after three days at the border at Rafah, waiting unsuccessfully for Israeli permission to travel through to Britain via Egypt. The Palestinian dance group comprises twelve 14-16 year old girls and boys, led by three adults. They live in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, very recently attacked by the Israeli army. They were due to perform in Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and York between 12 and 19 November. The trip had been organised by Yorkshire Palestine Cultural Exchange who raised money for the tour through the Lottery Awards for All, local charities and fundraising events. The tour has been publicly supported by the Archbishop of York and MPs Hugh Bayley and John Grogan. Civic welcomes had been prepared in Sheffield and York as well as sight-seeing tours for the young dancers. The dance group set off on 7 November to allow three days to get across the border. But 3000 travellers have been blocked by an Israeli border closure and the dancers have now had to give up. This dance tour had been planned as a chance to share Palestinian culture and for these young people to enjoy a rare break from the fear and hardships of growing up as a Palestinian in Gaza. But the harsh, arbitrary controls exercised by Israel over all aspects of Palestinian life have now dashed these hopes. For further information see www.YPCE.org.uk 20th October 2004 The Rt. Revd. Riah Abu El-Assal, an Anglican Bishop from Jerusalem came to give a lecture at the University titled 'The Arab-Israeli conflict and prospects for peace in the Middle East'. The lecture was well attended, with over 300 people coming to hear him speak. 13th June 2004 Around 80 people attended a meeting of Student Action For Palestine and York PSC at the University. First to speak was Dr Ilan Pappe from the University of Haifa, who spoke about the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict since 1948, and the various unacceptable and disproportionate peace deals which had been offered in the past. He was followed by Dr Mahmoud Issa from the Danish Refugee Council, who spoke about the expulsion of Palestinian citizens and their right to return. 5th June 2004 Members of York PSC held a demonstration outside the entrance to Sainsburys, asking customers not to buy Israeli goods. We were well received, with a lot of customers stopping to take leaflets of us. Many passers by sounded their horns in solidarity, when they spotted our eye catching banner. 22nd May 2004 Around 50 people attended an emergency rally in Parliament Street, called by York PSC in protest against the massacre currently taking place in Rafah. 15th May 2004 York PSC filled a coach to take supporters down to the annual Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration, this year entitled 'The Wall Must Fall'. After thousands of demonstrators filled Trafalgar Square they marched down to Downing Street to demand that the British government does more to stop Israels illegal action in the occupied territories. 1st May 2004 Members of York PSC and Student Action For Palestine held a demonstration outside Sainsbury, asking customers not to buy Israeli Goods. The protest was well received by customers, however Sainsbury's took exception to our action, despite the fact we were not protesting on their premises. 23rd April 2004 York PSC and Student Action For Palestine met Selby MP John Grogan to hand him a petition calling for Israel to give up it's weapons of mass destruction, it was signed by over 500 visitors to the PSC stall. Some of York PSC then went to Tesco as part of the Boycott Israeli Goods (BIG) campaign. They loaded the trolley with Israeli goods and took them to the duty manager to complain about Tesco stocking goods from Israel. 22nd March 2004 In the letters page of York Evening Press on 19th March an allegation was made stating that York Palestine Solidarity Campaign where present and disrupted a memorial service at Clifford's Tower to commemorate the 1190 massacre of Jews. These allegations have no truth behind them whatsoever. York PSC did not contact it's members or put out any statement asking it's members to disrupt this ceremony. Only one member of the group was present and did nothing to disrupt the ceremony. York PSC are against all forms of hatred and discrimination on the grounds of race or religion which is why we campaign for Palestinians. 28th February 2004 Members of York Palestine Solidarity Campaign attended the Annual General Meeting of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London. Speakers included Jeremy Corbyn MP (pictured below right), Jenny Tonge MP and Keith Sonnett, Dep. General Secretary of UNISON. Also speaking was Jocelyn Hurndall (pictured below left), mother of Tom Hurndall who was killed by an Israeli soldier while in the occupied territories. Jocelyn gave a moving speech and read passages from Tom's diary. Jocelyn has now been made a patron of the PSC. Comedian Jeremy Hardy (pictured above right) was also in attendance. His film Jeremy Hardy vs the Israeli Army has helped to alert many people to the horrific conditions the Palestinian people are currently living under. 14th February Members of York Palestine Solidarity Campaign made an unannounced visit to the central York branch of Sainsbury's to show the manager how many Israel based products could be found in his store. The response received was completely unexpected. What might have then looked like a unusually large group of people shopping with only one trolley became a search for goods from Israel, or companies who are major supporters of Israel. The store had been picked for its central location, and because many of the groups members are customers, and have noticed many Israeli labelled produce in the store. First stop was the fresh produce area, where only produce marked as originating in Israel was placed in the trolley. After this, the trolley moved into the rest of the store where products from Danone, Kraft and other companies were sought out. As luck would have it, Actimel, a heavily advertised product from Danone wasn't their. The company does business within Israel even if it doesn't use the countries produce in products for British Shops. We then returned to near the entrance, and asked to see the manager. The manager called security when he gathered that this was a protest. He was quick to attempt to debate away the concerns raised and then asked the group to leave the store. The reason given for this was that he wasn't happy with the way the group was shopping. The manager was less than polite throughout the debate, and has even gone so far as to have the group's Chairman banned from shopping in the store. When shopping at local supermarkets please take time to read the country of origin on products, more information about the Israeli products boycott can be found on the Boycott section of this site. 13th February York Palestine Solidarity Campaign held a public meeting at the Friends Meeting House. First to speak, to an audience of around 100 was York MP Hugh Bayley, who spoke about his recent trip to the West Bank and the work he has been doing with the House of Commons International Development Committee, which had recently produced a report calling on the suspension of Israel's billion pound European Union trade agreement (see Palestine In The News - 5th Feb for further information and links to the report). Next to speak was Musheir Al Farra, a Palestinian who now lives in the UK. He spoke about his recent trip to Gaza and about the horrific conditions the Palestinian people have to live in. Thank you to all those who attended the meeting and donated to our campaign. 22nd January A public meeting at the University of York was held by York Against The War, titled 'End the occupation of Iraq/Freedom for Palestine/Defend civil liberties'. The meeting was a resounding success, with approximately 450 people in the audience. The meeting started with a minutes silence in memory of Tom Hurndall, and all others who have died in the conflict. First to speak was Anas Altikriti, President of the Muslim Association of Britain, followed by Lindsey German, convener of Stop the War coalition and finally George Galloway MP. All three speakers spoke about the importance of the Palestine issue, and the lack of action by governments world wide to make a serious effort to bring peace to the region. 21st January 2004 Members of the York Branch, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, traveled to London on the 21^st January as part of a national coordinated lobby of MP's organized by Palestine Solidarity Campaign. There they met with the Vale of York MP, Anne McIntosh. As well as presenting her with the petition, they explained in person why they believe the wall is illegal, a threat to peace, devastating to the Palestinian economy, and no answer to Israel's insecurity. After the lobby a meeting was held, at which Liberal Democrat Jenny Tonge MP spoke. Her remarks have been taken out of context - she was speaking personally about what she had seen on her recent visit to the Occupied Territories and trying to understand the effects on Palestinians of the continual brutalisation of living under military occupation. It would appear that the taking up of this aspect of the meeting is a diversion from the big story of the night. Earlier at the same meeting Gerald Kaufman MP (who had left before Jenny Tonge spoke) had called for economic sanctions against Israel. He spoke eloquently about the monstrosity of the Wall and the illegal settlements. Please send letters of support to Jenny Tonge with copies to Charles Kennedy who is disassociating the Lib Dems from her remarks. tongej@parliament.uk kennedyc@parliament.uk 14th December "CAROLS AT YORK MINSTER - PSC MEMBERS DISTRIBUTE 1000 MESSAGES FROM BETHLEHEM We (York branch of PSC) made a 4 sided x A5 size leaflet reproducing the message from the Bethlehem Municipality, side by side with a report from Gerald Kaufman MP, and giving contact details for future action. We took nearly 1000 copies to York Minster on Sunday 14th December, and handed them out to people queuing for the evening carol service. We did it quietly but with plenty of time and opportunity for 1 to 1 discussion as people showed genuine concern about the oppression and particularly The Wall. One of our members had done a big lurid painting, "Bethlehem 2003", about 60 cm by 2m, featuring Apache helicopters, tanks, and civilians trying to take cover. The crowd was quick to relate this to the message they were reading. We did this with the knowledge and approval of the church authorities. We're going to repeat the exercise next week." 20th November Around 200,000 protesters joined protests in London on Thursday 20th November against the state visit of George W Bush. The large numbers outstripped estimates making it the largest week day protest ever held in London. After a successful demonstration in York the previous evening, York Against The War sent 3 full coaches to the demo. Starting at Malet Street the march went past Parliament, eventually ending in Trafalgar Square, where an effigy of George W Bush was toppled to huge cheers. Many Palestinian flags where evident, as George W Bush has played an important role in supporting Israel's acts of terror, even more so that his predecessors. He has sidelined Palestine's chosen leader Yasser Arafat, by refusing to recognise him and has also vetoed UN security council resolutions condemning the Israeli Security Wall and bombing of Syria. 19th November Around 350 people attended a Stop Bush rally in central York on the evening of Wednesday 19th November. After a march through the city centre, the crowd assembled in St. Sampson's square to topple a statue of George Bush. 13th November The group was given a talk by Rotem, an Israeli who refused to join Sharon's army, so ended up in jail for standing by his convictions. 9th November To mark the International Day against the wall members of York PSC handed out leaflets and petitioned at 3 of the entrances of the City walls. 23rd October Around 140 people attended York PSC's first public meeting. The first speaker was George Abendstern from Jews for Justice in Palestine, he gave a very informative history of Israel and Palestine, and Britain's and the US's involvement in their history. Next up was Fatmeh Hilu, who is a survivor of the Sabra and Shatila massacres. She gave a very moving account of her experience as a 10 year old girl, having to experience the horror of the slaughter in the camps. Finally Heather Stroud, Ed Lewis and Jean Churm gave accounts of their experiences from their visit to the occupied territories this summer. Thank you very much to the speakers and to all those who gave donations to help us with future campaign work. 17th October Members of York PSC met MP for York, Hugh Bayley today, who has agreed to present a petition to the House of Commons on our behalf. Already nearly 600 visitors to the stall have signed the petition to Tony Blair expressing their condemnation of the actions of the Israeli occupying forces and calling on the British government to take appropriate action to restore human rights and the rule of international law in order to bring about justice for Palestine. Next week, 20 - 24 October, Hugh Bayley will visit the occupied Palestinian territories of West Bank and Gaza with the House of Commons International Development Select Committee, to see the situation on the ground and to examine how British aid to Palestine is being used. Mr. Bayley asked the select committee to visit Palestine after going there last year with the York-based charity, International Service, which recruits agricultural advisers, health workers, lawyers and other aid workers to assist non-government organisations in Palestine. 16th October Several members of York PSC visited the occupied territories this summer. As well as speaking at our launch meeting I will be adding reports on this site: 3 Families - by Sam Southgate 27th September Around 100,000 people marched through London from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq and freedom for Palestine. 7th August (From York Evening Press) Israelis arrest York student by Adam Nichols ISRAELI soldiers have arrested a York student protesting against the occupation of Palestine. Ed Lewis, 20, a politics student at the University of York, was among more than 40 people detained while attempting to block the demolition of a home near the village of Mas'ha. The demolition was part of work on a "security wall" being built between Palestine and Israel. Click here for full story 13th June The first meeting of York Palestine Solidarity Campaign was held on 12th June, with 28 people in attendance, getting the group off to a promising start. Meetings will be held every fortnight. Click on Events to see a list of meeting dates.

York Branch

11th November 2004

20th October 2004

13th June 2004